The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Activist investor wants Hudson’s Bay to tap into its real estate potential

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 03:00 PM PDT

It’s been almost a year since Jonathan Litt, founder of hedge fund Land & Buildings, pleaded for retail giant Hudson’s Bay Company to change its ways. The activist investor is at it again, asking the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue to look into new ways to improve shareholder value. Specifically, he wants it to sell off some of its real estate, Bloomberg reported. In a letter to shareholders, Litt said Hudson’s Bay could learn from […]

White House wants to shake up housing finance

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 02:50 PM PDT

The White House on Thursday unveiled a plan to release Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government control and turn them into private companies. Under the proposal, which still needs congressional approval, the two mortgage giants would lose their federal charters. Other private companies would be able to compete with them in the business of repackaging mortgages, stamping them with a repayment guarantee and selling them off to investors in the form of bonds, Bloomberg […]

Fifth Wall launches $400M RE tech fund

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 02:42 PM PDT

UPDATED: Thursday, June 21 at 7:06 p.m. Fifth Wall Ventures, the venture capital firm that has invested in Industrious and Open Door, is on track to raise another $400 million for its second real estate technology fund. The Los Angeles-based firm has already pooled $100 million from 19 unnamed investors, according to documents filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A source with knowledge of the fund said the initial capital was raised in […]

WATCH: Top developers, brokers on why Downtown LA is “adolescent at best”

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 01:20 PM PDT

At The Real Deal’s debut DTLA Spotlight earlier this month, the city’s top developers and brokers acknowledged the neighborhood’s dramatic transformation — but said the area remains a work in progress. The panel, which included Rachel Zanetos (Brookfield Properties), Ricardo Pagan (Claridge), Mike Leipart (The Agency), Matthew Ahrens (Rising Realty), Mike Akerly (Polaris Pacific) and Hiten Samtani (The Real Deal), explored DTLA’s residential boom, the area’s office landscape and what the neighborhood needs to keep […]

Blackstone looking to sell 114 West 41st

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 12:52 PM PDT

A subsidiary of Blackstone Group is putting another one of its office buildings near Bryant Park on the block. EQ Office, an office landlord formerly known as Equity Office, hired Newmark Knight Frank to lead the sale effort for its 22-story, 305,000-square-foot property at 114 West 41st Street, sources told The Real Deal. Sources added the building has an unofficial asking price of about $300 million, or almost $1,000 per square foot. Newmark Knight Frank’s […]

The East End’s top brokers on the state of the Hamptons market

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 12:00 PM PDT

UPDATED, June 13, 12:12 p.m.: The past year was a slower one for the East End housing market, but as usual, that didn’t stop some well-heeled buyers from shelling out for a number of pricey homes. From a sprawling estate owned by a fashion designer to the house where Jackie Kennedy summered as a child, a handful of historic and noteworthy mansions were plucked off the market — though they weren’t immune to the price […]

Westchester & Fairfield Cheat Sheet: Bob Weinstein sells Greenwich manse for $17M … & more

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 11:05 AM PDT

Harvey Weinstein’s brother Bob sells Greenwich manse for $17M Film producer Bob Weinstein landed a buyer for his stately 3.25-acre estate in Greenwich, Variety first reported. The mogul bought 13,000-square-foot home in 2000 for just a bit less – $16.4 million. He’d listed it in 2013 for $32 million but obviously benefitted in a lessening of expectations in subsequent relistings. The property, which was represented by Brian Milton of Compass, boasts 450 feet of ocean […]

Harry Macklowe wants to build an office tower near St. Patrick’s Cathedral

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 10:32 AM PDT

At 81, Harry Macklowe appears to have at least one more supertall up his sleeve. He has been actively trying to assemble parcels for his next big undertaking: the ground-up construction of a massive, 1 million-square-foot office tower. The property would be known as “Saint Stevens New York” and rise midblock along East 51st and 52nd streets, between Fifth and Madison Avenues, in Midtown’s Plaza District, according to Macklowe Properties materials obtained by The Real […]

Inside TPG’s playbook for Cushman

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 09:40 AM PDT

Cushman & Wakefield filed the preliminary prospectus for its initial public offering Wednesday, giving a glimpse into the private-equity playbook owner TPG Capital drew up for the brokerage. TPG is hoping that a successful Wall Street debut will help pay down the substantial debt it’s saddled Cushman with since acquiring the firm in 2015. It will also look to reverse the company’s operating losses and put it on the road to profitability. The private equity […]

The Real Deal South Florida’s summer issue is now live!

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 09:10 AM PDT

As the country’s largest homebuilder, Lennar is part of a very exclusive club. Like Apple and Amazon, which can impact entire industries with a single strategic move, Lennar’s behavior reverberates across the entire homebuilding landscape. So when the Miami-based firm announced in April that longtime CEO Stuart Miller was stepping down after more than 20 years as its steward, we got to wondering where the firm will head next. Reporter Keith Larsen’s profile reveals that […]

Seagram heir lists Park Avenue penthouse

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 08:46 AM PDT

Seagram liquor heir Matthew Bronfman wants to sell his penthouse at 400 Park Avenue South for $12.5 million. The unit contains four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms, and it spans 3,592 square feet, according to the Wall Street Journal. Amenities in the building include a Jacuzzi, spa, screening room and golf simulator. Bronfman bought the unit with his wife Melanie for slightly more than $10 million in 2016, and they are moving to be closer to […]

How a broker charged with possessing 52 pounds of pot came back to real estate

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 07:50 AM PDT

When a Colorado State Trooper pulled over Jonas Heller on Interstate 70 in late December, he suspected — or smelled — much more than a Los Angeles real estate guy on a road trip. Heller, a former broker at the Agency who had helped close deals for Ryan Seacrest and Nicolas Cage, was allegedly transporting 52 pounds of marijuana across state lines, traveling from California to his final destination in Denver. The two suitcases allegedly […]

Cryptocurrency firm is coming to Feil’s 250 PAS

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 07:25 AM PDT

The cryptocurrency company Digital Currency Group is relocating to 250 Park Avenue South. The trading firm has signed a lease for about 12,000 square feet at the building, which the Feil Organization owns, according to Commercial Observer. Asking rent was in the high $60s per square foot, and the company will take up the entire fifth floor of the building. Digital Currency Group will move out of its current home at 636 Avenue of the […]

Aerial warfare: Corcoran Sunshine files $30M suit at Billionaires’ Row supertall

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 06:47 AM PDT

Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group is suing the developers of a supertall condominium at 111 West 57th Street for $30 million, alleging that self-sabotage, infighting and a battery of lawsuits “undermined and frustrated” its ability to market units. The suit, filed late Wednesday, contends that JDS Development Group and Property Markets Group breached its contract with Corcoran when it allegedly terminated the firm without warning on May 16. Although the developers said Corcoran was terminated because […]

WATCH: In the retail ice age, why would you build a supermall?

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 06:00 AM PDT

Retail nationwide is getting crushed. Thousands of stores have shuttered, with analysts predicting doom for hundreds more. But in the midst of all this turmoil, Florida is about to get a new megamall. How does that work? The Real Deal‘s Hiten Samtani sat down with Fox Business’ Stuart Varney to discuss the American Dream Miami project, which is being developed by Triple Five Group, the Edmonton, Canada-based developer behind the infamous American Dream Meadowlands in […]

Why it’s so hard to buy a house right now

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 05:35 AM PDT

U.S. home prices are the least affordable in nearly a decade. Affordability this quarter fell to the lowest since late 2008, Bloomberg reported. In May, the median price of a previously owned homes rose to a record $264,800. “Home price appreciation continued to outpace wage growth, speeding up the affordability treadmill for prospective homebuyers even without the rise in mortgage rates,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM. According to ATTOM data, average wage […]

UES Parge House hits the market for $12M

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 05:14 AM PDT

The Parge House on the Upper East Side is hitting the market for $12 million. The mansion currently has a 3,375-square-foot owner’s triplex, with an outdoor terrace and a private entrance and address, 130½ East 65th Street. It also has three market rate one-bedroom units. Retailers Casa Del Bianco and Manolo Costa New York also rent space in the building. The Parge House was owned by late art dealer Elaine Graham Weitzen, who gifted pieces […]

Here are Manhattan’s top 40 listing agents

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 04:30 AM PDT

They won the listings — but can they sell them? That’s a question New York’s top residential agents have been grappling with for the past few years, with buyers calling the shots in a slow-moving market. Amid tax-reform jitters in 2017 and a pileup of new condo inventory, an affirmative answer often boils down to one thing: price. This month, in addition to ranking Manhattan’s top agents by their closed deals, The Real Deal tallied […]

City sues property manager, broker for refusal to accept government vouchers

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 04:00 AM PDT

The city of New York sued a broker and a landlord Wednesday for allegedly refusing to accept tenants using government housing vouchers. Landlord Oxford Realty Group and broker Everton Campbell were sued in separate court complaints for allegedly turning away prospective renters who intended to pay with vouchers, the New York Times reported. At Seaview Estates on Staten Island, the city claims Oxford Realty repeatedly denied apartments to investigators who inquired about renting with a […]

Digital subscriptions are coming to TheRealDeal.com

Posted: 21 Jun 2018 04:00 AM PDT

Dear Readers, Great journalism often requires years of source building and painstaking research. For informed people, verified reporting and data delivered at lightning speeds are the most important commodities out there — now, more than ever before. As a reader of The Real Deal, you know that better than anyone else. For the past 15 years — beginning in New York and expanding to Miami, L.A. and recently Chicago — we have published the independent, […]