The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

EasyKnock closes $215M fundraising round to launch home sale-leaseback program

Posted: 09 May 2019 03:15 PM PDT

EasyKnock closed $215 million in Series A funding to launch a new program that allows homeowners to sell their property and remain as renters as they search for a new home. The program, called MoveAbility, will be available for homeowners in Texas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, Arizona, Indiana and Ohio. Blumberg Capital led the debt-equity funding round, which included investments from Montage Ventures, Kairos, FJ Labs, 500 Startups, Correlation Ventures, and Rubicon Ventures, Inman reported. […]

Anonymous buyer picks up sponsor unit at Alchemy’s UES condo for $26M

Posted: 09 May 2019 03:00 PM PDT

A unit at Alchemy Properties’ 250 West 81st Street just sold for a steep $25.7 million. The anonymous buyer of Unit 16A is “Do It Realty LLC,” according to records filed with New York City’s Department of Finance. The home is a sponsor unit at the condominium building. Alchemy’s Timothy McCarthy was marketing the unit, which was asking $25.2 million. The square footage of the unit was not immediately clear. The home has nine bedrooms […]

‘The Mooch’ buys in Manhasset, Christie Brinkley sells in Sag Harbor and more Hamptons & Long Island real estate news

Posted: 09 May 2019 02:30 PM PDT

‘The Mooch’ buys Manhasset home for over $3M Former White House communications chief Anthony Scaramucci and his wife Deidre Bell bought a 6,200-square-foot home in Manhasset for $3.05 million, the New York Post reported, via the Rupert Murdoch-owned Realtor.com, which noted the final sales price was about $1.1 million less than the property came on the market for last year. The home at 45 Plymouth Road, which was built last year, has six bedrooms, five-and-a-half […]

Live Nation may build a new concert venue in Downtown Manhattan

Posted: 09 May 2019 02:00 PM PDT

Live Nation wants to open a concert venue and event space in Lower Manhattan. The music promotion company is negotiating a lease for 80,000 square feet in the American Stock Exchange Building on Trinity Place, according to Crain’s. Live Nation would partner on the project with Legends, an entertainment venue and stadium operator that runs the One World Trade Center observatory space. Live Nation representatives met with Community Board 1’s liquor licensing committee on Wednesday […]

Zillow revenue soars — but so do losses

Posted: 09 May 2019 01:39 PM PDT

Zillow Group revenue soared 51 percent during 2019’s first quarter, bolstered by the company’s growing iBuying program, the company reported Thursday. But the company’s net loss also ballooned to $67.5 million, compared to $18.6 million a year ago. Its total revenue for the quarter rose to $454.1 million, up from $299.8 million a year prior. Revenue from its advertising program Premier Agent rose 2 percent to $217.7 million. The bulk of Zillow’s losses during the […]

Starwood, AB Capstone developing mixed-use complex in South Bronx Opp Zone

Posted: 09 May 2019 01:09 PM PDT

Just four months after the launch of Starwood Capital Group’s Opportunity Zone fund, the firm has found a place to park some of its funds: the South Bronx. Starwood is teaming up with Queens-based AB Capstone on a 10-story mixed-use development at 425 Westchester Avenue, according to the companies. It’s Starwood’s first announced Opportunity Zone investment. Zeta Charter Schools will anchor the 147,000-square-foot project, which will also have office space for a non-profit group, retail […]

Where have all the billionaires gone?

Posted: 09 May 2019 12:45 PM PDT

The number of billionaires around the world is shrinking — and so are their bank accounts. According to a new report from the research firm Wealth-X, the global population of billionaires declined 5.4 percent to 2,604 in 2018. Their total net worth dropped 7 percent to $8.6 trillion, amid market volatility and uncertainty over global trade. In fact, billionaires in Asia — whose appetite for luxury properties has fueled the real estate market in New […]

Here are the speakers and schedule for TRD’s NYC Showcase and Forum — get tickets now!

Posted: 09 May 2019 12:10 PM PDT

The Real Deal’s 12th annual NYC Real Estate Showcase and Forum on May 15 is shaping up to be one of our biggest and most exciting events yet. You’ll get access to a powerhouse lineup of panelists who will be discussing everything from affordable housing to technological advancements that are changing the real estate industry to developments in residential and commercial real estate — and so much more! Check out our full agenda and speaker […]

At the Desk of: Rafael Salamanca

Posted: 09 May 2019 11:30 AM PDT

City Council member Rafael Salamanca chairs the body’s powerful Land Use Committee — a key stop for New York City developers as they look to win approval for projects across the five boroughs. Salamanca — who grew up in the Bronx and lives in the borough’s Longwood neighborhood with his wife and two sons — started his career as an executive assistant at the nonprofit Urban Health Plan. He made his foray into politics via […]

Father of this reality TV star allegedly laundered his son’s money through luxury real estate

Posted: 09 May 2019 11:08 AM PDT

The father of a “Property Wars” reality TV star is facing charges of defrauding banks in connection to his acquisitions of luxury condos in Miami Beach and New York City. The son, Scott Menaged, was sentenced in late 2017 to 17 years in prison for leading fraud schemes that defrauded investors of more than $30 million, and he had previously pleaded guilty to bank fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft. Now his father, Joseph […]

Naftali, Rockefeller are bringing a luxury condo tower to the UES

Posted: 09 May 2019 10:35 AM PDT

Naftali Group and Rockefeller Group are partnering to bring a luxury condo tower to the Upper East Side, the companies announced on Wednesday. Robert A.M. Stern Architects will design the ground-up tower at 200 East 83rd Street and Third Avenue. Details about its height and number of units were not immediately available. Naftali teamed up with Rockefeller last year to bid for the Upper East Side development site, which the developers purchased it from Muss […]

WATCH: How to build a multi-billion dollar billboard, according to TSX Broadway

Posted: 09 May 2019 10:00 AM PDT

TSX Broadway may become the largest billboard the world may have ever seen. The mixed-use project developed by L&L Holding Company, Fortress Investment Group and Maefield Development also contains a landmarked theater and, once completed in 2022, will have a permanent stage facing out to Times Square, along with a 669-key hotel and 75,000 square feet of retail. The LED-lighting system will be built into the skin of the building. “Companies like Netflix are literally […]

Brooklyn and Queens rents rise as incentives decline: Elliman

Posted: 09 May 2019 08:30 AM PDT

The rental market is heating up in the outer boroughs. Brooklyn and Northwest Queens saw declines in incentives in April, one indication of a strengthening market heading into the summer season, according to Douglas Elliman’s latest market report. A boost in rentals was also attributed to the recent softness in the sales market. In Brooklyn, new leases rose 7.2 percent, marking the fourth time they have risen year-over-year in the last five months. The median […]

This Airbnb-backed startup is opening a New York location this fall

Posted: 09 May 2019 07:45 AM PDT

An Airbnb-backed startup is launching its first hotel suites in New York in the fall. Lyric — which recently closed a $160 million funding round that included investors Airbnb, Tishman Speyer and RXR Realty — has signed a long-term lease at 70 Pine Street, Crain’s New York reported. Lyric is rebranding and renovating 132 rooms on the third through sixth floors that were previously operated as Q&A Residential Hotel by Furnished Quarters. The startup is […]

Virtual brokerage eXp Realty’s profit soars

Posted: 09 May 2019 07:00 AM PDT

Virtual brokerage eXp World Holdings trounced on its bricks-and-mortar rivals during the first quarter, posting a $14.5 million profit — up 132 percent compared to 2018. Parent company eXp World Holdings said the firm pulled in revenue of $157 million during the first quarter, up 153 percent compared to last year’s $62 million. The firm’s net loss during the quarter was $6.3 million, down from $10.7 million compared to the prior year. The Seattle-based company […]

Former NJ Gov. Chris Christie wants to raise $150M Opportunity Zone fund

Posted: 09 May 2019 06:30 AM PDT

Chris Christie is getting into real estate. The former New Jersey governor has co-founded a property investment fund with his wife, the Wall Street Journal reported.The aim is to raise $150 million. The fund looks to take advantage of Opportunity Zones, which is a federal program that gives tax breaks for development in low-income areas. The zones are part of the tax overhaul and allow investors to defer capital-gains taxes by investing in qualifying real […]

Startups, rejoice: SoftBank is planning another $100B Vision Fund

Posted: 09 May 2019 06:00 AM PDT

SoftBank, the biggest backer of unicorn real estate startups, is planning its second Saudi-backed $100 billion Vision Fund. The second fund will be about the same size as the current one, the Wall Street Journal reported. Less than two years after the launch, the company has deployed most of its capital, investing in companies including Uber and WeWork. SoftBank has been a major player in the venture capital scene, giving startups an option to avoid […]

Cautious buyers are pushing up Manhattan rent prices

Posted: 09 May 2019 05:30 AM PDT

Manhattan’s rental market has been getting back on track, thanks to cautious buyers. Pricing in the borough continued an upward trend as the market share of concessions declined, according to Douglas Elliman’s latest market report. The share of new leases with incentives fell to 36.9 percent in April, down from 44.3 percent a year earlier. At the same time, the median net effective price rose 4.4 percent to $3,379. “It’s more and more clear how […]

WeWork is going to manage office space at RXR’s 75 Rock

Posted: 09 May 2019 05:00 AM PDT

WeWork is partnering with RXR to manage 90,000 square feet at 75 Rockefeller Plaza in a revenue-sharing agreement, the first such deal the co-working giant has reached in New York. The $47 billion flexible office space company — whose parent the We Company last month filed paperwork for an initial public offering — will take four floors in the 32-story tower, WeWork said Thursday. No information was provided on the value of the deal. It […]

New York construction’s heavy lift

Posted: 09 May 2019 04:30 AM PDT

Two blocks north of the portion of Hudson Yards that opened in mid-March on Manhattan’s Far West Side, another massive project is getting started. Foundation work on the Spiral, Tishman Speyer’s 65-story office tower designed by the Bjarke Ingels Group, began just last year. And Turner Construction, one of the city’s largest general contractors, has been tapped to manage the $3.7 billion construction project, which last year secured $1.8 billion in financing from a unit […]

The state Senate is stepping into therent-regulation reform debate today. Here’s what the housing committee chair has to say

Posted: 09 May 2019 04:00 AM PDT

For the first time in the past two decades, sweeping rent-regulation reform seems close to becoming a reality. Without the hurdle of a Republican majority in the Senate, both houses seem determined to make changes to programs long-favored by landlords, including vacancy decontrol and Major Capital Improvements. Still, whether these revisions will be implemented as written remains to be seen. Neither Mayor Bill de Blasio or Gov. Andrew Cuomo have backed the elimination of MCIs […]