The Real Deal New York

Nikki Field and Gillian Jolis Company: Sotheby s Deals: $100 million in sales in 2003 Nikki Field and Gillian Jolis started at Ashforth Warburg Associates in the mid-90s, and quickly became known as the “medical team” there, finding a niche in sales involving doctors moving from Park and Fifth Avenues whose offices were mostly converted to residences. Field was named Ashforth s rookie of the year and was also nominated for the REBNY Rookie of… [more]

In an industry dominated by solo entrepreneurs, the joint efforts of Bonnie Chajet and Ronnie Lane are clearly the exception. At nearly 28 years and counting, the two have formed the longest running and arguably most successful partnership among Manhattan residential real estate agents. “It works because we get along so well,” said Chajet. “The only thing we argue about is politics.” Together, the pair, which met while studying for their licensing exam, does around… [more]

Recession notwithstanding, the median sales price of a Manhattan townhouse jumped 13.2 percent between 2009 and 2010, according to appraisal firm Miller Samuel. One reason for the jump is that, unlike condos, very few newly built townhouses have been added to the housing stock, according to Jonathan Miller, the president and CEO of Miller Samuel. That begs the question of why so many New Yorkers spend millions to painstakingly renovate historic brownstones, rather than just… [more]

When appliance giant P.C. Richard & Son signed a $1.5-million-a-year lease on 40,000 square feet of retail space on West 23rd Street last month, it joined the ranks of such mass retailers as Home Depot, which will open a 100,000-square-foot store across the street this summer, and Burlington Coat Factory and Best Buy, which are already located nearby. Clearly, retailers have taken a liking to the area on the cusp of Chelsea and the Flatiron… [more]

The Manhattan class A vacancy rate held steady at 10.7 percent in February as additional blocks of available space offset leasing in all three major submarkets, according to a recent report by Colliers ABR. A CB Richard Ellis report also found little movement in the availability rate in Manhattan. In Downtown and Midtown South, the availability rate rose 0.2 and 0.1 percent, respectively, while Midtown availability dropped 0.1 percent to its lowest level since August,… [more]

Until a few years ago, Brazil was but a Plan B among America’s real estate investors. Now they increasingly view South America’s largest nation as a lucrative, and safe, haven for commercial property investment. “Brazil is a democracy, Brazil has a free press, Brazil elected a left-wing president back in 2002,” Hines Interests senior vice president Doug Munro told The Real Deal by phone last month from his São Paulo office. “Brazil [now] has control… [more]

As the Labor Day barbecues broke up and the final jitneys headed back to Manhattan last summer, the Corcoran Group hadn t so much as dipped a toe in the Long Island Sound as it approached the Hamptons real estate market. Six months and two deals later, Corcoran is among the largest firms on Long Island s East End. Last month, Corcoran bought Dayton-Halstead, a brokerage with a 98-year history and 44 agents in its… [more]

Foxtons North America chief executive Glenn Cohen will resign and sell his stake in the discount brokerage after a controversy over its television advertising and a New Jersey investigation into its business practices. Foxtons, its London-based parent company, announced last month it would acquire Cohen’s interest in the company known for its signature 2 percent commissions, and said that Cohen would be leaving the firm. Foxtons founder and CEO Jon Hunt assumed control of the… [more]

While inventory remains low throughout Manhattan, the residential real estate market continues to experience significant price jumps, and the luxury segment has been particularly active in recent weeks. Jonathan Miller, president of the appraisal firm Miller Samuel Inc. and author of the Douglas Elliman Manhattan Market Overview, called the lack of inventory a “chronic” situation, with supply contracting nearly every month of the last year. The limited supply has created “significant price jumps” since December,… [more]