Designer Ali Taghavi and shots from the show

One might not normally associate flamboyant New York fashion week with the less glamorous world of real estate, but as flash bulbs and a red carpet were rolled out for the MNS Fashion Night Out event last night, the pairing of the two megabucks industries did not seem so strange.

Real estate executives, brokers and clients came out in force for a special runway show featuring couture designs by Ali Taghavi, at MNS’ new Chelsea office at 189 Eighth Avenue, between 19th and 20th streets, which was decked out in red, white and black balloons — the colors of the MNS brand. The crowd, characterized by pretty female execs in stilettos and short hems, spilled out onto the street as servers handed out hors d’oeuvres and prosecco wine and passersby stalled to see what the fuss was about.

Ali Taghavi, a fashion and jewelry designer whose work has previously been featured as part of Fashion’s Night Out but not in association with a brokerage, last night showcased clothing collections based on Manhattan neighborhoods — from ladies who lunch on the Upper East Side to career females working in Midtown Comments

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Rents have begun their summer climb, up 0.68 percent overall and 1.12 percent in doorman buildings in May, according to a recent report my MNS, formerly known as TDG/TREGNY. Year-over-year rents were up 6 percent compared with 2010. Inventory was up 2.93 percent for the month overall, however, with a 5.34 percent increase in non-doorman units. Meanwhile, the number of doorman building units fell by 1.89 percent.

MNS reports that rents fell 9.91 percent for Financial District non-doorman one-bedroom apartments. Renters looking for a downtown address should check out the deals before a wave of summer renters snaps up the inventory, the report suggests.

There are still good deals to be found in Harlem. Studios prices fell 7.41 percent in non-doorman units to $1,380, and 6.04 percent to $1,628 in doorman units. [more]

From left: The Edge, Andrew Barrocas (CEO of MNS) and 189 Eighth Avenue

For two years, the company that resulted from the merger of the Developers Group (TDG) and the Real Estate Group New York (TREGNY) has been known by the somewhat cumbersome TDG/TREGNY. But that alphabet soup has been simplified. As of today, the firm is MNS, for “Marketing and Sales,” and with it comes a revamped website with plans to expand: In June, it will cut the ribbon on a new office, its third, at 189 Eighth Avenue in Chelsea. MNS’ new look comes after a year of brainstorming with two New York ad agencies, Ammirati, whose clients include VitaminWater, and Warehouse Agency New York, who has worked with developments like One Brooklyn Bridge Park, which TDG/TREGNY had been marketing for years.
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If you’re looking to rent on the Upper East Side or Soho and don’t need a doorman, now might be the time to make a move. While rents overall fell .6 percent in April, rents for non-doorman units on the Upper East Side fell 5.67 percent from a month ago, and non-doorman one-bedroom unit rents in Soho dropped 17 percent in the last six months, according to the Manhattan rental market report released today by the Real Estate Group of New York. Overall, the average rent in non-doorman Manhattan units fell 2.84 percent this month, while doorman unit rents rose .8 percent, and inventory across the board rose 3.84 percent. TRD Comments

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Manhattan rental prices were relatively stagnant over the past month, according to the Real Estate Group NY’s March market report, which measures activity from mid-February to mid-March. The average rent increased by just .45 percent month-over-month, but showed strong gains over March 2010, with rent up 7.84 percent from a year ago. The priciest average rent was for two-bedroom doorman units in Soho, which asked $8,173 a month, while the least expensive was for Harlem non-doorman studios, which fetched an average of $1,593 a month. TRD [more]

The developers of Clinton Hill’s 49-unit, Karl Fischer-designed condominium tower at 163 Washington Avenue are rumored to have sold off the building to new investors who now plan to turn it into a rental. What does that mean for the buyers who’ve already signed contracts for around 35 to 40 percent of the would-be condos there? According to a Brownstoner tipster who claims to be one of them, a sales representative for the building has e-mailed all buyers to say their deposits would be returned and that 163 Washington Street would be “permanently taken off the market.” [more]

The average Manhattan rent remained relatively stable last month, while showing marked improvement over 2010, according to the Real Estate Group NY’s residential rental market report released today. The report, which tracks data from mid-month to mid-month, shows that average rent was up just .4 percent from mid-January, but up 8.01 percent from the same time a year earlier. Two-bedroom doorman units in Soho boasted the priciest average rent — $8,130 a month — while non-doorman Harlem studios had the cheapest, at $1,452. A recent report from Citi Habitats had similar findings. TRD [more]

Average rent for Manhattan apartments is on the rise, according to the Real Estate Group NY’s latest rental market report, which measures data mid-month, despite recent rental reports that reflected a flatter market. The January report, released today, shows that the average rent was up 7.8 percent compared to the same time a year ago, climbing to $3,332. Harlem proved to be the most affordable neighborhood covered in the report, which is based on data cross-sectioned from over 10,000 currently available listings located below 155th Street, with average rents as low as $1,348 for a non-doorman studio in the neighborhood. TRD [more]

Manhattan apartment rental rates rose by an average of 1.38 percent over the past month as inventory fell by 4.52 percent, according to the Real Estate Group NY’s December market report, out today. Among the trends the brokerage observed: larger, non-doorman units are filling up faster than smaller apartments with doormen. Apartments without doormen saw a 5.86 percent drop in supply in December, compared with a 3.51 percent drop for full-service apartments. See the full report after the jump. TRD [more]

Source: TREGNY

The
Manhattan residential rental market showed modest improvement over the
last month, with inventory declining and rents climbing in both
month-over-month and year-over-year comparisons, according to the Real
Estate Group NY’s July report, which measures rental activity from June 15 to July
15 (see full report below). The largest year-over-year rent hikes were
seen amongst non-doorman studios, which averaged $2,077 per month, up
6.06 percent from July
2009. Meanwhile, prices for studios with doormen, averaging $2,367 per
month, rose by just 1.29 percent — the smallest increase of the
apartment types. Neighborhoods still offering deals even as the overall
market rebounds include the Lower East Side, where non-doorman,
two-bedroom units saw rents fall 9.52 percent in July
to $2,770 per month and Harlem, where rents for two-bedroom units with
doormen declined by 9.69 percent to $2,345 per month — the lowest
price since TREGNY began tracking data for the neighborhood in 2008.
The data reflects trends from roughly 10,000 listings in TREGNY’s
proprietary database in the borough, all priced under $10,000 per
month. Overall, vacancies declined by 0.78 percent month-over-month in
Manhattan, which TREGNY attributed to recent college graduates entering
the rental market and to would-be intra-borough renters who are now
staying in Manhattan as landlord incentives in the outer boroughs have
decreased. In a recent second-quarter rental report, Prudential
Douglas Elliman found that although rental activity had returned to
pre-recession levels, average rental prices were relatively flat in
Manhattan, declining 3.3 percent on a year-over-year basis but
increasing 12.3 per [more]