Last month, Anne Chang, who runs a consulting firm that works with Chinese nationals, spent two days taking a Chinese client out to see Manhattan apartments. The buyer had a budget of $1.3 million, but when it came time for a down payment, they came up short because some of their money was stuck in China.
It’s just one small example of how the Chinese government’s crackdown on offshore investment is reverberating across the New York City real estate market. In our cover story this month, we examine the ways new capital controls are making it difficult for buyers to close deals on homes, how bids for trophy properties from Chinese institutions are down, and how fund managers are now having trouble raising money in major cities like Shanghai and Beijing.
Meanwhile, there’s a look at the real estate industry’s biggest lobbyists and their sway in Washington. We ask why so few real estate companies are going public, despite predictions there would be a flurry of IPO activity this year. We examine the new additions that are revitalizing Fulton Mall, and speak to six retail experts about the shifting industry.
Elsewhere in the issue, there’s a profile of Dan Tishman, one of the biggest names in the construction industry. There’s a look at developer Robert Gladstone’s big gamble at 45 Broad Street, and what Zaha Hadid’s plans for Kushner Companies’ 666 Fifth Avenue would mean for Midtown, if it were actually built.
Finally in our Closing interview, Two Trees Management’s Jed Walentas talks about missing out on the Jehovah’s Witnesses properties, adopting his daughter from Haiti, and buying a part of the San Francisco Giants despite being a Yankees fan.
To read the May issue of TRD, click here or on the “Magazine” tab on the top left of the homepage. Enjoy! — Miriam Hall