The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Bjarke Ingels tapped to work on Aby Rosen’s Gowanus site

Posted: 27 Sep 2018 03:30 PM PDT

Bjarke Ingels’ firm is working on a design for an apartment project in Gowanus, its first residential gig in Brooklyn. RFR Realty’s Aby Rosen has hired the Bjarke Ingels Group to draft plans for 175-225 Third Street, which the developer purchased earlier this year for $115 million. Details on the apartment project are sparse, but the developer can currently build 140,000 square feet of commercial space on the site, Crain’s reported. The city, however, has […]

Infrastructure firm expands to more than 100K sf at Empire State Building

Posted: 27 Sep 2018 02:40 PM PDT

Infrastructure consulting firm HNTB Corporation is expanding at the Empire State Building. The company signed a lease to take an additional 26,800 square feet on the 62nd floor of the 102-story tower, according to landlord Empire State Realty Realty Trust. The transaction expands HNTB’s footprint in the building to 105,100 square feet. In 2015, the company moved into the property after signing a 78,400-square-foot deal for floors 56 to 58. The transaction adds to a […]

Keller Williams wades into iBuyer pool

Posted: 27 Sep 2018 02:00 PM PDT

Keller Williams is the latest brokerage to jump into the iBuyer game. The company has been testing such a program, which allows homeowners to flip a property for cash using a computer-generated offer based on information about the property. It has completed nearly 100 transactions through the prgram, according to Inman. Austin, Texas-based Keller Williams joins Realogy, Zillow and startup Opendoor in the iBuyer space. On Wednesday, Realogy announced it was launching its own program, […]

Former Newmark exec Craig Robinson joins WeWork’s Powered by We

Posted: 27 Sep 2018 01:30 PM PDT

WeWork has hired former Newmark Knight Frank executive Craig Robinson to help lead its Powered by We division. Robinson previously worked as CEO of global corporate services at Newmark and will serve as global head of enterprise services for Powered by We, the company told The Real Deal. He will oversee services including project management, facilities management and design services for Powered by We clients in the newly created role. Robinson said he left Newmark […]

Homeowners see highest mortgage rates in 7 years

Posted: 27 Sep 2018 01:02 PM PDT

U.S. mortgage rates are at their highest in more than seven years. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage climbed to 4.72 percent this week from 4.65 percent last week, Bloomberg reported, citing figures from Freddie Mac. That means homeowners and borrowers are seeing the highest rates since April 2011. This is the fifth straight week that mortgages have risen in the U.S. The 30-year average stood at 3.83 percent a year ago. The […]

Gaia Real Estate acquires 90 Upper East Side condo units for $53M

Posted: 27 Sep 2018 11:30 AM PDT

Gaia Real Estate has purchased 90 condo units on the Upper East Side from an affiliate of The Brodsky Organization for $52.5 million. Gaia bought the units at Bridge Tower Place, a 38-story building at 401 East 60th Street, according to the company. Gaia managing partner Danny Fishman said the purchase price – which works out to about $849 per square foot and $583,000 per unit – was attractive compared to where prices have been […]

Home prices in Queens reached a record high last month

Posted: 27 Sep 2018 10:45 AM PDT

According to this week’s market reports, home prices in Queens rose to a record high in August and U.S. flexible space providers accounted for a larger share of major lease deals. Residential Sales | StreetEasy Home prices in Queens reached a record high of $563,028 in August. The figure represents a 7.1 percent hike compared to the same time last year. Home prices in the borough are now 23 percent higher than in 2013. The […]

The city’s been investigating NYCHA for more than just its lead paint scandal

Posted: 27 Sep 2018 10:00 AM PDT

For several years, the city’s Department of Investigations received complaints about the New York City Housing Authority that went beyond the lack of lead paint inspections. Former Senior Vice Presidents for Operations Brian Clarke and Luis Ponce allegedly ignored concerns that NYCHA was using unsafe elevator control boxes from a firm called Claddagh Electronics, according to the New York Daily News. Robert Louisa, then head of NYCHA’s elevator inspection unit, alerted the city’s Department of […]

“We overstated the pace:” Stringer admits flaws in affordable housing report

Posted: 27 Sep 2018 09:15 AM PDT

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer’s recent report on affordable housing included a major calculation error. The report, which Stringer released at a Tuesday morning event, claimed New York City had lost more than 1 million apartments between 2005 and 2017 that rented for $900 or less. However, the actual number is much lower at 425,492, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing an updated version of the report. Additionally, while the original report said […]

Slate’s proposal to upzone DoBro site slammed as “outrageous”

Posted: 27 Sep 2018 08:30 AM PDT

UPDATED, Sept. 27, 3:14 p.m.: Another downtown Brooklyn development is facing opposition. This time, it’s Slate Property Group’s proposed 40-story tower on Fulton Street, the Brooklyn Paper reported. Community Board 2 has criticized the planned project, which requires the site to be upzoned — and is currently moving through the city’s Uniform Land Use Review process. “This upzoning is outrageous, and we’re always faced with this. I think we should really take a stand,” CB2 […]

Rental prices are inching up — but there are still plenty of bargains

Posted: 27 Sep 2018 07:30 AM PDT

Yes, apartment rents are on the rise. But it’s becoming a renter’s market across many U.S. metro areas, where landlords are expecting more supply. Rents rose 2.9 percent in the third quarter, versus a year earlier, the Wall Sreet Journal reported. That’s also an increase from 2.5 percent in the second quarter. The boost comes from factors including a weaker sales market — tight supply nationally has driven up prices — and a strong economy […]

These are the world’s biggest housing market bubbles

Posted: 27 Sep 2018 06:47 AM PDT

Here we go again. Ten years after the financial crisis, many major housing markets worldwide are overvalued or at risk of a bubble. Chicago is the only undervalued market among UBS Group’s 20-city index, Bloomberg reported. Milan, Singapore and Boston are fairly valued. Ten cities — including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and Sydney, Australia — were deemed overvalued, the report said. Last year, New York was fairly valued. Miami was not ranked. […]

The final home of Eleanor Roosevelt is now on the market

Posted: 27 Sep 2018 05:47 AM PDT

The last home of former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt is hitting the market. The townhouse at 55 East 74th Street is asking nearly $20 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. Roosevelt, also known for her work as a diplomat and human rights activist, lived there from 1959 until her death in 1962. Douglas Elliman’s Lisa Simonsen has the listing. The current owners, Meera Gandhi and her ex-husband, Vikram Gandhi, bought the home in 1999. They’re […]

Compass raises $400M from SoftBank, QIA; brokerage now valued at $4.4B

Posted: 27 Sep 2018 05:02 AM PDT

Compass is officially a $4.4 billion brokerage. The New York-based firm said Thursday it closed another mega-round, raising a $400 million Series F led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund and Qatar Investment Authority. Wellington, IVP and Fidelity also participated in the deal, which gives Compass a total capital raise of nearly $1.2 billion, the company said. Compass said the latest funding, first reported by Bloomberg, will enable it to accelerate plans to control 20 percent market […]

This $8B hedge fund startup is growing at Park Avenue Tower

Posted: 27 Sep 2018 05:00 AM PDT

Hedge fund ExodusPoint Capital is expanding by almost 18,000 square feet at the 36-story Park Avenue Tower. The company will grow by 17,800 square feet, which will bring its total footprint to about 35,700 square feet, according to Commercial Observer. It will occupy the entire ninth and 10th floors of the 65 East 55th Street building, run by landlord EQ Office. The hedge fund launched in June with a reported $8 billion in capital and […]

SoftBank invests $400M in iBuying company Opendoor

Posted: 27 Sep 2018 04:10 AM PDT

Startup Opendoor has just joined the long list of real estate tech startups with backing from SoftBank. The Japanese conglomerate’s Vision Fund just invested $400 million in the home-flipping company, Opendoor announced Thursday. The funding round also coincides with additional debt from a consortium of banks, which brings the company’s total financing to $2 billion. “We’re excited to widen our ambitions as we launch new products, expand our services, and build an end-to-end experience for […]

As 270 Park nears demolition, architect Natalie Griffin de Blois is getting her due

Posted: 27 Sep 2018 04:00 AM PDT

While the 52-story tower at 270 Park Avenue is set to be demolished in the coming year, one thing that will not get destroyed with the building is the legacy of the woman who designed it. During a time when men dominated, Natalie Griffin de Blois was the lead architect of the iconic mid-20th-century glass-and-steel office tower, which was finished in 1961 and stands in the heart of Midtown. The current owner and occupant of […]