The Real Deal New York

Immigrants found U.S. niche with budget hotels; their sons target NYC for bigger and better [more]

Plans to overhaul the Empire State Building are creating a backlash from small tenants who are worried they will be pushed out of the building. Consolidating their Empire: Major tenant cuts at icon” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Bloggers question safety of gentrified areas, statistics refute fears  Crime and home prices
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Manhattan brokers offer behind-the-scenes look at their office cultures Residential firms, from staid to splashy” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Harlem, Washington Heights top list of areas with largest gains In post-boom, who’s best and worst” class=”read-more-link”>[more]

Rents spike as office districts lease every bit of space [more]

Sam Chang developing sextet of hotels on West 39th Street [more]

The hotel boom is kicking up dust in court as well as in the streets of Manhattan. Two of the city’s biggest hotel developers, former partners who have headed in different directions, have converged in New York State Supreme Court in an unusual lawsuit.
[more]

Builders look across East River to catch commercial rent wave [more]

Demand pushes rents past 2001 peak, though prospective tenants still see obstacles [more]

Vacancies forecasted to shrink this year to a record low as sales prices rise [more]

New openings on UES, UWS despite limited opportunity; others renovate to cash in on boom [more]

60 Wall St could sell for $1.2B
The highest price to date for a Lower Manhattan office building is expected to be reached when Deutsche Bank sells and leases back its 47-story, 1.65-million-square-foot building at 60 Wall Street, according to the New York Sun. Industry leaders expect the building to sell for approximately $1.2 billion, or $750 per square foot.

Fifth Avenue office building asking $250M
Murray Hill Properties and the General Electric Pension Fund are selling the 12-story, 309,300-square-foot office property at 417 Fifth Avenue. The building, which overlooks the New York Public Library and Bryant Park, should fetch $250 million, according to the New York Post. It also has 80,000 square feet of development rights. Richard Baxter, Scott Latham, Ron Cohen and Jon Caplan of Cushman & Wakefield are marketing the building.

Office buildings near Grand Central for sale
Two office buildings near Grand Central are being sold by a long-holding family; they will sell separately or as a package for a likely total of around $70 million, according to the Post. The buildings are located at 48 East 43rd Street and 331 Madison Avenue and have 23,000 and 90,000 square feet, respectively, along with a total 46,000 square feet of air rights. Both have Irish pubs as ground-floor tenants. Richard Baxter, Scott Latham, Ron Cohen and Jon Caplan of Cushman & Wakefield are handling the sale.

Cooper Union markets land lease
Cooper Union is hoping to receive a $60 million upfront payment for a 100-year land lease at 51 Cooper Square, the Sun reported. A 270,000-square-foot office building with 40,000 square feet of community space could be built to replace the existing building at the site.

UWS residential building on the block
The 81,000-square-foot prewar building at 164 West 75th Street is on the market, priced at less than $500 per square foot. It has 214 residential units and a ground-floor retail space occupied by a restaurant. Originally a single-room-occupancy building, the Parc Lincoln has had 100 units converted to Class A apartments. Adelaide Polsinelli of Besen & Associates is the exclusive broker.

Park Ave apt. building still on the market
The five-story, 13,620-square-foot apartment building at 821 Park Avenue, which had gone on the market last summer, was still on the market in January, according to the Post. The asking price remains $20 million. Massey Knakal and CB Richard Ellis are marketing the property.

LES apartment building for sale
A seven-story, 48-unit elevator apartment building on Allen Street is on the market with an asking price of $16.75 million. Twelve units in the 30,500-square-foot property are free-market. Seven stores occupy the building’s 3,800 square feet of retail space. Matthew Slonim of Besen & Associates is handling the sale.

West Side development site on the block
A 44,586-square-foot developable site, which is presently a two-story warehouse on the north side of West 36th Street between Ninth and 10th avenues, is on the market for sale. It is asking $15.5 million, or $347 per buildable square foot, the Sun reported. Massey Knakal is marketing the site.

West Side walk-ups on the market
The two contiguous five-story walk-up apartment buildings at 43-45 West 86th Street are on the market with an asking price of $13 million. The buildings total 20 units, of which 11 are free-market. The properties are within the Upper West Side Historic District. Meyrick Ferguson, Karen Shulman and Hall Oster of Massey Knakal are the exclusive sales agents.

Greenwich Village speakeasy on the block
The 3,767-square-foot, three-story building at 86 Bedford Street is on the market with an asking price of $3.75 million. The top two floors house three residential units. The ground floor is home to Chumley’s, a bar that dates back to 1922 and has famously never had a marked entrance. Its current lease runs through 2086. James Nelson of Massey Knakal is exclusively representing the seller.

High Line development site for sale
The site at 537-545 West 27th Street between 10th and 11th avenues, which can support a 130,000-square-foot residential tower, is on the market through Eastern Consolidated. It could be expanded to approximately 180,000 square feet through the acquisition of High Line development transfer rights, according to the Sun. Bids are due by Feb. 14.

Year-end residential sales jumped and inventory dropped [more]

More firms add Web sites, marketing programs in Spanish, and bilingual staff [more]

It’s hard to put in long, difficult hours in the mortgage loan business while your phone rings off the hook with enticing offers to jump ship. This scenario may sound very 2003 — when recruiting was commonplace during the height of the refinance boom — but the headhunting climate is alive and well in early 2007, top New York loan originators said. “The recruiters are out really strong,” said Julie Teitel, vice president at Mortgage IT. “I think that I have been recruited [by] every bank and broker in Manhattan this year.”
[more]

Insiders offer perspective on the post-boom market [more]

Skills honed on stage and screen considered an asset to brokers [more]

This month, Riva Froymovich drops in on open houses in the West Village [more]

…to be a broker for half a century [more]

In a slowing market, some developers believe they can quicken the bidding for some apartments by playing hard to get.
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The developers of Manhattan House, who paid a record price for the Upper East Side building, are going to be making back their money only a few units at a time. Owners Richard Kalikow and Jeremiah O’Connor have begun the first round of conversions on the 580-unit white-brick rental property located at 200 East 66th Street, which they purchased for $623 million in mid-2005. [more]

High-end luxury condos out of reach for hipsters Comments

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Fewer buildings sell out before they’re finished, though some buyers still won’t wait [more]

Astoria
The Crescent Club
41-17 Crescent Street
A 17-story, 150-unit luxury condominium designed by Karl Fischer and Lisa Chow of Karl Fischer Architect is planned for the site, just north of Queens Plaza. The building will have ground-floor retail space, a two-story lobby and a landscaped outdoor garden designed by Thomas Balsley. A roof terrace will offer unobstructed views of the Manhattan skyline. Meridian Capital Group arranged a $51 million construction loan for the project.

Bensonhurst
Quentin Terrace
1671 West 10th Street
Sales are under way at the 32-unit condominium developed by Ben Bobker. Available units range from a 920-square-foot two-bedroom asking $449,880 to a 1,208-square-foot three-bedroom asking $615,480. The Corcoran Group is handling sales. Contact: www.quentinterracecondos.com.

Bergen Beach
Mill Harbor Waterview Residences
1980 Bergen Avenue
Parkmore Development has launched sales for the 208 condominium units in the nine-building gated community, located near Mill Basin in southeast Brooklyn. One- to three-bedroom units range in size from 763 to 1,917 square feet, with prices running from approximately $400,000 to more than $700,000. Amenities — including a library, billiards room and fitness center — will be housed in a 4,000-square-foot clubhouse. Nearby will be a 1,500-square-foot heated outdoor pool. Korr Realty is the exclusive sales and marketing agent. Contact: www.millharbor.com.

Brooklyn Heights
166 Montague Street
The 10-story, 50,000-square-foot former Franklin Trust building is being converted from an office property into residential condominiums. The landmark building, built in 1891, will be gut renovated; a rooftop terrace, sky-lit health club, new balconies and another story will be added. Residents will have panoramic views of Manhattan, New York Harbor and Brooklyn. Developer United Management, architectural firm RKT & B and general contractor NCC are working on the $10 million project.

Chelsea
245 10th Avenue
The 11-story, 19-unit building is architecture firm Della Valle Bernheimer’s first ground-up residential condominium in Manhattan. Initial prices run from $1.75 to $6.2 million for the one- and two-bedroom units and two penthouses. Completion is slated for early 2008. The Corcoran Group is the exclusive sales and marketing agent. Contact: www.245tenthave.com.

Greenwich Village
48 Bond Street
Sales are under way at Gold Development’s 11-story ground-up condominium. Deborah Berke of Deborah Berke & Partners Architects and David Gross of GF55 Partners designed the building, which will have 14 two-bedroom units and three penthouses ranging in size from 1,550 to 3,661 square feet. Prices start at $2 million. Building amenities include a gym and a 60-foot salt-filtered lap pool. Completion is slated for fall 2007. Stribling Marketing Associates is the marketing and sales agent. Contact: www.48bond.com.

Kensington
Park Circle at Prospect Park
346 Coney Island Avenue
Sales are under way at Leviev Boymelgreen’s 59-unit condominium located just south of Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Architect Elena Kalman designed the project, where many units have balconies. Available units range from a 901-square-foot one-bedroom asking $495,000 to a 1,916-square-foot three-bedroom asking $995,000. The Corcoran Group is handling marketing and sales. Contact: www.theparkcircle.com.

Lower East Side
60 Orchard Street
Developer Marshall Sohne plans to begin construction early this year on a nine-story mixed-use building at the site. The building will have ground-floor retail and eight loft apartments. The units are expected to be sold for $1.32 million, or $1,100 a square foot, according to the New York Sun.

Midtown East
211 East 51st Street
The 13-story white brick building will be replaced by a 21-story, 72-unit luxury condominium with a glass-curtain wall. Meltzer/Mandl Architects designed the project to address the location’s split zoning, in which 50 feet of frontage is in a residential zone and 40 feet is in a commercial zone. Setbacks will create 36 private balconies in the residential portion; a medical center is planned for the commercial zone. Allied Properties is the developer. Prudential Douglas Elliman is the sales and marketing agent.

Mill Basin
Riviera Estates at Mill Basin
Stephen Jemal, a founder of The Wiz electronics chain, plans to build 10 single-family homes in Mill Basin in southeast Brooklyn. The homes will range in size from 2,800 to 3,600 square feet, with prices starting at around $1.9 million, the New York Post reported. Construction was expected to begin in December. Contact: www.ssjdevelopment.com.

Tribeca
146 Chambers Street
The seven-story condominium will offer five loft units designed to preserve the character of the original 1915 building. Four full-floor two- and three-bedroom units and the duplex penthouse will range in size from 1,571 to 1,926 square feet, with prices running from $2.195 to $3.99 million. G Development is the developer; Michael Zenreich is the architect. The Maitland Group from Corcoran is the exclusive sales and marketing agent. Contact: www.146chambers.com.

Construction Update

Clinton Hill
4 Downing Street
Broken Angel, the building that served as the backdrop for “Dave Chappelle’s Block Party,” will likely be converted into condominiums (see Broken Angel goes condo in changing Clinton Hill). The structure was found in violation of various codes in October, and its owners, who have added fanciful architectural details to it for the past few decades, were evicted. Owner Arthur Wood and his wife Cynthia announced in January that they would dismantle the building’s 40-foot rooftop addition and that they have entered into a preliminary agreement with developer Shahn Andersen, who is expected to carve out condo units inside the edifice. The building would include community space, along with living and studio space for the Woods.

Long Island City
Jackson Avenue and 49th Street
The triangular Hackett Building, which was Queens’s Borough Hall from 1898 to 1916, was set to be demolished in January to make room for an eight-story luxury condominium, the New York Daily News reported. A demolition permit was issued after the Landmarks Preservation Commission declined to landmark the building. Perry Fine, a principal of Triangle Services in Manhattan, owns the building.

Lower Manhattan
75 Wall Street
The Hakimian Organization has begun the process of converting the 36-story office tower into a residential condominium. Plans call for 300 residential units on the upper floors and a 300-room hotel on the lower floors.

Soho
Trump Soho Hotel Condominium
246 Spring Street
Construction resumed in late December on the project, after the Department of Buildings issued a partial lift to a stop-work order put in place following the discovery of human remains at the site. The Trump Organization, Bayrock Group and Sapir Organization anticipate erecting the 45-story building within two years.

Upper East Side
980 Madison Avenue
Following a meeting last month in which the Landmarks Preservation Commission rejected developer Aby Rosen’s plans for a 22-story, Norman Foster-designed tower at the site, Rosen said he will work with Foster to completely revamp the proposed building. The developer may propose a shorter addition to 980 Madison on a wider footprint, according to the Sun.

Financing

Park Slope
410 4th Avenue
Wheaton Associates will develop a 59-unit mid-rise condominium on the site. Units will have nine-foot ceilings; those on the top eight floors will have views of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty. The building will include an indoor garage with 30 parking spaces. CBRE Melody arranged $10 million in financing for the project.

Washington Heights
703 West 171st Street
A nine-story, 11-unit residential condominium will rise on the site. The 14,500-square-foot building will also include a medical office. Meridian Capital Group arranged $5.5 million in financing for the project on behalf of 171st Fort Washington LLC.

West Village
523 Greenwich Street
An 18-story, 22-unit luxury condominium will be developed on the site. Carlton Advisory Services arranged $17 million in bridge and acquisition financing for the project.

Sales Update

Chelsea
100 West 18th Street
The sales office was scheduled to open in January for the 10-story, 41-unit condominium designed by architect Garrett Gourlay. The black brick-clad building will have an unusual multi-angled shape with multiple setbacks, and it will include retail space at the base. One- to four-bedroom units and two penthouses will range in size from 800 to 3,000 square feet. Amenities include an art gallery-styled lobby and a landscaped roof deck with outdoor shower and gas grill. The Brauser Group is the developer. Occupancy is expected in January 2008. Contact: www.100west18.com.

Chelsea
The Caledonia
450 West 17th Street
The Related Companies’ new 26-story, 190-unit condominium was 75 percent sold as of mid-January, according to the Post. Sales began in August. Units start at 531 square feet and $720,000. Contact: www.thecaledonia.com.

East Village
A Building
425 East 13th Street
Sales are under way at the eight-story, 84-unit condominium designed by Cetra/Ruddy Architects. Studio to three-bedroom units will range in size from 426 to 1,859 square feet. Amenities include a 5,000-square-foot outdoor rooftop lounge with a 50-foot lap pool, three cabanas, a wet bar and an electric grill. Units are priced from $490,000, and 35 had sold by January, before sales officially opened. Occupancy is scheduled for summer 2007. Cantor Pecorella is the exclusive sales and marketing agent. Contact: www.abuildingnyc.com.

Harlem
10 Mount Morris Park West
Sales are under way at the condominium conversion of the old Parkside Correctional Facility. The building has one- to three-bedroom lofts, duplexes and triplexes; available units include a 2,056-square-foot three-bedroom priced at $1.445 million. Occupancy is slated for February 2007. The Corcoran Group is handling sales and marketing. Contact: www.10mmp.com.

Murray Hill
Morgan Lofts
11 East 36th Street
By mid-January, 75 percent of the units in the 68-unit condominium conversion’s first phase had been sold, as had 50 percent of the units in the second phase. Prices start at $765,000. JC DeNiro & Associates took over exclusive sales and marketing for the project from the Corcoran Group in mid-October. Contact: www.morgan-lofts.com.

Upper East Side
Miraval Living
515 East 72nd Street
Sales are under way at the 365-unit condominium conversion of the 41-story River Terrace rental tower. Studios to three-bedrooms range in size from 529 to 2,219 square feet, with prices starting at $602,000. The building will have 40,000 square feet of amenity space, offering residents access to lectures and classes in facilities run by spa resort Miraval. Bonetti Kozerski redesigned the façde of the building, which also includes a 220-car garage. Occupancy is scheduled for summer 2007. The Marketing Directors Inc. is the building’s marketing and exclusive sales agent. Contact: www.miravalliving.com.

Williamsburg
Northside Piers
4 North 5th Street
The on-site sales office opened in January for Toll Brothers’ 29-story, 180-unit condominium. Prices for the studio to three-bedroom units run from $375,990 to more than $2 million. Four townhouses are also included in the project. Halstead Property is the exclusive marketing and sales agent. Contact: www.northsidepiers.com.

Development in Brief

Manhattan (north to south)

176-182 West 82nd Street
The four contiguous apartment buildings were sold to a Manhattan investor, who plans to convert them into condominiums.

400 Fifth Avenue
Italian developer BIDI Real Estate plans to begin construction early this summer on a 500,000-square-foot mixed-use tower with ground-floor retail, luxury residential condominiums and hotel services on the upper floors, the New York Sun reported. Before it was sold to BIDI last summer, the vacant site had been slated for an entirely residential development by a joint venture of Lehman Brothers and Yitzchak Tessler.

200 Fifth Avenue and 1107 Broadway
Joseph Chetrit decided to back off plans to convert the International Toy Center into a residential condominium, the New York Post reported. He has asked brokers to find commercial tenants for the connected buildings, which total 1 million square feet.

30 West 18th Street
The Hakimian Organization is developing approximately 100 residential units on the lot, which has frontage on both 18th and 17th streets. The building will also have more than 13,000 square feet of commercial space.

250 Bowery
PMA Associates is building an eight-story hotel-condo development on the commercially zoned site, the Sun reported. The project will have a total of 63 rooms and is expected to open in 2008.

New Developments from Previous Month

Co-president of the Durst Organization, New York City building owner and developer since 1915. [more]

Atlanta

Commercial
Brokerage Grubb & Ellis ranked Atlanta as one of the top 10 retail markets for the upcoming year. Industry insiders say continued success depends on strong consumer spending despite a weakening housing market. Grubb & Ellis expects the market to remain stable, with slightly lower construction and absorption rates. However, if the weak housing market depresses consumer spending, there could be less demand for distribution centers.

Austin

Commercial
Austin’s office market ended last year on a healthy note, the Austin Business Journal reported. The average office rent in Austin rose by 10 percent during 2006 to $22.43 a foot, while Class A property rental rates increased 18 percent to $26.19. The office market absorbed 444,849 square feet during the fourth quarter, according to a report by Oxford Commercial. Commercial analysts say the healthy absorption rate in 2006 came from organic growth of companies already located in Austin.

Residential
Central Texas set a new home building record in 2006, Austin’s American-Statesman reported. Residential builders began 16,743 homes last year. According to Dallas-based market research firm Residential Strategies, that was a 10 percent increase from 2005. Median sales prices of new homes saw an increase of 8 percent to $196,443 during 2006. However, rising inventory pushed home builders to start 10 percent fewer homes in the last three months of 2006 than the year prior, the American-Statesman reported.

Boston

Commercial
The office market in Boston’s suburbs is getting tighter. According to a report by Grubb & Ellis, Concord, Lexington, Bedford and Burlington in the city’s northeast market absorbed more than 250,000 square feet of space during the fourth quarter, greater than the total 210,000 square feet absorbed during the first three quarters of 2006. Vacancy rates for the northwest section of the metro area, with 14.7 million square feet of inventory, fell from 19.1 percent in the third quarter to 17.4 percent during the fourth quarter. In addition, Manhattan-based Broadway Real Estate Partners LLC purchased a portfolio of 10 properties from Beacon Capital Partners LLC that includes the John Hancock Tower, Boston’s tallest skyscraper, at the end of the year. The portfolio went for $3.3 billion and also included properties in Los Angeles and Denver.

Chicago

Commercial
Investors are building office towers in Chicago despite the city’s sluggish office market, the Chicago Tribune reported. Chicago-based developer Fifield Companies is building a 16-story tower with 400,000 square feet of office space to be completed in two years at 625 West Monroe Street. The company’s last West Loop project, at 550 West Adams Street, sold last year for $378 per square foot, roughly 50 percent above the average price for the area.

The region’s slow economy and weak job growth has hindered Chicago office property leasing, but Fifield executives say record office sales in 2006 and investor appetite for Chicago property is reason to build. While office rent rates are predicted to plateau during 2007, tenants are hungry for new spaces, which could hasten the emptying out of some older buildings.

Dallas

Residential
The suburbs of Dallas are getting Balkanized. In McKinney, a suburb north of Dallas, developers are replicating a Croatian village, taking their cues from the architectural style of a town called Supetar, located on Brac Island in the Adriatic Sea.

The Blackard Group is building the Adriatica, a 45-acre, landlocked version of seaside tranquility. The $250 million mixed-use development will include about 80 villas, 300 condominiums and commercial space for retail and restaurants. In the center of the development will be a harbor town overlooking a 50-acre man-made lake featuring a replica of a 16th-century galleon. Construction began about 20 months ago and several buildings are complete.

Las Vegas

Commercial
Las Vegas Valley’s retail market is enjoying a growth spurt, the Las Vegas Business Press reported. Last year, 61 shopping centers comprising a total of 2.2 million square feet of new space were built. According to Marcus & Millichap, during the fourth quarter, another 28 projects for a total 1.5 million square feet were under construction. Brokers say big-box and neighborhood shopping centers make up about half of the new retail space being added. Wal-Mart was the largest retail developer in the fourth quarter, thanks to two Supercenter projects adding 422,000 square feet. Industry analysts say the near future will remain busy with 157 projects totaling 10.7 million square feet in the pipeline.

Residential
The mega-resort MGM Mirage is adding 2,700 condo units to Las Vegas’ inventory. The condo units are part of the $7 billion CityCenter development on the Las Vegas Strip. Although the development isn’t scheduled to open for another two years, buyers began making reservations last month for the residential portion of the mixed-use, multi-building development, GlobeSt.com reported. Developers predict residential sales will bring in a minimum of $3 billion.

Los Angeles

Residential
Los Angeles County housing officials are allocating the area’s largest-ever yearly allowance of funds for new affordable housing development. After the median home price in Los Angeles County hit a record high of $522,500 in July 2006, housing officials began encouraging developers to increase affordable housing inventory, the Pasadena Star News reported. Developers can apply for more than $30 million in county and federal funds to build special needs, multifamily and senior rental housing. The California Association of Realtors reported that in the third quarter of 2006, only 19 percent of first-time buyers could afford a home in Los Angeles County.

Phoenix

Commercial
The Phoenix office market saw several major deals last year, the Arizona Republic reported.

Notable transaction included two property sales for more than $100 million each; several companies that moved into larger-than-average industrial buildings; a big land sale; andécorporations investing in headquarter or regional offices in Phoenix. In the fall, the Chase Tower in downtown Phoenix sold for $103 million to a Canadian real estate investment fund run by Brookfield Asset Management of Toronto. A few months earlier, the Hines building at 24th Street and Camelback sold for $113 million to German company GLL Properties.

According to Grubb & Ellis, lack of supply in the Phoenix market prevented more deals from occurring.

San Francisco

Commercial
Maybe the dot-coms are back. High-tech companies made sizable real estate purchases in the Silicon Valley commercial market in the past year. Google, Yahoo and Apple Computer made big buys in 2006, the San Jose Mercury News reported. Last year, Google purchased a share of Mountain View’s Shoreline Technology Park for $319 million for expansion. Meanwhile, Apple purchased 50 acres of land for $160 million and Yahoo paid $50 million for 46 acres of land in Santa Clara. On the leasing front, brokers approximate there are now 32 million square feet of available space for rent in Silicon Valley — a significant cut from the high of 45 million square feet in 2003 after the dot-com bust.

Washington, D.C.

Commercial
The Washington, D.C. commercial market is seeing a slowdown in demand. According to Jones Lang LaSalle, about 4.2 million square feet of office space entered the market in 2006. The report predicts D.C.’s market will only absorb about 3 million square feet in 2007. Industry insiders say large associations — one of the major tenant groups in the D.C. market — will be less active in taking additional space. However, private sector law and consulting firms, the most active tenants of 2006, will keep the market afloat. Brokers say these firms are the main reason that buildings with significant square footage to be delivered later this year — 1152 15th Street, 975 F Street and 505 9th Street — are almost fully pre-leased.

High rents chill tourist season

Snowbirds — temporary residents of Florida who soak up the warm climate during the winter months — are coming to Florida in fewer numbers and for shorter stays, tourism experts say.

In Brevard County, the number of snowbirds fell nearly 9 percent to 27,600 in 2005 from 30,300 in 2003, according to market research firm Schulman, Ronca & Bucuvalas.

High rents, which have risen to keep pace with spiraling property insurance rates from recent hurricanes, have priced some retirees out of the market, the Miami Herald reported. Other retirement destinations that are increasingly competing with South Florida may be another factor. Some brokers who work with snowbirds said this year was the slowest January they’ve seen in recent memory.

Homes on market double

South Florida has more than twice as many houses for sale than it did a year ago. The home resale market increased from 31,000 in December 2005 to 65,827 in December 2006, according to multiple listing service statistics for Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

Despite inventory growth, Miami-area prices remain flat. The median single-family home sale price in Miami-Dade was $370,000 in December, unchanged from $370,000 in December 2005, the Miami Herald reported.

The median condominium sale price in Miami-Dade actually rose 4 percent to $260,000 from $250,000 a year ago.

In Broward, the median price of a single-family home fell 3.6 percent to $371,000 in December from $385,000 a year prior.

Industry insiders say prices have mostly remained level because sellers are offering incentives to buyers, reducing the buyer’s actual cost without affecting the closing price.

Florida residents move out of state

Priced-out Florida residents are leaving the Sunshine State. According to an informal study by the moving company United Van Lines Inc., more are moving out of Florida than arriving. Analysts say the cost of living in Florida has become too high.

United Van Lines reported 16,212 shipments to Florida last year and 17,019 shipments out of state. United moved more people to Florida in each year from 1999 to 2004, but the number of inbound moves fell in 2005, company spokeswoman Jennifer Bonham said. Analysts say the numbers are due to rising property taxes and insurance rates.

Intrastate moves were also stymied. The five-year rise in property values pushed up property tax rates, and now residents say they can’t afford to move elsewhere in Florida, the Sun Sentinel newspaper reported.

United’s report showed that North Carolina, Oregon and South Carolina were the top destination states in 2006. Michigan, hit by automobile industry layoffs, North Dakota and New Jersey were the states that saw the most people leave.

Office market overcomes hurdles

South Florida’s commercial market last year experienced substantial growth despite obstacles.

According to brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle, Miami is now the country’s fifth-largest office market, after Manhattan, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

The firm reported that a significant property, Courvoisier Centre on Brickell Key, is expected to sell for $170 million.

The Miami Beach submarket had record sales, and some brokers say asking leasing rates will eventually reach $50 a foot. They now hover around $35 a foot, the South Florida Business Journal reported.

Brokerage CB Richard Ellis reported record rent increases in West Palm Beach and Boca Raton, where the average price per square foot for triple-net leases increased to $20.55 and $18.44, respectively.

In downtown Fort Lauderdale, Class A triple-net leases increased to $19.78 per square foot, up 10 points from 2005, according to CBRE. Still, many building owners have seen their incomes halved — a result of higher insurance premiums, energy costs and property taxes, the Business Journal reported.

Developers see red over housing plan

Developers are upset over a recently enacted affordable housing law in Palm Beach County.

County commissioners last year required builders to make 16.5 percent of new homes affordable in developments with 10 or more houses, the Sun Sentinel reported.

Affordable homes are classified as those priced from $164,000 to $304,000, based on the county’s median household income of $48,099, according to the U.S. Census.

But developers say rising costs of land, labor and taxes make selling new houses for less than $304,000 a money-losing proposition. Some industry insiders say the new housing plans will drive homebuilders out of South Florida and cause job losses, weakening the state economy.

The county has made concessions, including letting builders increase project density and build more homes.

Construction slows for home builder

Miami-based home builder Lennar Corporation saw its first quarterly loss in a decade at the end of 2006 as a result of the housing slowdown.

Lennar predicted a loss of 88 cents to $1.28 a share during the fourth quarter, the Sun-Sentinel reported. The company’s new home orders slipped 6 percent in the quarter and dropped 3 percent for the fiscal year. Earnings were set to be released on Jan. 17.

Other builders are seeing similar losses. Toll Brothers said its fiscal fourth-quarter home-building revenue fell 10 percent and orders dropped by more than half.

But low interest rates and a stable economy will help lead a rebound in the residential market, according to Lennar chief executive Stuart Miller.

Miami Briefs from Previous Month

Shunning residential projects in slow market, builders find demand in for-sale office space [more]

Every time a bell rings, a new Brooklyn condo gets its wings — or a developer tries to wrestle one out of a Broken Angel. [more]

New residential condominiums come to area known for empty nesters [more]

Lack of activity at Bronx parking lot worries shopping center boosters [more]

As Wall Street money rolls in, more deals over $10M expected [more]

Owner faces numerous criminal charges for violations that predate blaze [more]

May ban campaign contributions from developers with government contracts [more]

Trump Soho Hotel Condo plan sets precedent for industrial zone properties [more]

Mayor floats property tax cut plan
In his annual address to the City Council last month, Mayor Bloomberg proposed cutting property taxes by about 5 percent and permanently eliminating the city’s sales tax on clothing. The property tax cuts would run for at least a year. In total, the tax cut package would cost the city $1 billion, according to the New York Times.

Spitzer swats down rent-regulation proposal
Gov. Spitzer blocked an end-of-term Pataki administration proposal to change the laws that govern rent-regulated apartments. The proposal would have allowed landlords to double security deposits and make tenants pay for lead removal from their units, according to the New York Daily News. Also, in his first annual address to the State Legislature earlier in the month, Spitzer outlined several real estate-related initiatives that his administration intends to pursue, including reforming Wick’s Law, which requires that cities divide large construction jobs into multiple contracts; extending the Empire State Development Corporation’s reach; cutting property taxes; and increasing the state’s stock of affordable housing.

Queens groups decry 421-a scope
Spokespeople for some affordable housing groups in Queens are criticizing the 421-a revamp endorsed by the City Council and Mayor Bloomberg in December. They say not enough neighborhoods were included in the exclusion zones, and, as a result, luxury properties will be built in areas that need more affordable housing.

Village Historic District proposed
The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation is calling for the creation of a South Village Historic District. The district would cover the area south of West Fourth Street to West Houston Street between Seventh Avenue and LaGuardia Place, with an extension from West Houston Street down to Watts Street between Sixth Avenue and West Broadway. Last month, the historic society delivered an 80-page report, three years in the making, on the desk of Robert Tierney, chairperson of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, calling for a district consisting of 38 blocks and about 800 buildings, the Villager reported.

Atlantic Yards lawsuits begin
Lawyers filed papers in federal court last month on behalf of residents who will be displaced to make way for developer Bruce Ratner’s massive Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn. Although the state’s Public Authorities Control Board approved the project in December, the plaintiffs are filing suit against the developer’s impending use of eminent domain.

Bids in for Javits hotel
The Empire State Development Corporation will consider bids from the Moinian Group with Marriott International, Extell Development with Hyatt, and Austin-based Faulkner with Hilton for the Javits Center convention hotel, the New York Post reported.

Green thumbs-up for design
The Bloomberg administration is giving a 60,000-square-foot lot in the South Bronx to a team of architects and developers who will construct a low- and moderate-income housing complex called Via Verde. The project is the result of a design competition sponsored by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the New York chapter of the American Institute for Architects. The winning team is made up of Grimshaw Architects, Dattner Architects, and developers the Jonathan Rose Companies and the Phipps Houses Group, the Times reported.

Governors Island design finalists named
The Governors Island Preservation and Education Corp. named five landscape architecture teams finalists for the rights to design 87 acres of park space on Governors Island. The designer will be chosen this summer after a public-review period, the Post reported.

Small uptick in sales, lower inventories signal end of 18-month correction [more]

New adjustables fall to 25 percent share of the market [more]

Buenos Aires now a home away from home
Buenos Aires is attracting foreign capital again after reclaiming its title as South America’s most cosmopolitan city.

Property in Buenos Aires is still relatively inexpensive after Argentina’s recovery from the economic crisis of 2002, when property values fell by 50 percent, the London Times reported. But according to Argentina’s College of Notaries, demand for second homes in Argentina’s capital increased property prices by 37 percent in 2006.

Developers in Argentina are catering to international buyers by developing gated communities with golf courses, polo fields and lakes. In addition, developers are teaming up with famous designers, including Philippe Starck, to build luxury second homes.

Analysts say the influx of international capital will continue because Argentina’s government has no restrictions on property owned by foreign buyers. In addition, all property deals in Argentina are closed in U.S. dollars, giving Europeans a discount because of the favorable exchange rate.

Buying boom in Berlin
Germany’s economic revival is creating a wave of foreign buyers of second homes in Berlin. Residential real estate prices in Berlin fell each year between 1996 and 2004. But growing demand is expected to eventually drive up prices, the International Herald Tribune reported.

Approximately $8.36 billion was spent on Berlin properties in the first three quarters of 2006, and many analysts believe the year-end total may set a new record. Berlin residential property is still 20 to 25 percent less expensive than in London — a bargain for foreign buyers, according to real estate brokerage BIST Immobilien. Approximately 25 percent of the brokerage’s sales recently have been to non-Germans — mostly Americans, Britons, Italians, Irish, Scandinavians and Greeks.

While some foreign buyers are moving to the capital, others are investing in properties to avoid staying in hotels, or buying apartments for children studying at Berlin universities. Buyers can expect profits in the long term as the German economy continues to grow slowly.

Japanese office market tightens with legislation
It’s a landlord’s market when it comes to Japanese office space. Tenants are facing rent increases — up to 50 percent in some situations — with little room to argue. Analysts say Japan’s vacancy rate of 2.7 percent reflects the severe tightness in the office market.

Fixed-term leasing legislation passed several years ago, allowing landlords to terminate rental arrangements in lease agreements, and is partly responsible for the changing balance of power in Japan’s office market.

The fixed-term leasing is currently limited to new large office buildings in Tokyo, the International Herald Tribune reported.

Hotel vacancies in India are rare — and costly
India is reaching a new level of demand for hotel rooms. As the economy continues to grow, travelers are paying for pricey hotel rooms — that’s if they’re able to find a vacancy. In all of India, there are only about 110,000 hotel rooms, not much more than the number of hotel rooms in New York City, according to the International Herald Tribune.

Because of the limited supply of rooms, peak season rates skyrocketed for a standard room in India during the past year. To meet the demand, brand-name hoteliers Accor, Hilton and Wyndham are developing projects in India. Accor has 41,000 hotels worldwide and plans to bring 200 hotels to India in the next 10 years. According to the Tourism Ministry, $6.5 billion is currently invested in hotel development with 140,000 new hotel rooms expected by 2010.

Foreigners drive Russian real estate boom
Russia’s real estate boom ended the year on a high note as a result of foreign capital. According to some surveys, Moscow ranks fourth among cities with the most expensive office space. The index of Russian real estate prices, IRN, reported the average sales price per square foot for office space in Moscow has increased to $386 this December from $204 last December.

With foreign real estate funds financing many properties, prices in St. Petersburg doubled last year. Foreign funds are also responsible for major building projects, including the development of a 550-acre plot outside St. Petersburg for $1.3 billion. Limitless, the real estate branch of holding company Dubai World, also has plans for an $11 billion development on 44,000 acres outside of Moscow.

It wasn’t necessarily in the cards, but Eric Trump, 23, a fresh Georgetown University grad and younger brother to third-generation developers Donald Jr. and Ivanka, is following in their footsteps.

He will be working with the Trump Organization on a batch of eight hotels the group is building worldwide over the next two-and-a-half years. Like his siblings, Trump is charged with making the family brand name younger by introducing amenities that will be noticed in metropolitan-area markets.

Trump is currently working on Trump Plaza Jersey City. The condo building has a rooftop pool, golf simulators and an aqua spa. The development is designed as an urban village, with 41,000 square feet of amenities in a high-density building. The development includes a great lawn, a jungle gym, club rooms, a screening room, play rooms and a warming kitchen for chefs.

“Our creativity stems from understanding people and ultimate desires,” Trump said. “I’m always adding value and looking to create innovative little sales items that people come to expect from a Trump building.”

According to Dean Geibel, president of Metro Homes, which is partnering on Trump Plaza Jersey City, the nascent mogul will help take the Trump Organization to the next level. “He’s getting more responsibility from his father and the business is growing,” Geibel said. The Jersey City project is “all about a lifestyle with convenience,” he said.

Are all the Trumps equally competitive? Yes, Trump said.

“We’re all innovative people with type A personalities,” Trump said of the family business. “We pay attention to detail and try to surpass ourselves.”

Marcia Kaufman resigned last month as president and chief operating officer of Preferred Empire Mortgage Company.

Preferred is one of the top 10 brokers in the tri-state area, with more than 50 locations in New York City and Long Island.

A company statement by Preferred said Kaufman recently relinquished her day-to-day responsibilities. According to Jeffrey Appel, a senior vice president at Preferred, Kaufman resigned on Jan. 5.

While Preferred maintains Kaufman left on amicable terms, others in the industry paint a different picture.

According to several sources, Kaufman is rumored to have left the company because of a strained relationship with residential brokerage behemoth Prudential Douglas Elliman, which owns the mortgage company.

Other sources say Kaufman may have left after being lured away by another mortgage company, possibly American Home Mortgage. Kaufman could not be reached for comment.

Kaufman took over as COO of Preferred in 2000, two years after it was founded, according to the company. Long Island-based Preferred expanded to Manhattan in 2003.

Preferred said it plans to fill the position, but no replacements have yet been named.

Real estate television personality and columnist Michael Stoler is getting a new day job. [more]

Century 21 NY Metro is undergoing a growth spurt. The residential brokerage, formed last fall in a merger, last month aligned itself with New York Mortgage Company to provide loan services to home buyers. The alliance joins several other city-based partnerships between residential firms and mortgage companies.

The move is one of several by Century 21 to make their product offering more complete, said company president and CEO Michael Simon. The firm is rumored to be completing a number of brokerage acquisitions in the near future. The company will be “as big as I can make it,” added Simon.

According to Steven Schnall, president and CEO of New York Mortgage Company, the nonexclusive relationship will increase the mortgage company’s number of referrals by agents — their primary source of business.

Century 21 is looking to acquire brokerages that bring in between $1 and $5 million in commissions a year — mid-tier brokerages that are large enough to have a market presence and small enough to be affordable.

Equity Office bidding war back and forth
Vornado made a $38 billion bid last month to buy out Equity Office Properties, in what would be the priciest-ever acquisition of an REIT. The bid topped the Blackstone Group’s $36 billion November offer for Equity Office, the country’s largest office landlord. Blackstone raised its offer at the end of last month, outbidding Vornado. EOP shareholders were scheduled to vote on the latest Blackstone offer on Feb. 5.

New Weichert franchise opens in Brooklyn
Broker Anthony Franzese last month announced the opening of Weichert Realtors — The Franzese Group in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. The company’s office, located at 1707 86th Street, has six agents and plans to expand its sales staff.

Lexington and Newkirk complete merger
A merger between Lexington Corporate Properties Trust and Newkirk Realty Trust was completed early last month. The new Manhattan-based real estate firm is called Lexington Realty Trust and it now owns 360 properties worldwide with 58.6 million square feet of rentable space.

Data company to focus on real estate derivatives
Radar Logic Incorporated launched last month as a technology-driven business focused on providing data to serve as the basis for investments in the derivatives markets. Radar Logic’s first products relate to residential real estate markets in North America, and the company also plans to introduce similar products for the commercial real estate sector. Michael Feder is Radar Logic’s CEO.

Grubb integrates Pirot & Associates
Grubb & Ellis Co. has folded Pirot & Associates LLC into its project management division. The move follows Grubb’s other recent attempts to strengthen its New York presence with new hires.

Residential and commercial firms merge
Residential brokerage services and advisory firm RES has merged with Barclay Real Estate Advisors to provide commercial leasing, investment and institutional advisory services to its clients. The merger became effective last month.

Residential

City Habitats
Billie LaBelle was promoted to managing director of the John Street office. Lucy Yung was promoted to assistant manager of the Second Avenue office. Beth Carlson was promoted to assistant manager of the 72nd Street office. Beatriz Vidal was promoted to assistant manager of the 22nd Street office. Erin Newton was promoted to marketing director from copywriter/marketing coordinator.

The Developers Group
Glenn Zagoren joined as senior vice president. He was previously CEO of marketing and public relations firm Zagoren-Zozzora Corp.

Icon Funding Group
Thomas Wiggin joined as a principal. He was previously at Guard Hill Financial.

Commercial

Anglo Irish Bank
Terence Baydala was appointed senior vice president of commercial real estate lending for the New York office. He was previously a senior vice president at Arbor Realty Trust.

CB Richard Ellis
Gerry Miovski joined as senior vice president. He was formerly a director at Cushman & Wakefield.

CIT Commercial Real Estate
Greg Geletka, Bruce Quinn, Jerome Sanzo, Natalie Wilensky and Timothy Zietara were appointed to the position of managing director.

Cushman & Wakefield
Maureen Kelly joined the New York consulting group as a director. Peter Waldt joined the New York consulting group as a managing director. Thomas MacManus joined as an executive vice president in the capital markets group.

Grubb & Ellis
Joseph Tranchina joined as executive managing director of the project management group’s New York region. He was previously vice president and global head of real estate operations at Goldman Sachs.

Jack Resnick & Sons
Jonathan Dean joined as managing director of commercial leasing. He was previously at Cushman & Wakefield.

Jones Lang LaSalle
James Delmonte joined as vice president and director of research. He was formerly director of research for Cushman & Wakefield.

Massey Knakal
John Gallagher joined the Brooklyn office as a sales director. Stephen Safina joined the Brooklyn office as an associate.

Newmark Knight Frank
Merrill Roth joined as vice chairman and principal. He was previously a vice chairman at Grubb & Ellis.

PBS Realty Advisors
David Emden and Howard Hersch were promoted to managing directors. Both were previously directors.

Time Equities
Bijan Karimian joined as associate director of acquisitions.

It wasn’t long ago that adult performer Fredrik Eklund was known for his physical, rather than real estate, prowess.

Now, the 29-year-old native of Sweden is moving up in the ranks at the residential real estate sales and marketing firm Core Group Marketing. He was recently promoted to senior vice president from vice president.

But his porn career has given him more notoriety as a top producer. Working under the pseudonym Tag Eriksson or Tag Ericsson, Eklund appeared in several movies, including 2004′s “American Porn Star.” He was on the March 2003 cover of gay skin magazines “Freshmen” and “Gay & Night.”

Eklund started a less racy career in 2003 as well, when he took a job at JC DeNiro & Associates.

It didn’t seem like a stretch. “I sold and bought a couple of apartments myself in Sweden,” Eklund said. “I’ve been selling my whole life — myself, my ideas.”

He is now director of sales for the 52-unit Onyx Chelsea residence at 28th Street and Eighth Avenue, designed by FXFowle Architects. “We’re 50 percent sold in three-and-a-half months,” Eklund said. He is also marketing a 1,300-square-foot Chelsea penthouse for $7.4 million in the former McBurney YMCA on West 23rd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, home to the three-story, 30,000-square-foot David Barton Gym.

Eklund, who represents more than $100 million in properties, has had other unlikely career directions — he founded a technology company that grew to 50 employees; he ran the IT department at a Swedish financial newspaper; and he managed to write a novel in his native language as well. “Bananflugornas,” meaning “The Lord of the Banana Flies,” about his porn career, was released in Norway and Germany in 2005. Eklund’s exploits have also been covered in publications including SAS Scandinavian Airlines’ inflight magazine, which ran a cover story in October 2005 with the title “Restless in Manhattan.”

Audiences of “The Sublet Experiment” have no choice but to make themselves at home in someone else’s apartment.

Instead of a theater, the romantic comedy has been performed in homes on the Upper East Side, Chelsea, Williamsburg and Astoria — anywhere playwright and co-producer Ethan Youngerman can secure an apartment.

“The Sublet Experiment” is the story of a man who finds a sublet from a Craigslist ad offering free rent for sexual favors.

Anywhere from 12 to 30 (in a Tribeca loft) folding chairs are filled by audience members who are encouraged to make themselves at home and grab a free beer from the fridge — while watching the play.

Youngerman chose to stage the production in actual apartments in part to emphasize that “how and where you live affects who you are,” he said.

“It’s a statement of how people are desperate for apartments in New York,” said Youngerman. “It’s part of a larger loneliness of looking for a place where you belong. The search is not all that different from finding a romantic partner.”

“The experience we’re trying to create is that the audience members are like flies on the wall,” said Michelle Tattenbaum, director and co-producer. “We put the audience all around a room and they’re watching someone else’s life unfolding.”

“It’s kind of striking to be in a real apartment and be a fly on the wall,” said Youngerman. “It’s amazing to really see an apartment and really see people living in it.”

The play changes slightly as the cast adapts to a different apartment in a different neighborhood every week.

“You get a certain impression of people based on neighborhood and size of apartment,” said Tattenbaum. “When the audience is in the apartment, they are already wondering about the actual people who live in the apartment. The type of apartment tells them a lot about the characters that live in the apartment, whether it’s a high-rise in Chelsea or a walk-up tenement flat in Williamsburg.”

“The reaction has been to the experience as much as to the play,” said Youngerman. “The audience gets sucked in a lot more, but they’re more aware of their surroundings and are initially uncomfortable being inches away from a cast member.”

Performances of “The Sublet Experiment” began in November and will continue as long as Youngerman and Tattenbaum continue to find space. The play has apartments lined up through the end of February and scheduled shows through March. Youngerman is approaching condo developers and subletting companies to secure a home for the play.

“We’ve even been thinking about literally approaching agents about apartments that just don’t sell,” said Youngerman. “When you do a walk-through, the best-case scenario is you sit on the couch for a second. But during the play, you’re sitting in the apartment for over an hour. You have a chance to really see the apartment.”

“The Sublet Experiment” will be visiting Hoboken, Tribeca and Carroll Gardens during February. Performances are held Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 7 p.m. For more information, visit subletexperiment.com.

Renovations of the Plaza Hotel have been kept under wraps since the building was sold for a residential conversion.

But “The Plaza,” a collection of photographs by Laura Salierno, shows drastic changes to the iconic hotel.

Salierno’s photos show the rooms at the landmark hotel stripped of their original furnishings from the early 1900s. The photos can be seen at the online Raandesk Gallery of Art at raandeskgallery.com and will be on display at Punch & Judy at 26 Clinton Street on the Lower East Side through March 10.

The photographs detail the aftermath of a public liquidation sale of the furnishings held in the fall of 2005. The Plaza Hotel was sold in 2004 to Elad Properties, an Israeli development group, and is being converted to a mixed condo and hotel-condo development. Elad has been mum about buyers and prices at the renovated property.

“I walked around looking at what was being done to the Plaza,” said Salierno. “There is so much history. The Plaza Hotel was visited by so many people.”

“Everyone knows the Plaza and has some sort of relationship with the hotel,” said Jessica Porter, Raandesk Gallery owner. “It’s really moving to see the photographs all together. She captures the feelings of transitions and change in the shadows. There is emptiness and yet there is something alive in the space.”

The Real Deal takes a look back at some of the big stories in New York City over the past century.
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