The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

iBuyer startup Perch raises $36M, rebrands as Orchard

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 03:30 PM PST

As the iBuying craze grips the residential real estate industry, a startup that says it does that and more has secured $36 million in funding. New York-based Perch said Tuesday that it had secured the equity injection from a group of investors led by Navitas Capital. The firm, which this month rebranded itself as Orchard, provides a service that allows homeowners to buy a new home before they sell their own, and guarantees to purchase

Tennis star Li Na buys Hudson Yards pad for 22% premium

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 02:20 PM PST

Hudson Yards is paying off for one early investor. An entity linked to William Dalessandro snapped up $61 million worth of condos at 15 Hudson Yards in September and now he’s served up one of them to Chinese tennis star Li Na for a tidy profit, public records show. Dalessandro bought the 2,335 square-foot unit on the 80th floor for $8.712 million, or about $3,731 per square foot. Within months, he sold it to Na

Connecticut developer Fotis Dulos charged with murder

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 02:14 PM PST

Connecticut developer Fotis Dulos has been arrested and charged with murder in the case of his missing and estranged wife Jennifer Dulos. The wife of the 52-year-old builder has been missing since May 2019. Dulos was charged Tuesday with capital murder, murder and kidnapping, according to NBC News. His girlfriend Michelle Troconis was also arrested on Tuesday and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Fotis Dulos is being held on a $6 million bond, and

Home buyers start 2020 with drop in mortgage rates

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 02:00 PM PST

The housing market is launching into 2020 with a flurry of activity as mortgage rates fell last week to the lowest level since October. According to CNBC, there were a string of open homes held across the country this January— a rare occurrence for the time of year — as the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropped to 3.69 percent. Buyer sentiment was strong at the close of 2019, according to the Home Purchase Sentiment

Jeff Sutton and Joe Sitt are selling 530 Broadway for $400M

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 01:24 PM PST

Jeff Sutton and Joe Sitt have gone into contract to sell a Soho retail building for $400 million, after years of mulling a sale. The retail kingpins went into contract to sell 530 Broadway to a partnership led by Michael Shvo’s eponymous firm, according to those familiar with the transaction. Wharton is the majority owner on the trio of 11-story buildings at 530-536 Broadway, where retail tenants include Skechers and Club Monaco. Representatives for Sutton’s

Israel Englander buys Sackler townhouse for $38M

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 12:20 PM PST

Billionaire Israel Englander has added to his real estate portfolio, shelling out $38 million for an Upper East Side townhouse tied to the Sackler family, the founders of Purdue Pharma. Public records show the hedge funder closed on the house, located at 8 East 75th Street, on Jan. 3. The five-story house — which is steps from Fifth Avenue and the Metropolitan Museum of Art — was previously owned by Mortimer D.A. Sackler, records show.

D-Day for landlords: High court hears rent overcharge cases

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 11:40 AM PST

ALBANY— State legislators passed a new rent law in June, but many of the details are about to be hashed out in court. Today, the highest court in the state is hearing five cases involving alleged rent overcharges for rent-stabilized apartments. Landlords face treble damages for rent overcharges, which could mean a huge payday for tenants. Each of the cases cite a pivotal 2009 Court of Appeals ruling — Roberts v. Tishman Speyer Properties —

Title fraud is on the rise. Here’s why it won’t stop anytime soon.

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 11:16 AM PST

When family members of Lycienne Prince Barber were about to sell their dead relative’s two duplexes in Biscayne Park, they made a startling discovery. During the prerequisite title and lien searches on the properties, they found that a 55-year-old man named Hencile Dorsey, whom Prince Barber’s relatives never met, had filed two warranty deeds transferring ownership of the properties to his own name in February and March of this year. Neighbors in the small village

The Closing: Owen Thomas

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 10:15 AM PST

Owen Thomas has served as CEO of Boston Properties since April 2013, when the firm’s famed co-founder Mort Zuckerman tapped him as his successor. Thomas was seen as a surprise pick for the role, as he came to the real estate investment trust from the world of finance — after almost 25 years at Morgan Stanley and about a year as chair of Lehman Brothers Holdings at the height of the financial crisis. Since taking

Buyer nabs $8.8M condo with mirrored room, stripper pole

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 09:30 AM PST

It’s a house fit for a party. Complete with a stripper pole, a hydraulic table that rises from the floor and a tap with three types of sake, unit 3WR at 136 Grand Street — asking $8.8 million — went into contract as New Yorkers welcomed in the New Year. The 4,000-square-foot condo, which has two bedrooms and four bathrooms, was one of only eight homes priced above $4 million to go into contract last

To survive, crowdfunding firms are remaking themselves

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 09:00 AM PST

Starting in 2012, a wave of crowdfunding startups sought to take advantage of new regulations to revolutionize real-estate investment in the same way that Airbnb and Amazon have upended hospitality and retail. But things didn’t work out that way. Many crowdfunding firms from this first wave have gone out of business, while those that have survived have had to reconsider their strategies — often becoming more like traditional real estate firms in the process, the

South Bronx office building lands $85M refi

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 08:30 AM PST

A trendy warehouse-to-office conversion in the South Bronx has landed an $85 million refinancing from LibreMax Capital, the developers announced on Tuesday. Brad Domenico of Progress Capital brokered the deal for 825 East 141st Street, which is now known as Union Crossing. The Bluestone Group, the Altmark Group, Madison Realty Capital and Galil Management partnered to buy the building in 2016 for about $39 million, and they recently finished a $45 million renovation of the

Real estate agent abducted during showing and then murdered

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 08:00 AM PST

A 41-year-old man was in custody Monday after he allegedly abducted and killed a real estate agent after luring her to a home she was showing on New Year’s Eve. Cedric L. Berry was charged with second-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with the shooting death of Monique Baugh, 28, an agent at Kris Lindahl Real Estate in Minneapolis. According to police, Baugh was abducted at the home and driven in a rental truck to

Durst prevails in $21M lawsuit over soured Amazon deal

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 07:31 AM PST

After years of twists and turns, the Durst Organization’s lawsuit against Amazon over a soured lease deal is nearing an end. Manhattan Supreme Court judge has ruled that the e-commerce behemoth owes the landlord up to $21.65 million after violating the terms of a letter of intent for 310,000 square feet at 1133 Sixth Avenue, the New York Post reported. The exact sum owed will be decided in court. “Amazon unquestionably breached the LOI,” Judge

Beverly Hills properties once owned by convicted RE Ponzi schemer Shapiro sell for $69M

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 07:00 AM PST

Five Southern California properties once owned by convicted real estate Ponzi schemer Robert Shapiro have sold for a total of $69.1 million, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. One of the properties is the Carla House, a 20,500-square-foot Beverly Hills home designed by Noah Walker, that sold for $35 million. A liquidation entity for Shapiro’s Woodbridge Group of Companies sold four residences in Beverly Hills and a small office building in

Debevoise signs big lease at Tishman Speyer’s Spiral

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 06:34 AM PST

Tishman Speyer’s Hudson Yards office tower, the Spiral, is now more than half leased — in part thanks to Facebook. Law firm Debevoise & Plimpton has signed a 20-year lease at the 65-story development at 66 Hudson Boulevard, the Wall Street Journal first reported. The firm will occupy 530,000 square feet lease across floors 40 through 52 of the building. Debevoise was previously reported to be near a major lease across the street at the

Bushwick rezoning faces deadlock amid local opposition

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 06:05 AM PST

With just two years left in Mayor de Blasio’s term, another one of the administration’s rezoning efforts is on the verge of demise. The city’s planning department and local councilman Antonio Reynoso are deadlocked over the scope of the rezoning of a 300-block swathe of Bushwick, including the number of market-rate and affordable units the plan will allow, Crain’s reported. “Based on what has happened to date, I’m not supremely confident we’ll come to an

A pair of billion-dollar refis tops the list of Manhattan’s largest real estate loans in December

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 05:30 AM PST

The top 10 Manhattan loans recorded in December totaled $5.4 billion, two-and-a-half times as much as November’s total. Two large financings broke the one billion dollar mark last month, and both ended up in the top four for all of 2019. 1) Par amount – $1.25 billion Paramount Group, the real estate investment trust led by Albert Behler, secured a $1.25 billion refinancing from Goldman Sachs for its 2.5-million-square-foot office building at 1633 Broadway. A

City agencies dominated Brooklyn’s biggest office leases of 2019

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 05:00 AM PST

City agencies provided the Brooklyn office market with a big jolt last year. Deals for different government departments accounted for four of the 10 largest office leases in the borough by square footage. The city’s Human Resources Administration grabbed the top spot with a lease for almost 350,000 square feet at 250 Livingston Street, and new leases for the Administration for Children’s Services, New York City Department of Transportation and Manhattan District Attorney’s Office all

Loan wolves: Bankers are stalking developers as debts come due

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 04:30 AM PST

It was one of many signs last year that a growing number of New York City condo developers are on borrowed time. Bank OZK had committed $108 million to finance a 92-unit condo building at 615 10th Avenue back in 2015. But last April, with the project stalled, the construction lender dialed that back by $20 million, forcing the developer to grab a lifeline from mezzanine lender Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies. The troubles brewing

Rent-law revenge: Big landlord leads effort to punish Senate Dems

Posted: 07 Jan 2020 04:00 AM PST

A campaign led by one of the city’s biggest landlords is planning to go after Democratic state senators in New York. Alliance for Rental Excellence NY, led by Avi Schron, executive vice president of Cammeby’s International, is raising money with the hopes of breaking the left’s hold on the Senate in 2020, The Real Deal has learned. Cammeby’s has 12,179 rental units across the city — second-most among landlords, according to a TRD analysis. ARENY