From the December issue: As the year draws to a close, the future seems as opaque as a glass of eggnog. Some real estate professionals say pent-up demand in the residential market could foster a busy 2012, while others predict that a sluggish economy will keep prices and activity in check.

Citi Habitats vice president Jay Molishever said the high rents, relatively low sales prices and increasing activity he is seeing in the current market are good signs for the New Year.

“At some point,” he said, “the kindling is going to burst into flames again,” bringing high prices and high volume. [more]

Platinum Properties President Daniel Hedaya

Of late, all real estate market news that comes out the Financial District is good news. The latest neighborhood market report, recently released by residential brokerage Platinum Properties, confirms that is true for the rental market, too.

In the fist half of 2011, the average price for all leased apartments pushed past $50 per square foot for the first time since the brokerage began tracking the market in 2007, and vacancy rates were at an all time low of 1.47 percent. At the end of 2010, the vacancy rate was 2.17 percent. – Adam Fusfeld
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New residential developments are slowly turning a stretch of Hell’s Kitchen from one of the largest patches of undeveloped land in Manhattan into a vibrant enclave, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In the last three years, MiMA, a rental and condo building by Related on 42nd Street and 10th Avenue, Emerald Green, a 569-unit development on West 38th Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues and 455W37 and 505W37, TF Cornerstone projects on West 37th Street near 10th Avenue, have all come to the neighborhood. Construction is underway on more projects, the Journal said, including a rental building by Glenwood Management at 330 West 39th Street. [more]

From the March issue: In the mid-2000s, Manhattan real estate prices roared upward, luring a plethora of small investors aiming to double or triple their money in a few short years. When prices fell after the financial crisis, however, those buyers largely vanished from the market.
Now, after two years of sitting on the sidelines, would-be investors are showing a renewed interest in Manhattan condos. Industry experts attribute their reentry to several factors: Prices have stabilized while rents are ticking up, mortgages are easier to obtain, and interest rates are low. [more]

Images from inside 114 Liberty Street and Platinum Properties brokers Philip Askeroth and Daniel Hedaya (center, from left)

The largest available apartment for sale in the Financial District hit the market, according to Streeteasy.com. The 5,400-square-foot condominium at 114 Liberty Street near the corner of Greenwich Street is available for $6.39 million. The apartment, currently being marketed by Daniel Hedaya and Philip Askeroth of Platinum Properties, includes five bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms, a fireplace and central air conditioning.

“It’s difficult to come by that size apartment in the Financial District,” Askeroth said, noting that its proximity to the new World Trade Center “makes it a good investment.” TRD [more]

Average rents in the Financial District improved across the board in 2010, up an average of 5 percent over 2009, according to Platinum Properties’ year-end report, released today (see full report after jump), which covers 2,371 closed lease transactions in the neighborhood by multiple brokerages. Studios and one- and two-bedroom units saw average rents of $2,314, $3,014 and $4,442, respectively, during 2010, representing climbs of 4.68 percent, 3.88 percent and 9.05 percent over 2009′s average rents. TRD [more]

From the December issue: Five years after starting as a four-person residential rental firm in New York, Platinum Properties has announced its latest expansion: opening offices in Miami and Los Angeles early next year. “We have a lot of our clients [who] own properties in both those locations,” Khashy Eyn, Platinum’s CEO and president, said, adding that Platinum will consider “buy[ing] a firm that’s already started and changing the name.” Platinum has not picked locations for its offices yet, but Eyn said the firm is targeting luxury strongholds in each city. Miami’s South of Fifth neighborhood and locations near Beverly Hills are on his wish list. [more]

International buyers have always played a central role in the Manhattan residential marketplace, accounting for an estimated 10 to 15 percent of all sales in the city almost every year, and the weakness of the dollar is continuing to drive international sales, the New York Times reported. In recent years, much of the new development in Midtown — including projects like the 60-story Setai Fifth Avenue and the 48-unit Centurion — has been marketed to foreigners. Close to half of the units in the Centurion have been sold, all but one to a foreign buyer, according to a building spokesperson.

“I think foreigners are coming back into the New York City market with a vengeance,” said Khashy Eyn, the CEO of brokerage Platinum Properties, which has opened a Paris office to serve the New York market. Some countries have also eased banking rules that regulate the transfer of money, making transactions simpler for these foreign buyers, many of whom view New York real estate as a safe haven, compared to the political instability in their own countries. [NYT]

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Financial District apartment rents rose, landlords’ concessions began to disappear and the vacancy rate dropped by more than half in the first two quarters of 2010, according to a mid-year neighborhood market report from Downtown-bas [more]

Platinum’s Jared Wiener and the brokerage’s new branch at the Hippodrome

Brokerage Platinum Properties has opened its fourth office — and its second new location within a two-month span — in Midtown West, the company announced today. Broker Jared Wiener, who has joined the firm as its new director of sales and leasing, will co-manage the new branch with Jeffrey Carlson, an executive vice president at Platinum. Platinum, which debuted in 2005 with its flagship Wall Street office, said its Midtown West location, at the Hippodrome building at 1120 Sixth Avenue, came in response to increasing inventory in the neighborhood and will start with a team of around a dozen agents. The company opened a Midtown East branch roughly two months ago. TRD

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