At least 20 William B. May agents have defected from the company since the departure of president Peter Marra in April, and the firm may be on its way to new ownership as well. The agents have departed for Brown Harris Stevens after Brown Harris Stevens hired Marra and its holding company bought his minority shares in William B. May, the company he had headed for 15 years. Meanwhile, a number of top executives said… [more]
June 2004
-
-
Michael and Paul Ippolito Executive VPs and Principals, Newmark & Co. –Although the Ippolito brothers, Michael and Paul, joined Newmark at a difficult time, they were rescued by a winning attitude. “We came to Newmark in 1991 at a very hard time and we needed to be creative with ideas and solutions in a market where things weren’t happening,” said Michael, who arrived from Helmsley-Spear’s Empire State Building office while older brother Paul sold ad… [more]
-
New York office leasing remains lukewarm as the uneven pace of the economic recovery continues to slow a market pickup. In recent years, the sluggish economy has checked demand for office space. While job growth has been showing signs of strength lately, much of the lack of demand still stems from low hiring rates at the companies that aren t leasing larger offices. Law firms represent the most active of lessees, but demand for new… [more]
-
While Midtown and Midtown South continued to steadily turn the corner, Downtown struggled to produce sustained activity in April, according to a new office market report by CB Richard Ellis. A report by Colliers ABR saw a different situation, finding Midtown somewhat quiet in April and the Downtown market much improved from March. Overall, the Colliers report found the Manhattan class A vacancy rate holding steady at 10.6 percent in April, compared to the month… [more]
-
The opening of the Hutchinson Metro Center had a real impact on the borough, boosting its class A office space by 25 percent the day it opened. Simone Development Companies, the power behind the $60 million project, transformed a market of about 2 million square feet of class A and B space to one with 2.5 million available square feet. The development group financed the project itself to get it off the ground – outside… [more]
-
Like the flying Disney elephant, Dumbo office space is taking off with creative tenants and white collar types. The Brooklyn neighborhood – an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass – has followed its namesake s tradition to emerge as an up-and-coming neighborhood, drawing not just middle-class residents and retail establishments, but a wide variety of professional and creative office tenants. In March, Goodtree Media, the brainchild of hip-hop singer and actor Mos Def,… [more]
-
Law firms are continuing their reign as the kings of the leasing market, according to a new report by Jones Lang LaSalle. Law firms led all other New York businesses in leasing activity in the first quarter of 2004, taking 1.55 million square feet of space throughout the city, according to the report. The banking sector came in second, signing for 1.2 million square feet of space in the first quarter. Accounting firms took the… [more]
-
Following a big burst of activity from mid-February to mid-April, the residential real estate market lost a little bit of its luster in May. “We re seeing a bit of a change,” said Jonathan Miller, president of the appraisal firm Miller Samuel Inc. and the author of the quarterly Douglas Elliman Manhattan Market Overview. “We went through an incredible period of activity, and it s still the same story, where there is tight inventory and… [more]
-
Price increases for new developments are the one segment of the New York real estate market that is outpacing all others, even in conditions where most values are skyrocketing. Whether it’s a classic six at 500 West End Avenue that jumped from $1.25 to $1.9 million in the last two years, or a two-bedroom at the Trump International Parkview that jumped from $1.1 million in 1997 to $3 million today, new developments offer the best… [more]
-
One of the biggest risks of buying into a new development is timing. Projects can be delayed by months or years, and in some cases people buying into new developments have to move twice because the building isn t ready. The Richard Meier towers at 173-176 Perry Street might be the most prominent current example of this problem, as the project is beset with reports of construction delays and water leaks. Martha Stewart, Nicole Kidman… [more]
