The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

OneKey takes on StreetEasy with new listing site

Posted: 22 Jun 2020 01:45 PM PDT

Brokers in the New York metro area are taking on the real estate industry’s 800-pound gorilla. Realtors in Westchester and Long Island, who merged their multiple listing systems in 2018, launched a consumer-facing portal on Monday. OneKey MLS, which debuted last year as an MLS for agents, currently has more than 40,000 listings from Montauk to Manhattan to Monticello, said the group’s CEO Jim Speer, speaking at a Zoom news conference to introduce the site.

No progress for Brooklyn’s moribund luxury market

Posted: 22 Jun 2020 12:45 PM PDT

Don’t call it a comeback. The luxury market in Brooklyn was stuck in neutral last week, as six properties asking $2 million or more went into contract in the borough last week for a combined total value of $17.4 million, according to Compass. The prior week saw seven homes with combined asking prices of $17.5 million go into contract. The week before that, it was seven contracts and $22.5 million. Contract activity in the borough

Landlord lawyers talk protest over eviction confusion

Posted: 22 Jun 2020 12:00 PM PDT

While tenants protested the reopening of Housing Court Monday, incensed landlord attorneys plotted actions against the city and state for not doing enough to allow evictions. Some 100 attorneys from the Brooklyn Housing Court Bar Association convened to discuss the conflicting guidance given ahead of the scheduled reopening of Housing Court. But the tone quickly escalated to frustration. Some attorneys suggested that the court was not on the same page as Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who

For LA’s malls, lawsuits could be the next crisis

Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:45 AM PDT

In Jacksonville Beach, Florida, 16 employees and patrons of an Irish pub were infected with coronavirus in just one evening. And in suburban Chicago, Walmart was sued by the family of an ex-employee who died after she allegedly contracted coronavirus at work. These incidents are happening as brick-and-mortar shops reopen across the U.S. including Los Angeles County, which greenlighted the return of mammoth malls like The Grove and Del Amo Fashion Center that power the

Soho House bags $100 million in new funding, retains $2B valuation

Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:15 AM PDT

As lockdown restrictions begin easing in the U.S., the Malibu beachfront property owned by Soho House, a private members club for the jet-set, has reportedly begun to reopen. That’s good news for the company, which also secured an investment of $100 million from new and existing shareholders, Sky News reported. The British TV news channel said the funding round was led by the company’s largest investor, Ron Burkle, founder of the private equity firm the

Valentino sues to quit Fifth Ave — maybe forever

Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:00 AM PDT

Even for Valentino, the rent on Fifth Avenue is too damn high. The luxury high-fashion boutique is suing its landlord to terminate the lease on its four-story store in a coveted section of the retail corridor, the Wall Street Journal reported. The pandemic has been a disaster for Valentino SpA, but tellingly, its lawsuit argues that Fifth Avenue would not make sense for its business even after the pandemic. Valentino started its lease in August

Manhattan luxury contracts reach 13-week high

Posted: 22 Jun 2020 10:30 AM PDT

As the city edges toward reopening, luxury contracts in Manhattan have reached a new high. There were 12 contracts signed last week for properties above $4 million, according to the latest market report from Olshan realty. It was the highest total in 13 weeks. Contracts were severely slowed by the statewide shutdown, but deals have begun to gain a little momentum in the last two weeks. And while the activity aligns with New York’s reopening

Real estate firms lead cautious return to NYC offices

Posted: 22 Jun 2020 09:46 AM PDT

Real estate companies are leading the way as New York City allows some workers to return to their offices. Brookfield Property Partners expects a quarter of its 700 New York employees to return to the office Monday, while RFR wants its 60 employees to work from the company’s Midtown office four days a week. “We felt it was really important, as the largest office landlord in the world, that we demonstrate leadership in returning to

Selling the whole city: TRD’s resi brokerage ranking expands beyond Manhattan

Posted: 22 Jun 2020 09:00 AM PDT

Sometimes you can lose and still win. Douglas Elliman’s Manhattan sales dropped more than 23 percent last year from an eye-popping 2018 total of nearly $9 billion, but it still retained its No. 1 spot on The Real Deal’s tally of closed sales for 2019. Elliman also managed to edge out its rival the Corcoran Group in TRD’s new three-borough ranking, which tallies sales for Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens — but only barely. The firm

Plaza Construction seeks to foreclose on Eichner’s Flatiron units

Posted: 22 Jun 2020 08:15 AM PDT

The contractor that oversaw construction of one of Manhattan’s tallest condo towers claims the developer refuses to pay his $14 million bill. And now the firm wants to force an auction for some of the building’s units in order to get paid. Plaza Construction, the general contractor on Ian Bruce Eichner’s Flatiron District condo development, filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to foreclose on a $14.4 million mechanic’s lien the company placed on the building at

SL Green’s co-CIO leaving firm

Posted: 22 Jun 2020 07:15 AM PDT

One of New York City’s largest office landlords is bidding farewell to its co-chief investment officer as it faces a cash crunch brought on by the coronavirus. SL Green Realty announced Isaac Zion would be leaving the company after July 31, according to a company email seen by Bloomberg. Andrew Mathias, the company’s president, thanked Zion “for all his accomplishments and his tireless efforts at adding value across the entirety of our platform.” Zion joined

Tony Malkin on looting, unions and Empire State Building reopening

Posted: 22 Jun 2020 06:45 AM PDT

Anthony Malkin has a lot on his mind — and a few things to get off his chest. The CEO and chairman of the Empire State Realty Trust, which owns the Empire State Building, is preparing to reopen its famous observatories and taking a dismissive view of the work-from-home movement and the recent looting. Malkin shared his thoughts with The Real Deal in an interview just before the REIT revealed a staff shakeup that put

Facebook eyes Neiman Marcus’ Hudson Yards shop

Posted: 22 Jun 2020 06:07 AM PDT

Facebook has been shopping for more space at Hudson Yards. The social media giant is in talks to lease Neiman Marcus’s retail space in Hudson Yards, Women’s Wear Daily reported, citing sources. Related Companies had reportedly been eyeing a plan B for the retailer’s 188,000-square-foot space after Neiman Marcus’ May bankruptcy filing, which would allow it to vacate its shops without penalty. The landlord has been marketing a total of 380,000 square feet at the

Brokers are back, but what about buyers?

Posted: 22 Jun 2020 05:55 AM PDT

For three months, McKenzie Ryan has had a war room to prepare for showings to restart in New York City. The Compass broker has written a Post-it Note with the name of every potential buyer who’s reached out to her. “That’s how I have to keep track of it,” she said. “I literally need a map.” Now, it’s go time. Agents are excited, anxious or, in some cases, ambivalent as the ban on showing New

TRD Insights: Pandemic has sent over $20B in CMBS debt into special servicing

Posted: 22 Jun 2020 05:00 AM PDT

The number of CMBS loans transferred to special servicers has ballooned during the coronavirus crisis, and has totaled $21 billion in the last 90 days. And most of those troubled loans are secured hotel and retail properties. From March through May, 439 commercial mortgage-backed securities loans were transferred to special servicing compared to a total of 674 loans and $9 billion for all of 2019, according to a recent report from Fitch Ratings. In January

SL Green’s condo sales at Daily News building lead mid-market deals

Posted: 22 Jun 2020 04:30 AM PDT

The $10 million to $30 million sector of New York’s investment sales market saw two deals last week, including a pair of commercial condos in the former Daily News building that SL Green came close to selling to Jacob Chetrit last year. Here are the details: 1. SL Green sold a pair of commercial condos in the former New York Daily News building to the Young Adult Institute for $26.7 million. The institute focuses on

Developers, investors hustle for bulk condo deals

Posted: 22 Jun 2020 04:00 AM PDT

Danny Fishman cannot keep up with the demand. The investor, who leads Gaia Real Estate, is contending with a deluge of pitches from developers hoping to sell him condo units in bulk. He said the missives began picking up last year but recently have been coming in at such velocity that he hardly has time to look at them. “I would easily say at least 50 percent of new [condo] construction in the city is