Moody’s buying CRE data firm Reis in $278M deal

Moody’s is buying Reis, the commercial real estate data company, in a deal valued at $278 million. The financial services company best known for its credit ratings is paying all cash to acquire Reis and incorporate its data archive of some 18 million properties into Moody’s Analytics offerings, Globe Street reported. “Their data on CRE supply and Moody’s Analytics’ insights on the demand for commercial properties will provide market participants with a powerful 360-degree view […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/moodys-buying-cre-data-firm-reis-in-278m-deal/

Federal judge: Nope, you can’t own the phrase “We buy houses.”

Two home-buying companies walked into a federal courtroom, feuding over who can legally use the simple phrase: “We buy houses.” The judge ruled — despite a federal trademark — that anyone can. A Virginia federal judge ordered earlier this month that the marketing arm of We Buy Houses (WBH), a company that procures quick cash offers for homes, shouldn’t have sole ownership over the phrase “we buy houses.” In another order on Thursday, Judge T.S. […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/federal-judge-nope-you-cant-own-the-phrase-we-buy-houses/

Jay Group planning 49-unit building in Prospect Park South

Joel Kohn’s Jay Group is planning a 49-unit mixed-use building in Prospect Park South. The eight-story building at 1694 Church Avenue will stand 84 feet tall and span about 41,000 square feet, split between 34,000 square feet of residential space and 7,000 square feet of commercial space, according to plans filed Friday with the Department of Buildings. The site is currently home to a one-story 99-cent store, and demolition permits were filed for it last […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/jay-group-planning-49-unit-building-in-prospect-park-south/

Queens posts highest rent hike in the country

According to this week’s market reports, Queens rents rose by 8.4 percent in August and the number of housing permits in the city rose by 35.6 percent last year. Residential Rentals | RentCafe Queens posted the highest rent hike in the country in August, registering an 8.4 percent year-over-year increase to settle at an average rate of $2,342. This was followed by Phoenix, Arizona, which had the second highest rent increase at 6.8 percent. Manhattan […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/queens-posted-the-highest-rent-hike-in-the-country/

Hotel developer sues neighbor, alleging a shakedown

Resistance from neighboring landlords is stalling some developments. Trinity NYC Hotel LLC said hasn’t been able to secure permissions from its neighbor to begin work on an Aloft-branded hotel, Crain’s New York reported. The company purchased the vacate site at 50 Trinity Place for $15 million in 2012 with plans for a 173-room hotel. In a lawsuit, Trinity NYC Hotel claimed William Koulmentas, the owner of 11 Rector Street, has asked for unreasonable sums of […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/hotel-developer-sues-neighbor-alleging-a-shakedown/

Mark your calendars: These are New York’s top real estate events next week

Tune in after Labor Day for a new event! On Sept. 6, Bisnow is hosting its National Finance Summit from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the New York Bar Association. Come and learn about where the next wave of financing transactions will occur and how to land capital. Jeffrey DiModica of Starwood Property Trust, Ralph Herzka of Meridian Capital Group, David Schonbraun of SL Green Realty, and Michael Maturo of RXR Realty, among others, […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/mark-your-calendars-these-are-new-yorks-top-real-estate-events-next-week-7/

With Premier Agent 2.0, StreetEasy will screen buyers by phone

Here comes Premier Agent 2.0. StreetEasy is making changes to the way the controversial agent advertising program works, the company confirmed. Going forward, a StreetEasy representative will screen potential buyers before passing along live leads to buy-side agents by phone. Previously, agents who advertised on StreetEasy received an email notification if a potential buyer wanted more information about a listing. The Zillow Group subsidiary informed New York brokerage heads this week about the change, which […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/with-premier-agent-2-0-streeteasy-will-screen-buyers-by-phone/

Miami broker Kevin Tomlinson sentenced to probation for extortion; banned from working in real estate

Former South Beach real estate agent Kevin Tomlinson was sentenced on Friday to an extended period of probation and was banned from the industry for extorting a top-producing broker duo, threatening to expose them for manipulation of home sales data unless they paid up. Tomlinson, who faced up to 30 years in prison, was convicted by a jury in June on two counts of extortion for his demand that Jill Eber and Jill Hertzberg — […]

source https://therealdeal.com/miami/2018/08/31/south-beach-broker-sentenced-to-probation-for-extortion-banned-from-working-in-real-estate/#new_tab

LISTEN: The Real Deal discusses dirty money in U.S. real estate

For the The Real Deal’s first-ever subscriber conference call, managing issue editor Damian Ghigliotty sat down with reporters Will Parker and David Jeans to discuss money laundering in U.S. real estate. Check out the SoundCloud player to listen to the full conversation, and be sure to keep an eye out for more information on our next conference call, happening in mid-September.

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/listen-the-real-deal-discusses-dirty-money-in-u-s-real-estate/

Innovo continues expansion with sublease of massive industrial site in the Bronx

Innovo Property Group is taking over a huge industrial property in Hunts Point. The company has signed a sublease at 1132 Oak Point Avenue, which consists of three buildings spanning 270,000 square feet, according to city records. Innovo is taking over the property from Commonwealth Industrial Parks, which is linked to the landowner and economic development corporation Harlem Commonwealth Council. The city valued the transaction at $64.2 million for tax purposes. Harlem Commonwealth Council and […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/innovo-continues-expansion-with-sublease-of-massive-industrial-site-in-the-bronx/

Brooklyn landlord charged with stealing $8K from tenant

A Brooklyn landlord faces charges that he stole more than $8,000 from a tenant then promptly evicted her just two weeks after she moved in. Yaniv (Ben) Erez, 46, of Miami, Fla., was charged with third- and fourth-degree grand larceny for allegedly taking $8,500 in security deposits and first month’s rent from a tenant at 385 Warwick Avenue. According to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, Erez promptly forced the tenant out of the building and […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/brooklyn-landlord-charged-with-stealing-8k-from-tenant/

Pearlmark refis Tower 56 with $125M Blackstone loan

Pearlmark Real Estate Partners landed a $125 million loan from the Blackstone Group to refinance its boutique Tower 56 office building in the Plaza District. Chicago-based Pearlmark, headed by CEO Stephen Quazzo, started searching for new debt in the spring to refinance the 33-story office tower it bought from Harry Macklowe’s Macklowe Properties for $158 million in 2008. The 187,000-square-foot property between Park and Lexington avenues at 126 East 56th Street was part of the […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/pearlmark-refis-tower-56-with-125m-blackstone-loan/

Get early access to TRD’s September issue

The Real Deal’s biggest issue of the year will be live tomorrow, Sept. 1, and digital subscribers to TRD will get the first look at what’s inside. Subscribers will get early access to September’s magazine articles including: A deep dive into Compass, which just launched its commercial division A behind-the-scenes look at the AG’s Real Estate Finance Bureau master plan Most major real estate is owned by LLCs. Does it matter? Subscribe now  to stay […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/get-early-access-to-trds-september-issue/

Feds sell fraudster’s Tribeca triplex for $9M

The U.S. Marshals Service sold convicted felon Jason Galanis’ former home at 260 West Broadway for $9 million, filings recorded with the city Friday show. The buyer is hard money lender Emerald Creek Capital, which had held debt on the property. The 8,000-square-foot triplex apartment at the American Thread building has 10 rooms and an original Keith Haring mural. Galanis paid $10 million for it in December of 2014, records show. The federal law enforcement […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/feds-sell-fraudsters-tribeca-triplex-for-9m/

Aby Rosen flips 90 Sands Street for $35M profit

Aby Rosen’s RFR Realty has closed the sale of a former Jehovah’s Witness building to an affordable housing nonprofit. RFR sold 90 Sands Street in Dumbo for $170 million to Breaking Ground. The two sides were said to be in talks for the site last June, with Breaking Ground reportedly presenting a plan to the local community board for “low- to-moderate income and supportive housing” at the site. The transaction provides Rosen with a $35 […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/aby-rosen-flips-90-sands-street-for-35m-profit/

These two states have the highest closing costs for million-dollar buyers

If you’re buying a multimillion dollar home in New York or Texas, make sure you budget enough for closing costs. Buyers in those two states pay the highest closing costs on average, according to Mansion Global. Fees on single-family homes that sell for at least $1 million add up to almost 0.7 percent of the cost in both states. The highest average closing costs were in Manhattan, where buyers paid $19,520 on homes for more […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/these-two-states-have-the-highest-closing-costs-for-million-dollar-buyers/

Who would be a retail broker right now?

No deal is too small for Max Swerdloff, a retail broker at Eastern Consolidated. He trawls social media and the web for the latest food trends, and reaches out to fashion e-tailers and restaurateurs, always in the hope his efforts will result in a lease deal. “I just love the process of dealmaking, I try to get my hands on any sized deal,” said Swerdloff, who started as a broker in 2015. “We’re seeing a […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2017/07/31/who-would-be-a-retail-broker-right-now/#new_tab

Maddd Equities planning 614-unit project for Inwood

Jorge Madruga’s Maddd Equities is planning to bring a 30-story, 614-unit mixed-use project to Inwood. The building at 3875 9th Avenue will stand 295 feet tall and span 600,000 square feet, including more than 500,000 square feet of residential space and 65,000 square feet of commercial space, according to New York YIMBY. It will also include a garage for 100 cars, storage space for 308 bikes and a recreation room, and 20 percent of the […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/maddd-equities-planning-614-unit-project-for-inwood/

Lower credit scores, higher debt ratios opening opportunities for new home buyers

Is it easier today for home buyers with a high debt ratio and sub-par credit scores to qualify for a mortgage than it’s been in years? And if so, what might that mean for first-time and repeat buyers who are struggling with credit and debt issues but still hope to buy a home? When the Federal Reserve polled senior bank executives last month on whether they’ve been loosening credit criteria for home-mortgage applicants, most bankers […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/lower-credit-scores-higher-debt-ratios-opening-opportunities-for-new-home-buyers/

More than 1,000 children in public housing have had high levels of lead since 2012: report

A total of 1,160 children in New York’s public housing developments suffered from high lead levels since 2012, city officials said Thursday. The city had progressed in lowering the number of children in NYCHA developments testing positive for lead for more than 10 years, but the trend stopped around the same time that the agency stopped inspecting apartments for lead paint, according to the New York Times. However, the number of kids throughout the city with elevated […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/more-than-1000-children-in-public-housing-have-had-high-levels-of-lead-since-2012-report/

WATCH: Where you can buy a home in NYC for under $500 psf

 It may be few and far between, but here’s a look at the ZIP codes in New York City where the average home is sold for under $500 per square foot. The entirety of the Bronx and Staten Island fit this criteria, according to data from PropertyShark. Meanwhile, Manhattan only had one area with prices that low: 10032 in Washington Heights. Otherwise, the borough primarily sees homes asking $1,000 a square foot or more. […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/watch-heres-where-you-can-buy-a-home-in-new-york-for-under-500-per-sf/

Coney Island, Act 3: Can the seaside enclave finally overcome its seasonal status?

Coney Island has been transforming itself for more than a century. In 1903, its most famed amusement park opened and ushered in a heyday that would run for decades. But by the turn of the millennium, the seaside enclave was a shell of itself — a run-down backwater with large swaths of vacant land and rickety rides. Over the last decade, however, the city has invested millions to revitalize it. And developers have followed suit […]

source https://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/coney-island-act-3/#new_tab

Here’s how much NY AG candidates are hauling in from real estate donors

The New York State Democratic primary is a little less than two weeks away, and so far New York real estate donors have taken particular interest in two of the four attorney general candidates. Public Advocate Letitia James and Democratic Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney have combined to raise more than $700,000 from New York City real estate interests in their bids to become the next AG. Maloney has raised the most from this crew, with […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/31/heres-how-much-ny-ag-candidates-are-hauling-in-from-real-estate-donors/

Trump says Allen Weisselberg “100 percent” didn’t betray him

President Trump doesn’t seem to be bothered by the fact that his longtime confidant was granted immunity. Trump said Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, didn’t betray him when he cooperated with an investigation into Michael Cohen. “100 percent he didn’t,” Trump told Bloomberg on Thursday. “He’s a wonderful guy,” The president also said that Weisselberg’s cooperation was for “a very limited period of time.” Weisselberg had testified before a grand […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2018/08/30/trump-says-allen-weisselberg-100-percent-didnt-betray-him/

Former Ecuadorian oil exec forfeits six SoFla properties tied to money laundering

A former top executive with Ecuador’s national oil company has been sentenced to more than four years in prison for allegedly laundering money through six South Florida properties. Marcelo Reyes Lopez, a former executive with PetroEcuador, was sentenced in July to four years and five months in prison for his role in an alleged money laundering scheme involving several PetroEcuador officials and other Ecuadorian government officials. He had pleaded guilty to one count of money […]

source https://therealdeal.com/miami/2018/08/30/former-ecuadorian-oil-exec-forfeits-six-sofla-properties-tied-to-money-laundering/#new_tab