Town Residential founder Andrew Heiberger recently dubbed 2012 the “Year of the Penthouse,” due to the recent stream of record-breaking deals. The year started with the now-famous $88 million sale of a penthouse at 15 Central Park West, and before 2012 was done, city-wide records for condo, co-op and townhouse sales had all been broken — some more than once. In 2012, there were 10 sales over $30 million, compared to six in 2011, according… [more]
With the luxury residential market booming, expensive rentals have recently been in higher demand than ever — getting snapped up faster than usual and, in some cases, sparking bidding wars. Manhattan rents were at an all-time high this past year even as Citi Habitats’ third-quarter rental market report, the most recent data available at press time, showed the historic rental highs that occurred between January and August had plateaued during 2012’s third quarter (see related… [more]
Giving to charity may be personally satisfying, but that’s not the only reason why real estate bigwigs do it. In many cases, philanthropy benefits the donor just as much as the recipient. Indeed, in many cases writing a check with a lot of zeros not only helps the cause at hand, but can also grease the wheels for a future real estate deal. In addition, sources said one of the main reasons many top real… [more]
New York City is known for its loud, splashy developers. But quieter landlords often have equally valuable holdings. The low-profile Ponte family, for example, started buying parking garages, former warehouses and auto shops in northwestern Tribeca in the 1960s. Today, the family owns at least 30 properties in the now-trendy area, according to public records. The family’s firm, Ponte Equities, has rarely sold or developed any of its properties over the years and is sitting… [more]
More than two months after Hurricane Sandy smashed into New York City, some Lower Manhattan landlords are being forced to reach into their own pockets — in some cases deeply — to pay for repairs to their buildings. That’s because while insurance companies are footing the bill for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to elevators, electrical systems and other infrastructure in hard-hit buildings, the carriers are not covering all the damage. One insider… [more]
Real estate newcomer Adam Neumann shocked industry observers last year when he acquired the rights to buy the top 25 floors of the famed Woolworth Building for $68 million. Neumann, 33, had launched the trendy shared office space provider, WeWork, only three years earlier, and his audacious play for the iconic skyscraper raised some eyebrows. “I don’t know what possessed him to think he could do it, but he did it,” said Kenneth Horn of… [more]
Winter is usually the slowest time of year for Manhattan real estate sales. This season, however, the continued strength of the luxury market — paired with the pending change in tax rates for capital gains — prompted a spike in sales activity. In the fourth quarter of 2012, there were 2,598 closed sales in Manhattan, according to Douglas Elliman’s latest market report, which was prepared by appraisal firm Miller Samuel. That’s up a dramatic 29.2… [more]
When Joan Swift was 20, she made the first of many abrupt career changes. She’d just secured a spot in a Ph.D. program for psychoanalysis at Manhattan’s Postgraduate Center for Mental Health when she headed to California for a vacation. At a friend’s beach club in Carmel, the petite, charismatic brunette met legendary actor Clint Eastwood. She abruptly decided to stay in California, taking a job working in Eastwood’s office. Swift’s parents were horrified that… [more]
In a year full of eye-popping luxury listings — in the second half of 2012, four homes hit the market asking at least $90 million — pricing a New York City apartment can seem increasingly subjective. Right now, for example, a five-bedroom spread at 15 Central Park West is on the market for $95 million, even though it’s some 20 percent smaller than the $88 million penthouse in the building that set records when it… [more]
6:30 a.m. I usually wake up at 6:30. Half the week I stay in Port Washington, on Long Island. That’s where my two beautiful daughters live. The days when I don’t have my girls, I’m on West 9th Street, where I share a townhouse with my girlfriend, Brittley Jarrell, who is the chief operating officer of Core. I’ve always been very active — I work out about four or five times a week. It’s usually… [more]
For NYC real estate updates provide email below
