The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

City closes “loophole” that developers exploit to build towers

Posted: 02 Mar 2020 02:45 PM PST

UPDATED March 2, 2020, 6:33 p.m.: The Department of Buildings on Monday said newly formed zoning lots cannot consist of partial tax lots, settling an issue that has dominated a contentious case over a condo development at 200 Amsterdam Avenue. The clarification — issued in a sparsely worded bulletin — is effective immediately and is not retroactive, said Jane Meyer, the deputy press secretary at the mayor’s office. That means it won’t apply to the

Construction startup Procore files initial IPO paperwork

Posted: 02 Mar 2020 01:50 PM PST

Construction tech startup Procore plans to go public, a move that could reportedly push the company’s value north of $4 billion. Procore, a construction management software company based in Carpinteria, California, filed an S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late Friday. The filing lists $100 million as the value of the initial public offering, though this sum is a placeholder. Bloomberg Law was the first to report the filing. Back in September, Bloomberg

Editor’s note: The broker fee fall

Posted: 02 Mar 2020 01:02 PM PST

Go ahead, pile it on. It’s already hard enough being a real estate broker today with a sluggish market, rent reform laws, plunging stock prices, a looming recession and the coronavirus. But when The Real Deal broke the news last month that New York City rental brokers were no longer allowed to charge tenants fees when representing the landlord, it threw many brokerage firms into turmoil. A judge put a temporary hold on the new

Real estate was among top consumer gripes in 2019

Posted: 02 Mar 2020 12:00 PM PST

Landlord-tenant disputes generated more consumer complaints in the state last year than all but three other sources. New York Attorney General Letitia James said Monday that the disputes — from harassment issues to conflicts over security deposits — ranked fourth among New Yorker’s top consumer complaints. James’ office released a list of the 10 most common complaints received by her office. James’ office received 1,910 complaints in 2019 related to landlord-tenant disputes. But thanks to

Floor at Sherry-Netherland, 2 West Village townhomes among priciest listings last week

Posted: 02 Mar 2020 11:15 AM PST

Full-floor units dominated last week’s priciest residential listings. An entire floor at the Sherry-Netherland hotel and co-op is on the market, along with a similar private floor residence nearby on the Upper East Side and another one in Chelsea. There were also two townhouses in the West Village that hit the market together, with their listing agents touting the properties as a rare chance to create a “magnificent single-family mansion.” Combined the five pricest listings

MIPIM postponed until June as coronavirus spreads

Posted: 02 Mar 2020 10:30 AM PST

Come back in June, folks. A day after organizers of MIPIM — one of real estate’s largest annual events — said the show would go on despite big participants withdrawing on coronavirus fears, they reversed course and postponed it until June. Prominent commercial real estate companies including Blackstone Group, Cushman & Wakefield, Savills, Knight Frank and PGIM Real Estate had pulled out of the four-day conference, which was to begin March 10 in Cannes, France.

The Real Deal‘s March issue is live for subscribers!

Posted: 02 Mar 2020 10:00 AM PST

The Real Deal‘s March issue is live online and hitting doorsteps later this week! Digital subscribers have the first look at our latest coverage. This month’s issue includes: —Our cover package on the broker fee fiasco —NYC’s biggest residential brokerages, ranked by closed sales and head-counts, and listings —A look at ground lease leader Safehold —Ranking the biggest investment sales in the industry —How public pensions are funding real estate —The Closing with urban developer

Here’s how Bernie, Biden and the remaining presidential candidates would tackle housing crisis

Posted: 02 Mar 2020 09:31 AM PST

UPDATED, March 2, 1:57 p.m.: Though all of the top five Democratic presidential candidates have detailed plans to address the country’s housing affordability crisis, the issue has received scant attention amid the grinding campaign. The dire need for more housing construction and the battle over rent reform across the nation have also been largely ignored on the debate stage. It wasn’t until last week’s 10th primary debate that housing was even addressed, and just two

Downtown Brooklyn condo was borough’s priciest contract last week

Posted: 02 Mar 2020 08:47 AM PST

A condo in Downtown Brooklyn was the priciest residential deal to go into contract in the borough last week. The four-bedroom unit at 11 Hoyt Street went for $5.6 million. It spans 3,277 square feet. Overall, Brooklyn saw 19 contracts signed for $2 million or more last week, split between 10 condos, eight houses and one co-op, according to the latest report from Compass. The report looks at homes in the borough priced at $2

No house flippers allowed: East NY residents push for ban

Posted: 02 Mar 2020 08:00 AM PST

East New York residents and community leaders are pushing to ban house flippers from their neighborhood, trying to end the speculative investment play that has grown in popularity and led to rising prices. The New York Department of State will hold a hearing on a cease-and-desist bid for the neighborhood on March 5, and if the designation is granted, East New York homeowners would be allowed to opt into a list restricting home flippers from

WeWork likely to sell Managed by Q to rival company Eden

Posted: 02 Mar 2020 07:31 AM PST

Talks for WeWork to sell back the startup Managed by Q to its co-founder have fallen through, and WeWork is now more likely to sell the firm to a competitor. Managed by Q co-founder Dan Teran was in talks to buy back his company with a group of investors for less than $55 million, according to Bloomberg. WeWork reportedly paid $220 million for the startup in 2019. However, the office-space giant is now likely to

J. Christopher Flowers nears deal for $50M UES co-op

Posted: 02 Mar 2020 07:00 AM PST

Financier J. Christopher Flowers is in contract to buy an apartment for about $50 million on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The apartment spans about 7,500 square feet and occupies an entire floor of the co-op building, according to the Wall Street Journal. If it closes at the $50 million price tag, it will number among the most expensive recent transactions in New York City’s luxury market. The 18-unit luxury co-op building at Fifth Avenue and

Fortress buys debt on troubled 125 Greenwich

Posted: 02 Mar 2020 06:38 AM PST

A SoftBank-owned investment firm has purchased the defaulted mortgage on the troubled luxury condo tower 125 Greenwich Street. Fortress Investment Group bought the mortgage for about $230 million from the investment firm BH3, according to the Wall Street Journal. BH3 had been moving to foreclose on the 88-story project, which is under construction but nearly complete. Fortress will have the right to continue the foreclosure lawsuit if it chooses. The developers — Howard Lorber’s New

Pols shunning real estate donations welcome casino giant’s cash

Posted: 02 Mar 2020 06:06 AM PST

A quiet push for casinos in New York City is intensifying ahead of a highly anticipated gambling-market report and a deadline to close a yawning state budget deficit. The state has a casino-license moratorium — imposed to give four upstate casinos time to build customer bases without downstate competition — in effect until 2023. But casino operators want New York lawmakers to reconsider waiting that long. At least one, Genting, has been filling the campaign

WeWork taps oil exec as new CFO

Posted: 02 Mar 2020 05:36 AM PST

WeWork has named Kimberly Ross as its new chief financial officer, the company announced on Monday. Ross, most recently vice president and CFO at Baker Hughes, will start at WeWork on March 16. She previously held the same role at Avon Products and Ahold Delhaize, a retail company based in the Netherlands. She sits on the Board of Directors at Chubb Insurance Group, Nestle and PQ Corporation. Ross is just the latest new face on

Hines CEO talks coronavirus, Opportunity Zones and WeWork

Posted: 02 Mar 2020 04:30 AM PST

Coronavirus and its impact on the real estate industry were top of mind at the University of Miami’s Real Estate Impact Conference. During a session on development opportunities with Hines executives, Hines President and CEO Jeff Hines said coronavirus is a “major, major concern at this point.” The Houston-based real estate investment and development firm, with more than $124 billion in assets under management and 148 projects underway, is pulling out of the MIPIM property

Bronx multifamily deal leads New York’s mid-market investment sales

Posted: 02 Mar 2020 04:00 AM PST

There were a pair of deals last week for New York’s mid-market buildings: one for a multifamily building in the Bronx and one for a townhouse in Manhattan. Here are the details: 1. A Yonkers-based LLC purchased 1515 Grand Concourse in The Bronx from The Morgan Group for about $13.8 million. The multifamily building stands six stories tall with 75 units, and it is located in the borough’s Mt. Eden neighborhood. 2. The JM Revocable