The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

Funnel raises $14.1M as demand surges for online leasing

Posted: 12 Nov 2020 01:50 PM PST

Funnel, a startup that helps landlords manage their rental portfolios, has raised $14.1 million to meet a surge in demand for online leasing tools. The company, formerly known as Nestio, said the Series AA round was led by RET Ventures, with participation from prior backers Camber Creek and Trinity Ventures. Trinity led the startup’s $8 million Series A in 2015. CEO Tyler Christiansen said Funnel initially raised $8 million before Covid, but reopened the round

Tax revenue from NYC property sales plunges $1.4B

Posted: 12 Nov 2020 01:10 PM PST

Despite an uptick in investment and residential sales over the last month, the drop-off in tax revenue from such deals this year has reached $1.4 billion, a new report found. In October, $4.6 billion worth of residential and investment sales were recorded, according to the report, by the Real Estate Board of New York. That was up 33 percent from September but down 34 percent from a year ago. The transaction tax revenue from these

Shut down offices, indoor dining: Stringer

Posted: 12 Nov 2020 12:25 PM PST

As Covid-19 cases spike in New York City, comptroller Scott Stringer — a front-runner in the 2021 mayoral race — just made himself very unpopular with office landlords. “We owe it to our kids to do everything we can to keep schools safe and open,” Stringer said in a tweet Thursday. “Shut down office buildings.” Stringer also called on city and state lawmakers to shut down indoor dining and gyms and improve the city’s contract

US home prices jump at record rate

Posted: 12 Nov 2020 11:47 AM PST

Home prices are on the up, but that may lead to trouble in the future. The median cost of a single-family home jumped 12 percent in the third quarter to $313,500, marking the biggest year-over-year increase since 2013, according to data from the National Association of Realtors that was first reported by Bloomberg. Prices increased in all 181 metropolitan areas NAR tracks, the organization said in a report published Thursday. Some of the largest gains

NYC property data, simplified: Introducing TRD Listings powered by LavaMap

Posted: 12 Nov 2020 10:45 AM PST

“Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.” So said ex-Beatle and peace-seeker John Lennon. We’re pretty sure he wasn’t referring to the tedious task of searching for properties in New York City. As any savvy buyer or investor knows, one can easily spend hours compiling data from multiple sources to get a clear picture of a listing. That’s why we’re excited to introduce TRD Listings powered by LavaMap, the search engine built to empower real

New York City hotels put strain on $3.1B in CMBS loans

Posted: 12 Nov 2020 10:10 AM PST

More bad news for New York City’s hotels — and the loans they’re propping up — is on the horizon. More than 80 percent of hotels in the city that are backing CMBS loans, equivalent to $3.1 billion, are exhibiting signs of strain due to the coronavirus pandemic, more than the national average of 71 percent, the Financial Times reported, citing data from Trepp. Of those, 38 percent of hotels sit on a watchlist designed

88% of NYC restaurants could not make October rent

Posted: 12 Nov 2020 08:00 AM PST

Despite the return of indoor dining, restaurants are still struggling to make rent. A record high 88 percent could not pay full October rent, according to the latest survey of more than 400 restaurants, bars and nightlife venues by the New York City Hospitality Alliance. That percentage has gradually increased throughout the pandemic. In June, 80 percent of respondents didn’t make full rent. In July that number crept up to 83 percent. And in August

New leases in Manhattan and Brooklyn surge: Elliman

Posted: 12 Nov 2020 07:46 AM PST

Brooklyn and Manhattan prices have finally come down enough to pull renters back. It could be an early indicator for the rest of the city. New lease signings had been down in Manhattan year-over-year for the previous 14 months, but last month was the busiest October in 12 years. The market share of landlord concessions and new concessions set new records, too — and the net median rent fell to its lowest level in nearly

New York last among big cities with 13% of workers back in offices

Posted: 12 Nov 2020 07:15 AM PST

New York is seeing fewer employees return to the office than nine other major cities across the U.S., data show. Across the 10 cities, about a quarter of employees were in the office last week. In New York, that number was just 13 percent, Bloomberg reported. Other parts of the country are seeing more employees come back, according to key-card access data from Kastle Systems International. In Los Angeles, 32 percent of employees were at

Manhattan-based asset manager, down on NYC, opens Miami office

Posted: 12 Nov 2020 06:45 AM PST

As lockdowns continue to affect New York, Marathon Asset Management is setting up an office in Miami. While the investing team will remain in New York, the new Miami office will be available for all other personnel. “Marathon South will be an option for our employees,” co-founder and CEO Bruce Richards said Wednesday in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “I’m certainly committed to New York City,” Richards added. “I love New York City.” But he

Chief legal officer Jennifer Berrent to leave WeWork

Posted: 12 Nov 2020 05:45 AM PST

Chief Legal Officer Jennifer Berrent is in talks to leave WeWork, Bloomberg reported. Berrent, who served as co-president in addition to her legal role when the company filed paperwork last year to go public, is said to be planning to depart in the first quarter of 2021. Transition plans are not yet set. Berrent, who also previously had the role of chief culture officer, joined the company in 2014. Her 2018 total compensation of $878,885

Democratic megadonor unloaded Trump Tower condo day before election

Posted: 12 Nov 2020 05:00 AM PST

While Democratic megadonor Henry Laufer was helping evict President Donald Trump from the White House, the billionaire former hedge funder was trying to sell his own Trump Tower condo. He succeeded on both fronts. Laufer’s 60th-story unit at 721 Fifth Avenue closed the day before the presidential election with a final sale price of $5.5 million, according to property records. He purchased the unit in 2006 with his wife Marsha for $9.5 million. The couple

Flushing … another project down the toilet?

Posted: 12 Nov 2020 04:00 AM PST

Wacky stuff is happening at the City Council. Not long ago, a proposed Special Flushing Waterfront District was supposed to win approval without too much trouble because the local Council member, Peter Koo, supports the big development that it would allow. How big? Nine buildings, 1,756 apartments, 29 acres — big enough that it would take three developers until 2025 to finish. To Koo, it’s a no-brainer. As he said at a Council committee meeting