New York City home sales prices inched upward, while sales activity blossomed in the second quarter of 2011, according to a report released today by the Real Estate Board of New York.

Sales activity increased 10 percent from the first quarter of 2011, but is down four percent from the same period a year ago due to “unseasonable fluctuations” caused by the looming expiration of the homebuyer’s tax credit, according to Steve Spinola, REBNY’s president. Meanwhile, sales prices increased 2 percent from last quarter and 3 percent from the same period a year ago. In the second quarter “we saw a return to normal cyclical market patterns,” Spinola said. – Adam Fusfeld [more]

From the June issue: Shortly after the financial crisis of 2008, experts worried that the market was in even worse shape than it appeared. The culprit? Thousands of stalled and vacant condo units that were being held off the market — so-called shadow inventory — threatening to add years to New York City’s real estate recovery.

In today’s improved economy, many in the industry are wondering what happened to all that inventory. With sales picking up and some new condos morphing into rentals, everyone agrees that the number of shadow units has dropped. But no one knows by exactly how much. [more]

From left: Jeffrey Levine, chairman of Douglaston Development, and his condo the Edge, developer Louis Greco, and his be@Schermerhorn

[Updated June 6, 2011 at 1:45 p.m. with detailed sales figures] Sales at the the Edge in Williamsburg have picked up rapidly, and in the past four months alone, the condominium has sold more units than any New York City residential building did in all of 2010. According to MNS, the brokerage formerly known as TDG/TREGNY which is exclusively marketing the development, the Edge garnered 144 signed contracts between Jan. 1, 2011 and June 1, 2011, including an average of more than 32 per month between February and May (see chart after the jump for a breakdown of sales by month). Granted the Edge is more than twice as big, but those sales numbers already shatter the figures posted by last year’s fastest selling building, according to PropertyShark.com, be@Schermerhorn, which sold 121 units out of 246 in the calendar year.

Now, 234 of the Edge’s 565 units have closed, and 61 are in contract, according to MNS. The firm told The Real Deal that the building’s location and amenities package, which includes an array of sports and spa facilities, have appealed to buyers.

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Jeffrey Levine of Douglaston Development talks to Core’s Shaun Osher about his life as a developer and the Edge, the developer’s North Williamsburg waterfront condominium complex, in the video above. Levine says in the last six months, over 120 apartments have sold at the project, which the Developers Group has marketed since inception. The Real Deal reported in the beginning of the month that 165 units of the two buildings’ combined 565 residences, or 30 percent, have closed thus far, and over 100 more are in contract. The Woolworth Building, Levine tells Osher, is his favorite building in the world. [more]

The Edge, the North Williamsburg waterfront condominium complex by Douglaston Development, has hit the 50 percent sold mark. According to an announcement from the developer, 165 units of the two buildings’ combined 565 residences, or 30 percent, have closed thus far, and over 100 more are in contract. According to Highlyann Krasnow, who is heading up the Developers Group’s marketing efforts for the project, the current sales pace is at around 25 units per month, and the team is hoping for an uptick once the Edge’s water taxi service to and from Manhattan kicks off this summer. TRD [more]

Ark Restaurants, whose nine New York eateries include the Bryant Park Grill, is moving forward with plans to become one of the first restaurants on the Williamsburg waterfront. Ark is close to signing a 7,000-square-foot lease at the Edge, the 565-unit condominium at North 6th Street and the water, Michael Weinstein, Ark chairman and CEO, told the Wall Street Journal. “We think if we do a good product, there’s a natural tendency to want to be near the water,” he said, though he acknowledged the location does come with some difficulties. [more]

From left: Adam Leitman Bailey, the Edge and its developer, Jeffrey Levine of Douglaston Development

At least nine apartment buyers, represented by attorney Adam Leitman Bailey, are now trying to back out of their contracts at the Edge, a 575-unit condominium at 22 North 6th Street on the Williamsburg waterfront. Bailey, who just won a similar case at the Brompton on the Upper East Side, is using the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act to fight for his clients, Curbed first reported. “Our client purchasers at the Edge are entitled to a full refund of their deposit and to rescission of their purchase agreements,” Bailey said in a statement. TRD [more]

From left: City Council member Steven Levin with Douglaston Development chairman Jeff Levine and the Steiner Studio party

The Real Deal swung by Williamsburg last week for the “Hardcore House Party” grand opening at Douglaston Development’s the Edge, where the waterfront building’s shiny new amenities — among them, a pool, spa, basketball court and party lounge — were on display. Also last week, The Real Deal hit the Steiner Studios party in the Flatiron District, where film industry players collided with real estate bigwigs to eat, drink and dance among a plethora of go-go dancers.

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Douglaston Development’s the Edge has seen its first closing hit public record, according to Curbed. The development at 22 North 6th Street in Williamsburg, has 60 active listings, according to Streeteasy.com. The unit that closed is a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment with a final price of $554,946. Sales launched in March 2008, with the Developers Group marketing the building. [Curbed]

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The last of East River State Park’s summer pool party concerts is back on track for next weekend — less than a week after being cancelled over unpaid bills — after two prominent real estate families chipped in to help shoulder the costs, according to the New York Times. The Williamsburg concert series — which will showcase Delorean and Dominique Young Unique, among other yet-to-be-announced performers next Sunday — is run and promoted by Jelly NYC. The Open Space Alliance for North Brooklyn, which helps operate the park, said Jelly had paid most of the money it owed as of last weekend and that the rest came from Norman and Elaine Brodsky, partial owners of CitiStorage, and Douglaston Development, which is building apartment complex the Edge nearby. This isn’t the first glitch for the Pool Parties, which began in 2006 at the McCarren Park Pool, now under renovation. Last summer, the Open Space Alliance threatened not to renew Jelly’s contract for 2010 because of safety concerns and only relented after Senator Charles Schumer intervened. [NYT]

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