The Real Deal - New York Real Estate News

$6M Cobble Hill townhouse tops list of Brooklyn luxury deals

Posted: 08 Feb 2021 02:30 PM PST

Brooklyn’s luxury market saw a slight increase in volume in the first week of February, with 20 contracts inked for a total of $65.6 million, according to Compass’ weekly report. The report tracks contracts signed on properties asking $2 million or more. That’s an uptick from the previous week’s 17 deals totaling $51.7 million, and even an improvement over a similar period in 2020, when just 14 deals were inked. In keeping with the borough’s

Redfin to publish broker commissions on 700K listings

Posted: 08 Feb 2021 01:53 PM PST

Redfin has announced it will publish agent commissions on thousands of public listings after the Department of Justice and the National Association of Realtors reached a settlement agreement designed to make agent fees more transparent. The Seattle-based firm announced Monday that it would publish the information about buyers’ broker commissions on some 700,000 listings where the data is available. “Homebuyers will finally see how much money their agent stands to earn on any home for

Eastdil picks up acquisitions pro from SL Green

Posted: 08 Feb 2021 01:35 PM PST

Eastdil Secured has tapped an SL Green Realty acquisitions pro to join its sales team. Drew Isaacson, a senior vice president at SL Green, will head to the real estate investment banking firm next week as a senior vice president in the New York City office, sources told The Real Deal. Isaacson has spent the past seven years at the REIT, where he’s worked on deals like last year’s $447 million sale of the Olivia

Citi looks to sell $193M in defaulted loans on Ron Perelman’s buildings

Posted: 08 Feb 2021 01:00 PM PST

Last year, billionaire Ron Perelman — troubled by since-resolved debt from Revlon and a tumbling net worth — sought to “clean house and simplify.” That kicked off a sale of his assets, including artwork, one of his three Gulfstream jets and several high-priced homes, with some proceeds intended to pay down debt he had personally guaranteed. Now, one of Perelman’s lenders is moving to sell defaulted loans with a balance of $193 million, The Real

Spec home built on Trump’s former Palm Beach property under contract for $140M

Posted: 08 Feb 2021 10:45 AM PST

An oceanfront mansion in Palm Beach is under contract for nearly $140 million, a record price in Florida that would place it as one of the most expensive home sales in the U.S. The buyer is a New York resident relocating to New York, according to the Wall Street Journal. A company managed by luxury home builder Mark Pulte, who is the son of Pulte Homes founder William Pulte, owns the property and built the

Best week since 2019 for Manhattan luxury market

Posted: 08 Feb 2021 10:00 AM PST

Buyers are returning to New York’s luxury market in force, with last week netting the largest number of contracts for properties asking $4 million or more since November 2019. There were 30 such contracts signed in total, according to the latest market report from Olshan Realty. Of those, 21 were condo units, four were co-ops and five were townhouses. The surge builds on an upward trend that emerged in the luxury market late last year,

Indoor dining to resume in NYC earlier than planned

Posted: 08 Feb 2021 09:06 AM PST

The tables have turned, once again, for New York’s restaurateurs. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today that restaurants will be allowed to resume indoor dining on Friday, Feb. 12, two days earlier than previously planned. Previously, indoor dining was set to return on Valentine’s Day. Restaurants will be allowed to operate indoors at 25 percent capacity. The move follows pushback from some within the industry who wanted indoor dining to resume as soon as possible. Andrew

Facing backlash, developer promises Crown Heights supermarket

Posted: 08 Feb 2021 08:15 AM PST

The owner of a Crown Heights parcel that houses an Associated supermarket says it plans to replace the store with a larger grocer along with affordable housing. The pledge was made after community leaders learned that the Associated’s lease would not be renewed to clear the way for redevelopment of the site, 975 Nostrand Avenue, Bklyner reported. Midwood Investment and Development had told the store manager that the supermarket could not stay beyond the spring.

Real estate VR tech firm Matterport to go public via SPAC

Posted: 08 Feb 2021 07:36 AM PST

The VC-backed real estate tech company Matterport, which designs software that allows virtual walkthroughs, is the latest firm to explore going public via a blank-check company. The company is in talks to list via a merger with Gores Holding VI, a special-purpose acquisition company founded late last year by investment firm the Gores Group, Bloomberg News reported. The companies confirmed the arrangement in a press release Monday morning. The deal is expected to close in

Vornado to get $525M to refi One Park Avenue

Posted: 08 Feb 2021 07:05 AM PST

The owners of One Park Avenue are set to get a major refinancing deal. Vornado Realty Trust and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are in talks with Deutsche Bank and Barclays to receive a $525 million refi for the 22-story office tower in Midtown, Commercial Observer reported. The banks intend to securitize the five-year, interest-only mortgage as a single-asset, single-borrower CMBS deal. The refinancing follows a 633,000-square-foot lease renewal in October by New York University’s

NY Senate to pass housing discrimination bills

Posted: 08 Feb 2021 06:30 AM PST

The New York state Senate is set to approve a series of bills aimed at tackling the pervasive problem of housing discrimination. The legislative measures include stiffer penalties for violating fair housing laws, more hours of implicit bias training for real estate agents and an undercover testing program, Newsday reported. The move was prompted by Newsday’s three-year investigation, “Long Island Divided,” which found widespread housing discrimination among real estate agents on the island. The publication

Financier lists Brooklyn Heights townhouse for $18M

Posted: 08 Feb 2021 06:00 AM PST

After a month of record-breaking sales, a Brooklyn Heights townhouse hit the market asking $18.25 million. The asking price on the 8,250-square-foot home pencils out to $2,212 per square foot. As a comparison, a mansion a couple of blocks away that’s about 3,000 square feet larger recently sold for over $25 million. The six-bedroom home at 212 Columbia Heights listed last week. It appears to be owned by financier Mark Werner and his wife Dawn,

TRD Tips: How to manage when you’re a landlord late on the loan

Posted: 08 Feb 2021 05:30 AM PST

What’s the best option for a landlord who’s fallen behind on the mortgage? “The short answer is, you go to your ATM machine, you put in your code, you get some cash, and you pay your lender. That’s always the easiest solution,” Ironhound Management’s Robert Verrone told The Real Deal editor-in-chief Stuart Elliott for the latest edition of TRD Tips. But as he quickly explained, it’s rarely that easy. Verrone, one of the most experienced

Knotel and Industrious’ paths diverge, why Opendoor is raising $770M

Posted: 08 Feb 2021 05:00 AM PST

Why rental arbitrage doesn’t work: Knotel vs. Industrious Knotel, once gleeful over WeWork’s downfall, succumbed to the pressure of rental arbitrage last week by (finally) filing for bankruptcy. In recent months, the startup led by CEO Amol Sarva faced mounting lawsuits alleging it stopped paying rent. In a Chapter 11 filing, the flex-office provider listed assets and liabilities between $1 billion to $10 billion. The bankruptcy filing includes $20 million in financing to aid with

Queens multifamily portfolio hits market for $99M

Posted: 08 Feb 2021 04:00 AM PST

The Musso Group is looking to sell its four-building multifamily portfolio in Briarwood, Queens, with an asking price of $99 million. The Long Island real estate firm bought a pair of apartment buildings at 80-08 and 81-10 135th Street in 2009 for $28 million. Those properties have a combined 278 residential units and one professional unit. The company then built two more luxury rental buildings with a total of 104 units at 80-09 and 81-09