The Real Estate Board of New York held its 23rd annual Residential Deal of the Year Awards and Charity Gala last night at Pier 60 at Chelsea Piers. The top prizes went to Sharon Baum, senior vice president and director of the exclusive properties division of the Corcoran Group, who received the Henry Forster Award for Lifetime Achievement, and Norman Horowitz, executive vice president at Halstead Property, who won the first prize Residential Deal of the Year Award in  sales. The Rookie Salesperson of the Year Award was given to Sarah Williams, an agent with Halstead Property, for what REBNY called “her impressive entry into New York City’s residential sales market.” – Miranda Neubauer [more]

After more than three years of delays, sales are now officially underway at Chelsea’s the Carriage House, the former horse stable at 159 West 24th Street that Broad Mill Development Group has converted to 24 high-end condominiums. The Michael Schmitt-designed project, which preserved the stable’s original limestone façade, exposed brick walls and cast-iron columns, is offering up studios, one- and two-bedroom units as well as duplex lofts and penthouses, with interiors designed by Gustavo Martinez and with prices ranging from $695,000 to $3.6 million. There’s also a roof deck and eight private indoor parking spots, two of which are reserved for penthouse buyers and the rest of which are up for sale for $200,000 each. TRD [more]

They say once you’ve lived at the San Remo, the twin-towered Central Park West behemoth and one of the city’s most coveted addresses, it’s difficult to imagine living anywhere else. Shareholders are known to move around within the illustrious building, picking up the leftovers from their neighbors’ divorces, moves and deaths.

That convention holds, too, for San Remo resident James “Jimmy Jr.” Nederlander, presumed heir to Broadway’s the Nederlander Organization, who just dropped $13.5 million on his late neighbor’s three-bedroom apartment upstairs, public records show.

The theater producer, whose credits include “Hairspray,” “Wicked” and the revival of “La Cage Aux Folles,” is a longtime shareholder in the Emery Roth-designed co-op. And with a list of neighbors that’s included the likes of Bono, Steven Spielberg and Rita Hayworth over the years, it’s no wonder he wasn’t anxious to move out. [more]

Johnny Weir and Twenty9th Park Madison

Johnny Weir, the Olympic figure skater and reality television star, has purchased a one-bedroom pad at the new Twenty9th Park Madison condominium, and according to the Post, fans can expect to see his move chronicled on the second season of the Sundance Channel’s “Be Good Johnny Weir.” The 26-year-old paid $1.1 million for his new digs, which Curbed suspects is the 826-square-foot unit #22D. The apartment was listed for $1.235 million with Warbug Realty’s Richard Steinberg, a reality television show star in his own right on HGTV’s “Selling New York.” Comments

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Despite many a co-op board’s penchant for one-on-one interviews, tech savvy Skype users may be slowly edging into the arena, according to New York Magazine. The online interview trend is slowly gaining steam among co-ops — where face time prior to a move-in was once mandatory — due in part to a growing need to work with candidates from outside the city, according to Leslie Lalehzar, a broker with Warburg Realty. “It allows for amazing flexibility, especially in a tough market like this,” Lalehzar said. But not everyone is ready to jump online. [more]

Real estate developer Africa Israel USA made major investments in residential conversion projects during the boom years. Two of its Downtown condominium projects, 111 Fulton Street and 20 Pine Street, hit successful milestones last month, but serious challenges remain for two others, the Upper West Side’s Apthorp and the Clock Tower, formerly the Metropolitan Life headquarters at 5 Madison Avenue.
This week, Lori Ordover, a sales and marketing consultant to Africa Israel, talks to Insights from The Real Deal about how the company cut prices by as much as 30 percent to attract sales at 20 Pine Street, where prices ranged from a low of $666 per foot in 2009 to more than $1,000 per foot recently. Forty units remain for sale.

Asked if she thought the company left money on the table as she compared the low $700 per foot deals to the $1,000 per foot deals, she said, “We really try hard to sell at the market. If I were starting sales today in this building, instead of three years ago — right when the market took its downturn — we would be pricing at a higher number.” (Note: correction appended).

She also addresses why Shvo Marketing, the former exclusive sales agent at 20 Pine Street, was replaced as announced last week by Warburg Realty Partnership, despite hitting the 90 percent-sold mark. She would not discuss any aspects of the 163 condominium units being marketed at the Apthorp at 390 West End Avenue or the 100-unit Clock Tower, which is looking to secure construction financing. [more]

From left: Richard Steinberg, Wendy Greenbaum, Linette Semino and Frederick Peters

Richard Steinberg, executive managing director with Warburg Realty, was presented with his firm’s top prize last night, based on his 2010 sales performance, during Warburg’s annual award ceremony. Wendy Greenbaum, also an executive managing director, took home second place for sales performance, while agent Linette Semino was named rookie of the year. But sales talent isn’t the only thing Warburg is celebrating this year — the firm was recently cast for the second season of HGTV’s realty reality show “Selling New York.” TRD [more]

From left: Warburg brokers Leslie Rosenthal, Deborah Lupard, Richard Steinberg and firm president Frederick Peters

From the December issue: If the casting for season two of HGTV’s “Selling New York” is to be
believed, experienced actors, singers and models have an inside edge on
the popular real estate-themed reality show.
Producers went on the hunt for more brokers in the spring, choosing,
so far, three Warburg Realty brokers (along with company president
Frederick Peters) to join colleagues from Core and Gumley Haft Kleier.
During her audition, Warburg broker Leslie Rosenthal broke into an impromptu “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
“The performance aspect definitely intrigued them,” said Rosenthal,
who was an actor and singer before she started selling homes. “They
wanted people who are natural, who wouldn’t get intimidated by the
process, and who can do the takes, too.” [more]

Century 21′s iPhone app

Residential firm Century 21 Real Estate has announced the launch of a new iPhone application. The Century 21 iPhone app provides mobile users with property listings, open house information and Century 21 office locations. It also provides a quick overview of the communities associated with each lis [more]

Century 21′s iPhone app

Residential firm Century 21 Real Estate has announced the launch of a new iPhone application. The Century 21 iPhone app provides mobile users with property listings, open house information and Century 21 office locations. It also provides a quick overview of the communities associated with each lis [more]