The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Home showings allowed to resume by Cuomo administration

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 05:21 PM PDT

In a stunning reversal, the Cuomo administration said Wednesday that in-person home showings may resume. It also clarified that certain other residential services are also essential and may continue. The announcement means residential and commercial showings, as well as appraisal services and home inspections, can go on, albeit with at least six feet of separation between people. In-person showings were previously prohibited under Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s stay-home order, effective March 22. Cuomo had even said

Editor’s note: Is there shelter from the storm?

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 03:30 PM PDT

Our great gathering places have shut down. Our lives are now defined by shelter in place, these four walls and a roof that separate us from other people (although, thankfully, these days many of us can connect virtually). This is life in the time of the coronavirus, and in this issue, we look at what the pandemic has wrought for real estate, a story of such staggering scope it’s hard to know where to begin.

Stanley Chera in coma with Covid-19

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 03:05 PM PDT

Stanley Chera, one of the largest retail landlords in New York City, has fallen into a coma after contracting Covid-19. Chera, 78, was admitted to New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center after coming down with an unknown illness while at his summer home near Deal, N.J., the New York Post reported last week. Now, Vanity Fair reports that the Crown Acquisitions founder is in a coma and his illness was caused by the coronavirus. Chera

Prevailing wage expansion included in budget deal

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 02:30 PM PDT

Despite a massive shortfall in revenue and a projected $10 billion reduction in state spending, prevailing wage rules are expected to be expanded in New York’s budget. A bill printed Wednesday, which closely mirrors an earlier proposal by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, requires owners to pay construction workers union-level wages on projects where public funds cover at least 30 percent of construction costs and such costs exceed $5 million. Prevailing wages for construction workers are significantly

In Chapter 11 filing, Dean & DeLuca reveals it owes Midtown Equities $22M

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 01:45 PM PDT

After shuttering its stores around the city, Dean & DeLuca has filed for bankruptcy — and is on the hook for nearly $33.3 million in skipped rents. The company has raked up about $100 million in net operating losses, with liabilities north of $495 million, according to the gourmet grocer’s Chapter 11 filing in New York. According to a list of the top 30 unsecured creditors, four landlords are owed more than $33 million. Midtown

Compass to agents: It’s (virtual) show time!

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 01:30 PM PDT

With real estate agents largely sidelined by shelter-in-place orders, Compass said Wednesday that it is rolling out a set of virtual tools ranging from 3D video tours to targeted mobile ads. In a company-wide email, CEO Robert Reffkin said the firm’s new “virtual agent services” are a combination of existing and new products that were piloted in Houston over the past few weeks. Last month Compass also launched a virtual open house template. “It’s not

Marcus & Millichap acquires Dallas-based debt brokerage

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 01:15 PM PDT

Despite widespread economic uncertainty, Marcus & Millichap has acquired a boutique Dallas-based commercial debt brokerage. The firm, Metropolitan Capital Advisors, brokered $650 million in transactions last year, according to a Marcus & Millichap press release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. MCA will join Marcus & Millichap’s own investment services arm, Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation. MCA focuses on Texas and the southwest. Marcus & Millichap is based in Calabasas, California, but has 82

“Total confusion” on whether appraisals, walk-throughs, virtual showings are allowed

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 12:45 PM PDT

Are appraisers permitted in homes? Are virtual showings allowed? Can brokers do final walkthroughs with buyers? These are among the questions causing confusion in the real estate industry as brokers — classified as “non-essential” and prohibited from showing homes — try to navigate a new world of doing business remotely. In an email to members last week, the New York State Association of Realtors said it had sought guidance from the state on a series

DeSantis announces statewide stay-at-home order

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 12:15 PM PDT

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he will be issuing a statewide stay-at-home order, after weeks of mounting pressure from outside groups to try to limit the spread of Covid-19. In a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, DeSantis announced movement will be limited to essential services, which have included grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations throughout the state. The order will go into effect at midnight on Thursday and will last for 30 days. On Monday,

NYC hotels see 80% dive in occupancy

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 11:46 AM PDT

The picture for the country’s hotels continued to grow ever worse last week, as more than three quarters of the nation’s hotel rooms sat vacant. Nationwide, occupancy fell almost 68 percent to an occupancy rate of 22.6 percent during the week of March 22 to March 28, according to the hospitality data firm STR. The rate of decline accelerated from a drop in occupancy of roughly 56 percent the week before. STR senior vice president

Project filings slowed in winter, plunged in March

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 10:30 AM PDT

Before New York halted most types of construction last week, 2020 was already off to a slow start. The number of new building filings in January and February dropped 28 percent and 23 percent, respectively, from a year ago, according to an analysis of Department of Building filings by The Real Deal. As the coronavirus pandemic gripped the city in March with sweeping shutdowns beginning halfway through the month, permit filings plunged further — down

The Real Deal’s April issue is live for subscribers!

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 10:01 AM PDT

The Real Deal’s April issue is live online for subscribers! Keep an eye on your doorsteps for print copies later this week. Digital subscribers can already check out our latest coverage here, with articles including: —Our coronavirus cover package, looking at the impacts across hotel, retail, office, residential and more —A deep dive into how the mob continues to infiltrate real estate’s biggest projects —The state of iBuying at a time when no one’s buying

“They don’t deserve rent”: Tenants weigh rent strikes as landlords plan for the worst

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 08:30 AM PDT

April rent checks are due today, but tenants in cities across the U.S. say they won’t pay, either due to economic hardship or to increase leverage for political demands. In California, Illinois, New York and Missouri, organizers are urging tenants to pay for basic necessities before rent, creating tools to support renters who are unable to pay or are planning to strike, and using the coronavirus crisis to give force to demands for rent suspensions

West Chelsea’s Pool House condo project heads to bankruptcy auction

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 07:30 AM PDT

It’s sink or swim time for the Pool House. Six Sigma’s West Chelsea condo project that’s been treading water as its partners splashed about is heading for bankruptcy auction. A federal bankruptcy judge in Manhattan last week gave the green light for the sale of the boutique conversion project — where each unit will include a pool — at 435 West 19th Street, court records show. Court records show the project has a projected sellout

Mortgage market dries up for unconventional home loans

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 07:00 AM PDT

Unless the government’s backstopping the risk, unconventional homes loans are drying up. Borrowers that don’t qualify for traditional mortgages have been able to find alternatives in recent years. But now those lenders are cutting back originations — some are even halting operations full stop — as investors shy away, the Wall Street Journal reported. Some of those lenders include Angel Oak Cos., which has laid off the majority of its workforce and put a two-week

Mortgage REITs, debt funds face catch-22 between banks, developers

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 06:15 AM PDT

The cash crunch continues for nonbank lenders that relied on bank credit facilities to fund deals. Many of the lenders beginning to feel the squeeze are publicly held mortgage real estate investment trusts, and it’s likely that private debt funds will soon feel the same pain, according to the Wall Street Journal. That pressure is expected to come from the one-two punch of banks demanding more cash collateral as borrowers halt loan payments, analysts say.

“April is when the big problems kick in:” LA residential firms face reckoning

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 05:30 AM PDT

The global economy may have begun melting down in March. But for Los Angeles residential brokerages, the month was the calm before the storm. While a statewide shelter-in-place order brought about by the coronavirus pandemic suspended most new listings and home showings, brokerages could point to closings of deals in escrow to paint an optimistic picture of their industry. But according to leading brokers, agents, and appraisers in the L.A. market, that business is drying

South Works, the 415-acre “magnificent property,” is Chicago’s biggest development opportunity

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 05:00 AM PDT

There has never been a shortage of development ideas for U.S. Steel Corp.’s massive stretch of vacant land on the South Side, now marketed as 8080 Lakeshore Drive. Two abandoned projects each involved building over 10,000 homes there, with one of the proposals including millions of square feet of commercial space along with a lakefront marina. Last summer, South Side-born rapper Common was also said to be interested, and had partnered with developers on another

The Brady hunch: Is THIS the house Tom Brady (maybe) bought in Greenwich?

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 04:30 AM PDT

The rumors got the snap in July, gained traction in November and broke free into the open field in January: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel Gisele Bündchen had dropped $9 million on an estate in Greenwich and were moving their family to town! Even the governor weighed in to run blocking against the doubters with a tweet welcoming the power couple to Connecticut as the media buzz reached a peak. The supposed

WeWork offers rent discounts as incentive to secure long-term leases

Posted: 01 Apr 2020 04:00 AM PDT

WeWork has reportedly offered some customers generous discounts on their rent if they agree to sign long-term lease agreements. The co-working giant made the offers to reduce the number of cancellations during the pandemic, according to Bloomberg, which cited sources familiar with the matter. WeWork regularly uses price adjustments as incentives for its tenants, whom it calls members. The latest offers have been more frequent because of the virus, Bloomberg reported, but it is unclear