As new gauges measuring energy consumption enter the market, the 10-year-old LEED ranking system — which reflects a building’s environmental performance — is coming under fire, according to Crain’s. This year, in a first for New York, owners of 25,000 commercial properties must report their buildings’ energy use to the city, with the data to be compiled into publicly posted report cards. But concerns from architects and landlords that LEED doesn’t measure energy use and costs have spurred new rating systems that could challenge the status quo. [more]

Seeing the forest for the trees: that was the topic of conversation at the recent NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate reporter roundtable, “Fair Deals? Fair Coverage?” which was moderated by the New York Times’ Charles Bagli, and included The Real Deal’s David Jones, the New York Observer’s Elliot Brown, Crain’s Amanda Fung, and the New York Post’s Tom Topousis. According to Jones, the infamous Starrett City and Stuyvesant Town deals were a reflection of trends in New York City’s financial milieu. But, unfortunately, those trends were at times overlooked by the mainstream media, Jones contended. While these stories were well-covered, both Bagli and Jones said the press overlooked the larger implications that these deals had. “They just didn’t get it,” Jones said. “Back during the middle part of the decade… there was a frenzy of institutional owners basically realizing they could maximize the value of these assets.” (To view the panel in its entirely, please visit NYU-SCPS.)
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From the February issue: While activity remains sluggish in the New York real estate market,
there may be pockets of opportunities for profits over the next few
years for those who invest wisely.
Experts point to three areas for investors looking to lay the
groundwork for a future fortune: office towers, land and multifamily
buildings.
First, a warning or two. Many of the properties sold will go to
insiders rather than victors in a public auction process. With few
assets available for cheap prices through public listings, “smart money
will use alternative paths to get to core real estate,” said Dan
Fasulo, managing director at Real Capital Analytics.
While there will be “opportunities to pick up quality assets at
attractive prices over the next year,” he warned that “investors who
feel like we’re going to fall off a cliff … will be greatly
disappointed.” [more]

From the December issue: When the economy sours, one of the few sectors to profit is usually
postgraduate education. Laid-off employees, or simply scared ones,
historically have flocked to school to beef up their résumés in the
hopes of better positioning themselves in the job market. But for some real estate professionals, this recession is different.
At New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate Continuing
Education Program, which offers over 500 classes each year, enrollment
dropped 10 to 15 percent between fall 2008 and fall 2009. The Real Estate Board of New York has also seen a 5 to 8 percent
decline in their for-credit continuing education program participants,
who typically register in order to maintain their licenses.
[more]