This Week in Comments

Fortress buys Sheffield57 at auction for $20M
1. Swig and Fortress pulled it off. I don’t believe it. Well done to these folks — way to pull a rabbit out of a hat.
2. This deal is a milestone because it will lead to a massive decrease in residential real estate prices in New York City. Fortress has a low basis, sufficient capital, and a long enough time horizon to make money selling units for $400 per square foot.

Are your commissions being reduced? If so, by how much?
1. All the brokerage companies are slashing the broker’s split on the commission.
2. Commissions? On what? I’m not doing any deals.

Graybar Building gets $145M refinancing
And people say there is no financing available. Nonsense.

Williamsburg inventory predicted to double
The simple fact of all of this is that whoever has bought anything in Williamsburg, is now likely underwater. Prices are falling fast, and NY is always, always behind the curve of the nation. What they saw last year we will see late this year and [in] 2010.

Trying to sell out in Long Island City
Most of the buildings in LIC can get mortgages from the big boy lenders. If the purchaser qualifies for a loan in Manhattan he will get a loan in LIC.

The best and worst deals
Tishman Speyer is praying they will lose the “illegally deregulated” court case come September. It’s the only way they can get out of owning the property without admitting they made some pretty egregious projections. I’m sure they will try to re-write history and try to blame/sue MetLife.

Investors defaulting to make money
It’s not called “strategic” default — it’s called stealing.