A history of the rivalry between shining, moneyed Manhattan and scrappy, working-class Brooklyn is peppered with one-sided results through the last century: Manhattan got skyscrapers, high finance and nightlife Brooklyn got low-rises, factories and grit. The comparison no longer holds up, particularly in real estate. In a 2004 year-end report released by The Corcoran Group, the only brokerage in Manhattan and Brooklyn that keeps sales and rental statistics for both boroughs, it appears prices in… [more]
February 2005
-
-
New York lives are full of love-hate relationships, and Gothamites’ bonds with their real estate brokers are among the most fractious. In a city where real estate is a consuming preoccupation cutting across class lines and wealth brackets, it’s no surprise that a recent survey indicated both agents and their customers see a connection that is marked by mistrust and low expectations of real estate professionals. But in a climate where the media is sometimes… [more]
-
Recently filed lawsuits by CB Richard Ellis against former employees have other commercial real estate brokerages sitting up and taking notice, as the company gets tough about its turf and its money. The nation’s largest commercial real estate brokerage appears to be clamping down on brokers who leave the company for rivals, pursuing one broker with a claim for an unpaid draw and going after a group of Long Island brokers it alleges took confidential… [more]
-
There were plenty of firsts in new residential development in Manhattan in 2004. The storied Plaza Hotel went condo for the first time, amid a spate of hotel-to-condo conversions. The heart of Times Square got plans for its first condo development at 1600 Broadway. The developer of 170 East End Avenue hit another first-time record, paying $770 a square foot for a development site alone. From elegant townhouse transformations to skyscrapers taking shape in the… [more]
-
New Jersey’s Hudson Waterfront, once touted as the budget alternative to Lower Manhattan rents, has lagged in leasing activity, but optimists say the area has a solid future. The Garden State remains highly competitive when it comes to enticing companies that might opt for space across the Hudson River. Jersey City, in particular, has seen rapid waterfront development and has dangled plenty of tax incentives to position itself as an attractive commercial real estate alternative… [more]
-
Financial service firms trying to get a leg up on the competition for office space spearheaded a flurry of year-end leasing deals that boosted Manhattan office occupancy rates for December 2004 and the fourth quarter to the best level in three years. Both Lehman Brothers and Wachovia Bank closed big deals in Midtown, and Morgan Stanley took nearly 450,000 square feet Downtown. Financial firms are facing off against law firms, the top space takers over… [more]
-
The largest rezoning in recent city history has this town’s real estate players limbering up for a race to some of the last developable plots on Manhattan’s far West Side. But no one wants to get there too soon, before the future of the property they’ve been eyeballing has been determined. The $3 billion rezoning of the area known as Hudson Yards was approved by the City Council in a vote on Jan. 19, but… [more]
-
The scorching hot pace of the Manhattan apartment market cooled a bit in the last three months of 2004, but prices still closed out the year 15 percent above the end of 2003, according to a recent report. The average apartment price dropped 2.6 percent to $1,041,430 in the fourth quarter, down from $1,069,445 in the preceding three-month period, according to the Douglas Elliman Manhattan Market Overview, compiled by appraisal firm Miller Samuel. Prices increased… [more]
-
Developers love the cachet and cash that a famous architect’s name brings to new construction in New York, but a look at some recent projects shows there’s sometimes a sizable gap between the luster a star performer lends and the labor he or she performs. A growing number of high-profile developments reflect the increased pace of big-name branding in Manhattan: 165 Charles Street designed by Richard Meier, The Related Companies’ Astor Place tower designed by… [more]
-
The West Village, whose quaint tree-lined streets have always been a popular destination for the moneyed and stylish, remains a locus of frenzied sales activity, to the point where 142 West 10th Street, its newest luxury condominium project, had 600 serious inquiries and multiple offers for each of its four units before it had been on the market for a week. Shelley O’Keefe, the Corcoran agent for the building, said 350 people attended the project’s… [more]
