NYC apartment prices hit 4-year low, Pacific Park developers reveal new plans: Daily digest

Every day, The Real Deal rounds up New York’s biggest real estate news, from breaking news and scoops to announcements and deals. We update this page throughout the day, starting at 9 a.m. Please send any tips or deals to tips@therealdeal.com

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AirBnb is leaning towards an non-traditional path for its 2020 IPO. The San Francisco-based short-term rental startup is making preparations to conduct a direct listing, instead of raising capital by issuing new shares — a move which would save the company millions in underwriting fees. Uber and WeWork’s IPO-related struggles have served as cautionary tales for the startup, and other tech firms like Spotify and SoftBank-backed Slack have have also taken the direct listing route recently. [Bloomberg]

Joe Sitt’s Thor Equities sold off a big-box retail property in Bensonhurst. Midtown-based Algin Management paid $75 million for Thor’s BJ’s Wholesale Club at 1752 Shore Parkway. [TRD]

Business groups want to make changes to the City Council’s commercial waste bill. REBNY, along with nearly 30 other organizations, asked the Council to allow for more than one waste collection carter in the 20 zones under its new regulation. [TRD]

220 Central Park South (Credit: CityRealty)

Following the new transfer tax, NYC apartment prices hit a four-year low in Q3. Many sales of apartments worth $2 million or more had rushed to close in June, leading to a significant drop-off in the following months. Sales worth less than $2 million, which weren’t affected by the new tax, also slowed down somewhat. And the number of apartment sales worth $10 million or more fell to just 24, compared to 140 in the prior quarter. [WSJ]

CoStar CEO Andy Florance (Credit: Getty Images)

CoStar is set to acquire hotel data giant STR. The real estate data behemoth, which has focused on the office, industrial, retail and multifamily markets, will be acquiring STR for $450 million in cash, the companies announced Tuesday. STR’s data covers metrics such as revenue and occupancy for more than 65,000 hotels in 180 countries. The Tennessee-based firm began marketing itself for sale earlier this year. [WSJ]

The Pacific Park megacomplex is set for major growth spurt. Lead developer Greenland Forest City Partners says it plans to start construction of a platform over the LIRR train yard on the site next year, which will allow construction to begin on three more of the complex’s 15 total buildings — of which five have been completed. The development partnership also unveiled new renderings for four towers, one of which will be co-developed with the Brodsky Organization. [NYP]

A Manhattan judge has upheld President Trump’s controversial SALT tax deduction cap. The law, which caps deductions on state and local taxes (including property taxes) at $10,000, “is a part of the landscape of federal law within which states make their decisions as to how they will exercise their own sovereign tax powers,” wrote Judge Paul Oetken. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has criticized the policy as “punitive and politically motivated,” and says he might appeal the decision. [NYDN]

South Korean conglomerate Aju bought two Midtown hotels for $137M. The hotels, with a total of 307 rooms, were previously owned by Chesapeake Lodging Trust before its acquisition by Park Hotels & Resorts in mid-September. South Korean firms have been active investors in European real estate for many years, and are expected to turn their sights to New York once again thanks to recent interest rate cuts. [TRD]

BGC Partners’ directors are being sued for inflating prices in a $875 million acquisition. The broker, formerly part of the Cantor Fitzgerald organization, purchased real-estate lender Berkeley Point Financial from Cantor in 2017. A Delaware judge concluded that there was evidence of ties between the boards of the two companies for the case to move forward. Plaintiffs include the Detroit-based Roofers Local 149 and other pension funds. [Bloomberg]

The oil price spike could mean “stagflation” is just around the corner. Rising oil prices resulting from last month’s attack on Saudi oil fields, combined with a slowing economy, could easily lead to the Federal Reserve’s nightmare scenario of stagflation, observers say, and additional trade shocks could make things worse. Such concerns are set to make Fed decisions surrounding further rate cuts even more difficult. [CNN]

Here’s your weekly look at the city’s $10M-$30M investment sales market. Top sales in this market segment last week included: A one-story South Bronx warehouse that sold for about $11.6 million, a 47,000-square-foot Far Rockaway office building that sold for $11.25 million, and three in Boerum Hill commercial condo units that the Carlyle Group sold for $14 million. [TRD]

Blackstone’s EQ Office is teaming up with a Michelin-starred chef to entice new tenants. The landlord has tapped New York chef John Fraser to bring a new dining experience to 1740 Broadway, which is facing the loss of two major tenants. The collaboration will include a 5,000-square-foot eatery on the ground floor, a “café concept” in the private tenant club, and in-office catering for tenants. [NYP]

Upper East Side tenants have started a rent strike over bad renovations. Residents of the Park Lane Towers have been suffering from the effects of lead and silica dust in the air since renovations began at the property two years ago, and plan to halt rent payments starting Tuesday. The action could be an early test of provisions in the state’s new rent law that protect tenants from being blacklisted by landlords for standing up for themselves. [NYDN]

Insurance tech startup Rhino has raised $21M in Series A funding — and wants to tackle the housing crisis. The startup aims to reduce the upfront costs of renting a home by replacing traditional cash security deposits with low-cost insurance. Additionally, Rhino says that it “will be sharing the proposal with 2020 Presidential campaigns on both sides of the aisle.” [Press Release]