The Daily Dirt: Corcoran launched probe into data breach

Corcoran Group is investigating its data breach — but the damage seems to have already been done. 

Last week, an email containing agent splits, marketing budgets and gross commission income was sent to everyone at Corcoran. The brokerage, along with law enforcement and a third-party forensic investigator retained by parent company Realogy Holdings, are investigating the incident, E.B. Solomont reports. The firm has since removed the email from its servers, and cautioned both its brokers and competitors against discussing or sharing the information. 

But, uh, brokers like to talk to each other.  

“We’re real estate agents, we’re drama-driven,” said one agent, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “We’re water cooler talkers.”

Though Corcoran has said the leaked information was not accurate, some agents are upset by the splits and marketing budgets represented in the email, believing they aren’t getting their fair share. Not to mention, this email potentially gives competitors insight into what kind of offer may persuade Corcoran brokers to jump ship. 

Last year Corcoran, the city’s No. 2 firm according to TRD’s latest ranking, lost 380 agents and hired 372. As was the case with many firms, Compass lured several of Corcoran’s brokers. There’s a lot of bad blood between Compass and Corcoran’s parent company. In July, Realogy filed a damaging lawsuit accusing Compass of “predatory” poaching. 

The WeWork drama continues with the departure of yet another executive. 

Sarah Pontius, the firm’s global head of real estate partnerships, has reached a “mutual agreement” with WeWork to leave the firm, David Jeans reports.

Pontius follows several others out the door. WeWork’s chief communications officer, Jennifer Skyler, left earlier this month, and Dominic McMullan, vice president of communications, jumped ship in July. Ted Stedem, WeWork’s global head of business and financial operations, left the company in August, following the exit of WeWork chief brand officer Julie Rice.

These departures also comes at a tumultuous time for WeWork. After announcing that it would hold its initial public offering the week of Sept. 23, the company pushed the date back, saying it would happen before the end of 2019.

What we’re thinking about next:
Will the newsroom’s appetite for bagels ever return after reading about this allegedly roach-filled apartment? Send a note or bagel recommendations to kathryn@therealdeal.com.

CLOSING TIME
Residential: The priciest residential closing recorded on Tuesday was for a condo unit at 527 West 27th Street in West Chelsea, at $6.1 million.
Commercial: The most expensive commercial closing of the day was for two apartment buildings at 575 West 155th Street and 575 West 178th Street in Washington Heights, at $6.9 million. 

BREAKING GROUND
The largest new building filing of the day was for a 224,696-square-foot mixed-use building at 241 West 28th Street in Chelsea. L&L Mag filed the permit application.  

NEW TO THE MARKET
The priciest residential listing to hit the market on Tuesday was for a four-bedroom condo at 988 Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side, at $28.5 million. Compass’ Dan Kessler has the listing. — Research by Mary Diduch

What we’re thinking about next: An experiential slime space is opening in Soho. Do all those words sound like nonsense to you? Stay with me. 

Sloomoo Institute is set to open Oct. 25 at 475 Broadway. Guests can pay $38 to get an 8-ounce custom slime, and for an additional $30, “slime will rain down on you” from a waterfall that is probably every influencer’s dream. A press release sent out on Tuesday notes that “slime is an exponentially growing phenomenon,” which is a phrase that makes me want to lie down.

As traditional retail struggles, the space joins several other experiential spaces that have popped up over the years — such as the Rosé Mansion and the Museum of Ice Cream, to name a few places that make me angry. Slime (generally glue and Borax powder) is also apparently having a moment as a source of stress relief for adults. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ 

Thank you to Erin Hudson, who spotted this press release.

Top stories from our other markets:

NATIONAL
SoftBank-backed construction startup Katerra is bringing on a new CFO as part of a series of changes to its executive team. Matthew Marsh, a former executive at James Hardie and General Electric, is joining as the company’s new chief financial officer. Katerra, which has raised $1 billion since its founding in 2015, markets itself as a technology company that offers a full suite of general contracting, engineering, design and other building services.

CHICAGO
The go-go days of condo de-conversions in Chicago may be coming to an end, and Seminary Properties and Management may have closed a deal just in time. The firm acquired a 32-unit condominium in Edgewater. On Wednesday, the City Council will vote on whether to increase the percentage of condo owners who must agree to a bulk sale of a building.

LOS ANGELES
Co-working and technology firms are leasing office space at a far faster pace than media and entertainment firms for the first time in Los Angeles. And to no one’s surprise, Google and WeWork are propelling that drive. The combined 1.7 million square feet is almost triple the 585,300 square feet that media and entertainment companies leased so far this year, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

MIAMI
Hurricane Dorian never made landfall in Florida, but the near miss still had a sizable impact on Florida’s hospitality industry around Labor Day weekend. Demand for hotels in the Florida Keys fell by 50 percent and revenue per available room dropped by 59 percent during a seven-day period from Aug. 30 through Sept. 5, according to a report from the hotel data company STR. — Compiled by Alexi Friedman