The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

NY regulators lay out specifics of homeowner mortgage break

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 03:35 PM PDT

The Department of Financial Services just released the rules of engagement for banks to grant relief to homeowners impacted by the coronavirus. The regulations, promulgated Tuesday afternoon, follow Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive order last week telling banks to give homeowners a break. The rules only apply to residential mortgages, not commercial loans or multifamily landlords — a point that was, until now, still somewhat unclear for many. Within 10 business days, according to the regulation,

TRD Talks: Hear from SoCal resi brokerage chiefs on how to navigate the pandemic

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 03:20 PM PDT

Even in the best of times, running a residential brokerage is a survival-of-the-fittest business. Razor-thin margins, demanding agents and increased competition from venture-backed firms and technology platforms are lofty challenges. But what do leaders do when the world stops? Join us Wednesday, March 25 at 2 p.m. PT as we bring together some of the leading brokerage executives in Southern California, dealmakers who have set records in the country’s luxury market while juggling the responsibilities

Kaufman, AXA make $50M Midtown South buy

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 02:50 PM PDT

The Kaufman Organization has bought an office building in Midtown South for nearly $50 million. Kaufman, along with its joint-venture partner AXA Investment Managers, closed Tuesday on the purchase of the 12-story office building at 56 West 22nd Street, the buyers told The Real Deal. The purchase price of the all-cash deal, $48.5 million, works out to nearly $725 per square foot for the 67,000-square-foot building. Michael Kazmierski, president of Kaufman Investments, said the buyers

Real estate stocks rebound as deal nears for massive stimulus

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 02:20 PM PDT

A day after stocks fell when Congress failed to pass a $2 trillion stimulus package, financial markets rallied on Tuesday — and with them real estate stocks — as lawmakers edged closer to a massive deal to boost the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added more than 2,100 points — or about 11 percent — closing the day at 20,705. The S&P 500 closed nearly 9 percent higher. The FTSE Nareit All REITs index,

Could a pandemic bring EB-5 back to life?

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 01:30 PM PDT

After the last recession, developers turned to the federal EB-5 program for cheap financing to fund new development projects in the country’s hottest residential and commercial markets. The program became such a lifeline for developers in search of funds that it was once described as the “crack cocaine” of real estate finance. Now, in an effort to counter the major economic disruption brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration is considering dramatically upping

Two construction sites shut down as workers get Covid-19

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 01:23 PM PDT

Construction has been temporarily halted at two major infrastructure projects, including part of the multibillion-dollar overhaul of LaGuardia Airport, after workers were diagnosed with Covid-19. Work on the western concourse at LaGuardia’s Terminal B was shut down until March 30 after one worker tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the joint venture between Skanska and the Walsh Group that is working on the project. Construction was immediately halted “on the affected section of the

NYC storefronts begin boarding up as virus empties streets

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 01:15 PM PDT

New York’s once-bustling shopping districts are starting to look like they’re bracing for a hurricane. Retailers are boarding up storefronts now that the virus pandemic has emptied the city’s streets. Large sheets of plywood barricade the entrances to Sephora locations throughout the city. In Soho, the windows to the Louis Vuitton store on Greene Street have been covered by boards painted with the luxury brand’s signature yellow. Storefronts started going dark early last week after

New York City to enforce social distancing at parks, playgrounds

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 12:45 PM PDT

Parents taking their children to the playground during the pandemic have been put on notice: keep your children away from others or recreation spaces will be closed. Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered the message this week ahead of a formal plan to combat social gathering in the city. Authorities hope the crackdown will slow the spread of the virus. “You can’t play team sports at this point — there’s no more events, there’s no more

Hospitality startup Sonder slashes workforce

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 11:30 AM PDT

With travel at a standstill, venture-backed hospitality company Sonder has cut one-third of its staff. The San Francisco-based company has laid off or furloughed 400 people, The Information reported. With residents of major U.S. cities sheltering in place, bookings are down 20 percent at the company’s 5,000 apartments across the U.S. The layoffs hit multiple departments, including engineering. “If we pull these levers simultaneously, we have a chance,” CEO Francis Davidson said. “There isn’t a

Court tosses Mohamed Hadid’s demolition appeal

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 10:45 AM PDT

Mohamed Hadid may have run out of legal avenues to prevent demolition of his notorious Bel Air spec mansion. A judicial panel tossed the real estate developer’s appeal to stay an order to tear down the mansion as Hadid awaits trial on civil damages, putting demolition on track even amid the coronavirus outbreak. California appellate court justices Laurence Rubin, Carl Moor, and Dorothy Kim returned with a one-sentence decision Friday that stated the court denied

Data Alert! Manhattan new development condo report through January 2020

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 10:30 AM PDT

New development condo report Manhattan • Inventory contracted as developers filed fewer units than were purchased • Developers filed two plans with a total of 84 units • The state approved 0 plans for sale • Buyers purchased 138 units valued at $396 million Supply Demand

Pandemic may finally push Kushner Cos’ Times Square retail space into default

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 10:00 AM PDT

For the fourth time in five months, Kushner Companies has fallen behind on payments for the $285 million senior loan at its 250,000-square-foot retail space in Time Square. And with the coronavirus pandemic shutting down most retail in New York City, the property is in more distress than ever, Crain’s reported. Kushner has struggled to cover loan payments since the bankruptcy of tenant miniature landscape emporium Gulliver’s Gate, as well as rent troubles with National

Tune in tonight: TRD Talks with Mary Ann Tighe and Scott Rechler

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 09:11 AM PDT

Tonight at 5PM, TRD Editor-in-Chief Stuart Elliott will catch up with two NYC titans on the latest episode of TRD Talks Live. Elliott will talk to Mary Ann Tighe, chief executive of CBRE’s Tri-State region, and Scott Rechler, CEO and Chairman of RXR Realty. Both Tighe and Rechler have weathered some of the industry’s biggest storms and tonight they’ll talk about how the coronavirus pandemic compares with previous disasters and down markets, and what it takes

Trump National Doral restaurant, Eden Roc hotel lay off hundreds

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 08:00 AM PDT

One of Miami Beach’s most iconic resorts and a restaurant at Trump National Doral Miami are among South Florida businesses laying off more than 1,300 workers after hotels and restaurants were forced to close in Miami-Dade County. Thousands of additional layoffs in South Florida’s hospitality and restaurant industries may be likely in coming weeks as hotels have been forced to close and restaurants can only be open for delivery or takeout, by executive order of

The coronavirus clause is now a thing in resi deals

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 07:15 AM PDT

Less than a month ago, a “coronavirus clause” in a condo deal was a rare curiosity. But now such clauses have gone mainstream. Real estate brokers across the country have been getting standardized coronavirus-related legal language and addendums from their attorneys, title companies, brokerages and trade organizations to help buyers manage risk in these uncertain times, Inman reported. “Any new contracts that we’re writing, we are putting an addendum in,” Linda Fercodini of Fercodini Properties

“It’s going to be a liquidity tsunami:” Mortgage firms gear up for missed payments

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 06:31 AM PDT

While historically low interest rates may present a golden opportunity for the issuance of new mortgages, the economic disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic spells trouble for millions of existing mortgages as borrowers fall behind on payments. If one quarter of borrowers seek “forbearance” agreements allowing them to push back mortgage payments by six months or more, the Mortgage Bankers Association estimates that mortgage companies will be on the hook for at least $75 billion

Eataly in talks with Ashkenazy to gobble up some of Barneys space

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 06:01 AM PDT

As the coronavirus crisis puts a damper on real estate dealmaking in the city, Italian food hall Eataly has recently been in talks to set up a new gourmet emporium at the site of the Barneys flagship at 660 Madison Avenue, the New York Post reported. Barneys, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August, struck a deal with landlord Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation in November to keep the flagship open for at least 12 months

“The landlord is just a collection agent for the city,” CHIP head argues

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 05:30 AM PDT

The head of an influential New York landlord group has called for city and state officials to think about both sides of the housing coin when crafting policies in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. “Tenants and landlords alike are facing a true emergency, and we need our state and local leaders to act like leaders — instead of politicizing the situation or caricaturing one camp, landlords, as evildoers,” Jay Martin, executive director of the

Retail tenants disappearing from Chrysler Building

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 05:00 AM PDT

Aby Rosen’s plan for the Chrysler Building is still under wraps, but one thing is clear: Its longtime retail tenants were not part of it. The arcade space of the Chrysler Building, now largely vacant, used to be home to a collection of mom-and-pop stores that answered the daily needs of the building’s stream of commuters. A barber shop, a shoeshine shop, a dry cleaner, an optometrist and a locksmith have all left in recent

Behind Safehold’s paydirt plan

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 04:30 AM PDT

Safehold’s first big bet on New York City dirt flew under the radar at first. In late August, the iStar-managed real estate investment trust closed on its first deal in the five boroughs when it acquired the land under the landmarked Banknote Building, a 405,000-square-foot office building in the Bronx’s Hunts Point neighborhood, for $65 million. And as the only publicly traded firm to focus on ground leases — at a time when such deals

Covid-19 uncertainty may prompt landlords to renew tenants

Posted: 24 Mar 2020 04:00 AM PDT

Renters whose leases expire sometime in the next few months may have the upper hand in negotiating future terms with their landlords. It’s unclear when the spread of the coronavirus — which has infected more than 20,000 people in New York — will slow down. Mayor Bill de Blasio indicated Sunday that he believes things will get worse in April and again in May, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said social distancing could last for