The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

WeWork now offers brokers 100% commission. You read that right.

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 03:00 PM PDT

The latest sign that competition in the co-working industry is heating up: WeWork is offering 100-percent commission to brokers who lure tenants away from its rivals. The move comes a year after WeWork offered tenants at rival coworking companies a year’s free rent if they switch. Because of that, the commission is really just 50 percent of a typical year’s rent, Bloomberg reported. But that’s still five times more than the industry average of 10 […]

The city’s best-selling residential tower is in Downtown Flushing

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 02:15 PM PDT

It turns out that New York City’s best-selling new development isn’t in Manhattan. The Grand at Sky View Parc in Flushing took that superlative, according to this week’s market reports. Residential Sales | PropertyShark Onex Real Estate Partners’ the Grand at Sky View Parc in Downtown Flushing ranked as the best-selling residential building for the first half of the year. The study only accounted for new developments. During the period, there were 98 units sold […]

Pi Capital Partners nabs $43M loan for Flushing office building

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 01:30 PM PDT

Pi Capital Partners has received a $43 million recapitalization loan for its Flushing Professional Tower, according to the company. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (USA) N.A. provided Pi with the five-year low-leverage loan. Pi has owned the building at 136-18 39th Avenue since at least 1996 and developed the property in 2002. The office building stands 13 stories tall and spans more than 100,000 square feet. It serves as the regional headquarters for […]

New York’s saddest mansion finally sells at deep discount

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 01:00 PM PDT

Brooklyn’s ridiculous Mill Basin mansion has finally found a buyer, and all it took was five years and a $20 million price cut. The home, which is located in a gated compound at 2458 National Drive (but would probably fit in better in Miami), sold to an anonymous LLC controlled by Ryan Freedman of Corigin Ventures for $10 million, according to property records. The 10-bedroom, 15-bath pad was initially listed for $30 million in 2013, […]

There’s a new executive director at City Planning. Meet Anita Laremont

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 12:30 PM PDT

The Department of City Planning has named Anita Laremont as its new executive director. Laremont, who served as the department’s general counsel and its chief analytical officer, will assume her new role on Sept. 4, Crain’s reported. She’s taking over for Purnima Kapur, who announced earlier this month that she’s leaving the department for a consulting job at Harvard University. In this role, Laremont will oversee all the planning and policy work at the department. […]

Extell refinancing three Manhattan projects with $500M loan from JPMorgan Chase

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 12:00 PM PDT

UPDATED, Aug. 23, 3:45 p.m.: JPMorgan Chase is providing Gary Barnett’s Extell Development with another hefty loan. The bank provided the developer with a $500 million financing backed by four Manhattan properties, according to documents filed with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The two-year loan is backed by shares in Barnett’s $4 billion supertall, the Central Park Tower, and will serve to refinance three development sites in Midtown and Harlem. Of the total, $332 million […]

Retail isn’t dead but it’s not well: Sears to close 46 more stores nationwide

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 11:30 AM PDT

The bleeding hasn’t stopped at Sears Holdings Corporation. The once-ubiquitous big-box retailer said it will close another 46 Sears and Kmart stores around the country in November, according to CNBC. The locations include those in Los Angeles, in Miami, and in Long Island, New York. The company has seen a decline in sales each quarter since 2011. Sears has steadily shed properties in recent years, but the pace quickened in 2017, when it closed at […]

Carlyle Group fund could break Queens record with LIC rental tower deal

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 11:00 AM PDT

A Carlyle Group-managed fund agreed to pay $284 million for a 45-story luxury tower in Long Island City, in what is expected to be the borough’s most expensive deal ever for a rental building. The fund is purchasing 1 QPS Tower, according to the Wall Street Journal. The building at 42-20 24th Street contains 391 market-rate apartments and is between 98 and 99 percent occupied. Carlyle is buying it from a joint venture that includes […]

Handing over the key: Keegan-Michael Key buys at 56 Leonard

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 10:30 AM PDT

Comedian Keegan-Michael Key is heading to 56 Leonard Street. Key bought unit 35AW for $5.2 million, property records show. The seller is an anonymous LLC listed in records as “Aldea De Project LLC.” The same entity purchased the unit in 2016 for $5.1 million. Last year, the actor reportedly also looked at a penthouse in the building listed at $28.5 million. After years of delays, closings began at Alexico Group’s condo building in 2016. Within […]

Marcal Group gets final AG approval for Far Rockaway condo project

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 10:00 AM PDT

A Far Rockaway condominium project from the Marcal Group has received final approval from the state to move forward, according to company officials. The Marcal Group’s One Sixteen, which will be located at 147 Beach 116th Street, received final approval from the New York State Attorney General’s Office today, Marcal Group CEO Mark Caller said. The project will contain 86 units across eight stories, along with eight duplex townhouses. Construction crews broke ground on the […]

Brexit isn’t stopping foreign buyers from scooping up London office buildings

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 09:30 AM PDT

Investors are flocking to London — Brexit be damned. Foreign buyers spent more on commercial property in the city in the first half of this year than in central Paris, Manhattan, Munich and Frankfurt combined. It’s made the city the top spot for real estate investment from overseas, Bloomberg reported. The weaker pound has made London prices more appealing for the buyers, which were led by Hong Kong billionaires and Korean securities firms. Overseas investors […]

Police release video of “some a–hole” firing gun at Solow’s One East River Place

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 09:00 AM PDT

Police released surveillance video showing the moment a gunman opened fire at an Upper East Side high-rise. The 50-second video shows a person shooting from across the water at Roosevelt Island, the New York Daily News reported. The video cuts to a man and woman walking by a playground. Police have said someone has been shooting at Solow Management’s One East River Place rental tower. Reports said a tenant on the 14th floor woke up […]

Las Vegas developer is interested in buying Anbang’s hotels

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 08:30 AM PDT

A Las Vegas developer and its partners are eyeing Anbang’s hotel portfolio. Lockwood Development Partners has expressed interest in buying 15 hotels from the Beijing-based company, the New York Post reported. Franchisees of Hilton, Marriott, Four Seasons and InterContinental are in the Everhardt bidding group. Anbang, which was recently taken over by the Chinese government, owns 18 hotels in the U.S. The developer said Anbang is asking for bids based on the rate of return […]

Here’s why retail is making a comeback

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 08:00 AM PDT

The retail sector may be bouncing back. In the face of challenges, companies like Walmart, Target, Nordstrom and Best Buy have expanded their services. And it appears to be paying off: Walmart reported its best quarterly sales gain in a decade, while Target saw the biggest jump in 13 years, according to Bloomberg. “The American retail sector is enjoying a renaissance,” Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData Retail, said in a note. “Sentiment is upbeat […]

Today at 2:30 p.m.: Talk dirty money with TRD’s editors & reporters

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 07:30 AM PDT

Today at 2:30 p.m., managing issue editor Damian Ghigliotty and reporters Will Parker and David Jeans will host a conference call with digital subscribers to discuss our recent story on the influx of dirty money into U.S. real estate. Ghigliotty, Parker and Jeans will discuss how the story took shape, their trip to DC to report it out, some of the challenges the subject presented and tidbits from their reporters’ notebooks that didn’t make it into […]

WATCH: How much you need to earn to live comfortably in the 5 most expensive ZIP codes in America

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 07:00 AM PDT

 It might surprise some that there are costlier places to live than New York City. From the Hamptons to Aspen, these are the five most expensive ZIP codes in the country. The list comes from a study by GoBankingRates, which calculated the household income needed to afford a comfortable lifestyle.

Forget firefighters, these Chicago brokers aim to heat up 2019 with swimsuit calendar

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 06:30 AM PDT

Here’s one thing hotter than the Chicago industrial market: The first swimsuit calendar featuring Chicago brokers. Joe Howard, aka “Mr. July,” said his wife was fully on board when he decided to pose. “She said she will pimp me out to get more business and exposure,” the Keller Williams broker said with a laugh. “So I think she’s fine with it.” In fact, it was Kim Howard who suggested her husband and fellow broker/founder of […]

Co-living company Bungalow raises $14M in Series A

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 06:00 AM PDT

Master lease co-living startup Bungalow raised $14 million in a Series A funding round, the company said Thursday. Khosla Ventures, Atomic VC, Founders Fund, Cherubic Ventures, and Wing Venture Capital led the round. Separately, Bungalow also secured a $50 million debt facility from an unnamed lender. Bungalow master-leases houses and small multifamily properties, furnishes them, and sublets rooms to customers willing to share a home with other people. The company also takes care of common […]

This condo has dominated the Brooklyn luxury market all summer. Here’s why

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 05:30 AM PDT

It has been a busy summer at the Pierhouse. The 106-unit condominium development from Toll Brothers City Living and Starwood Capital Group on the Brooklyn Heights waterfront has dominated the borough’s luxury sales market since mid-July, according to weekly reports from Stribling & Associates. The streak started during the week of July 16, when a unit at 130 Furman Street was the second most expensive deal in the borough with a contract price of about $7.5 million. The […]

Hundreds of protesters call on NFL to boot Related’s Steve Ross from committee

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 05:00 AM PDT

After briefly blocking traffic on Park Avenue, 37 protesters wearing T-shirts saying “Step down Steve Ross” were arrested on Wednesday and carted off in a large white police bus. The arrests were expected — speakers repeatedly alluded to risking arrest during a rally held outside the National Football League’s headquarters in Midtown East. Hundreds of construction workers gathered at 345 Park Avenue to call on the NFL to remove Ross, chair of Related Companies and […]

Female hardhats are breaking barriers

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 04:30 AM PDT

Tierra Williams quickly discovered construction sites aren’t always welcoming places for women. Williams joined Trade Off, a Nassau County-based construction management firm, in 2015 after a year of unemployment. But last year she became pregnant, and her request for light duty, according to Williams, was denied. Trade Off, like many other construction firms, didn’t offer paid leave for pregnant trade workers. So Williams took a break from work and returned after a month — in […]

Turkey’s economy is melting down. Will it hurt US real estate?

Posted: 23 Aug 2018 04:00 AM PDT

As Turkey’s meltdown continues, so do fears that it could turn into a broader emerging-market malaise. But in the U.S. commercial real estate industry, the crisis hasn’t caused any jitters — and with good reason. Companies from Turkey have bought just $231.4 million worth of commercial properties in New York City since 2000, according to data from research firm Real Capital Analytics. And even if the crisis spills over into other vulnerable emerging economies like […]