Elizabeth Lee Sample has brokered $1.5 billion worth of real estate in her career. But it wasn’t until she began working with high-end Russian buyers several years ago that she found herself leaving the Four Seasons Hotel on East 57th Street one Sunday with a check for $2.5 million burning a hole in her pocket. “We had shown a couple a penthouse at the Ritz-Carlton,” she recalled. “They really liked the apartment, but they were… [more]
New Yorkers are nothing if not opinionated — especially when it comes to their own backyards. Hundreds, if not thousands of New York City block associations, community groups and single-issue nonprofits exist to shape the streetscape and the skyline. While these groups are sometimes derisively called NIMBYs (short for Not In My Backyard), some have pushed to protect whole swaths of the city, successfully curtailing development projects and swaying public opinion. This month, The Real… [more]
Is Manhattan’s tech leasing boom for real? That largely depends on how it’s defined. The problem is that the real estate industry is having a difficult time defining it. That’s because in today’s world, where having an Internet presence is mandatory, nearly every company in the country could be classified as “tech” in some way. And classifications get trickier when the company is, say, a publisher that devotes serious capital to its website and is… [more]
Federal investigators have been speaking to investors involved in real estate projects connected to Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, who was arrested in Israel for alleged bribery last month. The arrest came amid claims that millions of dollars in real estate investments he’s connected to cannot be accounted for, and that investors may have been threatened by officials close to the spiritual leader. Pinto — the head of the New York-based nonprofit organization Mosdot Shuva Israel… [more]
Hotel owners may award 2012 five stars. That’s because in the last year, Manhattan’s hospitality market has posted huge gains as tourists continued to flood the city and occupancy levels soared. Yes, there’s a sense that the market has been here before: 2010 enjoyed similar growth on the hotel investment front before the calendar turned and the momentum petered out, largely because prices began to climb. Yet Manhattan rooms now average $275 a night and… [more]
In the wake of the economic crisis, a citywide inventory drought has sent demand for luxury apartments sky-rocketing across the city. And nowhere, brokers say, is that more true than on the moneyed Upper East Side. However, New York’s most prestigious zip codes are about to see that inventory-crunch change. Developers are currently putting the finishing touches on a number of highly anticipated new residential towers, and readying their shovels for construction on others. In… [more]
A confluence of economic factors is causing a “barbell effect” in Manhattan’s residential real estate market, where both the high- and entry-level segments of the market are seeing a surge in activity, while the middle of the market remains subdued. Brokers and analysts told The Real Deal that they’re seeing increased demand for starter apartments as low interest rates and rising rents continue to propel first-time buyers to make purchases. They said they’re also seeing… [more]
As New York’s rapidly expanding tech sector gobbles up increasing large swaths of prime office space, much of the focus on tech real estate has been on what kind of office space those companies are taking. But this month, The Real Deal looked at where some of New York’s most savvy and powerful tech personalities are pitching their tents. Not surprisingly, Downtown and Brooklyn neighborhoods — where bars and restaurants abound — proved most popular…. [more]
Midtown East $2.35 million 250 East 53rd Street, Apt. 2401 Two-bedroom, 2.5-bath, 1,560 sf condo in the Veneto; unit has hardwood floors, washer/dryer, marble bath; building has doorman, concierge; common charges $1,462 per month; taxes $369 per month; asking price $2.49 million; 15 weeks on the market. (Brokers: Joan Brothers, Manhattan Global Properties; John Carapella and Rory Nichols, Town Residential) “My colleague and I had a listing at 80 Park Avenue — it was… [more]
In a stark reminder that large tenants have retreated, the amount of available office space is piling up on a stretch of Sixth Avenue that is home to many of the city’s premier office addresses. Last month, Manhattan landlords and tenants listed another 384,000 square feet in six buildings located between 41st and 55th streets on Sixth Avenue, a survey of commercial data website CoStar Group showed. Meanwhile, in a report last month, commercial firm… [more]
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