NYC real estate in brief

Citi Habitats President Gary Malin says BlackBook is a good fit for the firm

Citi Habitats partners with entertainment guide
Citi Habitats has
formed a Web marketing alliance with BlackBook Media Corp., which
provides entertainment and fashion guides through BlackBook magazine, BBook.com and guide
books. The marketing alliance will add
restaurant, bar and shopping destinations to Citi Habitats’ sales and
rental listings. Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats, said,
“leveraging resources with BlackBook was a good fit for our firm. We
share many demographics, and this partnership has added value and
enriched content to our site.”

Feds provide more information on Making Home Affordable program
Treasury
Secretary Tim Geithner and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun
Donovan announced new details about the Making Home Affordable program.
Foreclosure alternatives in the plan include providing incentives for
servicers and borrowers to pursue short sales and deeds in lieu of
foreclosure in cases where the borrower is eligible for MHA
modification but is unable to complete the process. There will also be
home price decline protection incentives, which will provide lenders
additional incentives for modifications where home price declines have
been severe and lenders fear these declines may persist.

Incentives offered to prospective buyers at Waters Edge in Averne
With
the housing crisis and economic downturn looming overhead, the
Briarwood Organization is now offering incentives for prospective
Waters Edge buyers in order to spur sales. In addition to receiving a
flat-screen TV and seven months of free maintenance upon moving in,
existing Waters Edge residents will receive $1,000 in cash if they
bring in new buyers. Interested buyers are kept in a database and
are sent weekly e-mail blasts updating them about new incentives and
availabilities. The Waters Edge condominium development is in Averne, Queens and one of three developments that
make up the Arverne Urban Renewal Area. The area, formerly a 300-acre
parcel of city-owned land, now consists primarily of low- and middle-income condominium units.

Live chat feature enabled for the Edge
Instead of calling
or visiting sales agents at the Edge, Williamsburg’s soon-to-be largest
waterfront development, prospective buyers can now instant message an
agent on the building’s official Web site. When a prospective buyer
peruses the site for one and a half minutes, a chat box will
automatically appear at the bottom of the toolbar on the bottom
left-hand side of the page offering assistance. The live chat feature
will enable interested buyers to communicate instantaneously with an
agent during normal business hours. “This feature will
ensure that every buyer has the ability to receive immediate,
personalized assistance from an agent and more information about the
Edge at any given time of the day,” said Highlyann Krasnow, executive
vice president of the Developers Group, the exclusive sales and
marketing firm for the Edge. TRD