Real estate developers, brokers and attorneys are gathered for the third annual Massey Knakal Multi-family Summit for the tri-state area at the McGraw-Hill Conference Center on Sixth Avenue. The focus of this year’s summit is the acquisition, disposition, financing and management of multi-family properties in the greater New York City area, with a special emphasis on the political environment, trends in rents and operations, as well as a discussion of cap rates, financing and interest rates.
Bruce Beal, executive vice president of the Related Companies, talked about about the rental market and Related’s current projects.
“We’ve been doing everything from looking at distressed opportunities — projects that failed, retail projects that weren’t leased, half built condominium buildings — mostly in our core markets like New York, Boston, California,” he said.
In the wake of the downturn, he added, Related is treading carefully.
“Here in New York, we’re bullish on long-term prospects but we’re cautious, looking at mortgage rates versus cap rates. We have about 6,000 units in the city. [Lease] renewal rates rose to over 70 percent this year, from 65 percent last year. We’re also seeing rents grow 5 to 8 percent. Concessions have gone away.”
Other executives speaking at the conference include Richard Mack, CEO of Area Property Partners, Paul Massey, CEO of Massey Knakal Realty Services, and Joe McMillan, CEO of DDG Partners. — Katherine Clarke