This Sunday is this first day gay couples will be allowed to legally marry in New York, and the real estate industry is already bracing for a possible boost. As CNBC points out, some same-sex couples from other, nearby states may be tempted to move to New York to take advantage of their newfound financial and legal benefits when it comes to real estate. Lawrence Rich of Prudential Douglas Elliman noted that for the first time, “both parties will be able to have their names legally on documents like proprietary leases in co-ops.” There are also tax breaks. “The estate tax issue will now be transferred tax free from one spouse to another. Before, without being legally married it was not the case,” explained Victoria Shtainer, also of Eliman. [more]

From left: Donny Deutsch, Douglas Teitelbaum, Donald Trump and 502 Park Avenue (building photo source: PropertyShark)

Even as real estate developer Donald Trump is testing the waters for a presidential run, he is not about to go soft and let a high-powered money manager wiggle out of a luxury penthouse apartment lease.

Trump is claiming in a new lawsuit that hedge fund investor Douglas Teitelbaum skipped out after signing a lease last year to move in to advertising executive Donny Deutsch’s former rental unit PH23 in Trump Park Avenue at 502 Park Avenue.

Trump Park Avenue LLC filed suit in New York State Supreme Court this past Friday, claiming Teitelbaum, for years a principal with Bay Harbour Management, signed a lease in April 2010 at $50,000 per month for the five-bedroom unit with 6,224 square feet. The lease called for him to move in Sept. 1 or after then current renter Deutsch was “ready to move out, and tenant can move in,” the suit says.
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Jain and his new pad at One Beacon Court

Berkshire Hathaway executive Ajit Jain, who is seen as one of the front-runners to succeed Warren Buffett at the company’s helm, has purchased a four-bedroom apartment at One Beacon Court for $14.65 million, sources told the Wall Street Journal. It’s the second unit in the 151 East 58th Street condominium for Jain, who bought Ponzi schemer Marc Dreier’s neighboring unit at auction for $8.3 million in 2009. Comments

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Trump Park Avenue at 502 Park Avenue, floor plans for penthouse #23 and advertising exec Donny Deustch

It looks like Donny Deutsch is finally moving into the fabulous 78th Street townhouse he’s been renovating for the past four years. Deutsch, an advertising mogul and media personality, has been renting penthouse #23 at Trump Park Avenue at 502 Park Avenue for the past several years, during the renovation of his townhouse, his brokers said. He’s moving out this week, however, and the 6,300-square-foot apartment is now listed for sale at $25 million, or for rent at $60,000 per month. Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Victoria Shtainer and Lawrence Rich have the listing. Click here for more.

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(Clockwise from left) Brokers Richard Steinberg, Steve Kliegerman, Stacey Max, and Victoria Shtainer talk about real estate priorities post-election.

New construction helped define the legacy of Michael Bloomberg’s first two terms as mayor, whether it was parks, schools, apartments, or more controversial mega-projects. That came in lockstep with a wholesale reordering of what should go where in New York, as Bloomberg rezoned 20 percent of the city, which was the most in four decades. But in Bloomberg’s third term, which he won yesterday in a close election against city Comptroller William Thompson, the city’s real estate community seems focused on different issues — some more far-reaching than others.
Some brokers hope lessons have been learned, like with the Second Avenue Subway, whose famously disruptive construction has hurt sales at the Upper East Side’s Georgica condo, said Richard Steinberg, an executive managing director with Warburg Realty Partnership. [more]