@properties expanding outside Chicago with investment in Atlanta brokerage

Chicago’s top residential brokerage, @properties, is expanding outside of the local market with a new investment in Georgia brokerage Ansley Atlanta. The move will allow one of the fastest growing independent brokerage firms in the Atlanta area to team up with @properties, one of the country’s biggest brokerages, the companies said in a press release Thursday. Inman first reported the news. The deal has been described as a “partnership” between the two independent brokerages. But […]

source https://therealdeal.com/chicago/2019/03/28/properties-expanding-outside-chicago-with-investment-in-atlanta-brokerage/#new_tab

Bye bye bidding wars? Slowing market brings less competition for buyers

So long are the days of competitive buyers and numerous bids — at least for now. A new report finds that homebuyers today are facing much less competition from other prospective buyers than they did a year ago, another sign indicating a slowdown. In the first three weeks of March, about 16 percent of buyer offers faced a bidding war, according to a new report from Redfin. That’s down from 61 percent last year, CNBC […]

source https://therealdeal.com/la/2019/03/31/bye-bye-bidding-wars-slowing-market-brings-less-competition-for-buyers/#new_tab

Hawaii’s answer to Hudson Yards: This 60-acre megaproject in Honolulu

Hudson Yards isn’t the only large-scale project celebrating milestones this spring. Honolulu’s ongoing megadevelopment has some new accolades of its own. The 60-acre master plan for the area known as Ward Village was recently named the best in the country for 2019, according to Forbes. With 4,500 residential units in its pipeline and about 1 million square feet of commercial space, the sprawling project along the coast of Honolulu appears to be Hawaii’s answer to […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/03/31/hawaiis-answer-to-hudson-yards-this-60-acre-megaproject-in-honolulu/

Why Rust Belt real estate development is gearing up

A massive chemical processing plant under construction along the Ohio River is fueling renewed real estate development in the Rust Belt region. Royal Dutch Shell’s new 386-acre plant to produce a widely-used plastic called polyethylene will be the first major factory to open in the area since 1992, according to the New York Times. The factory is located just 30 miles from Pittsburgh and is slated to eventually create about 600 full-time jobs. Meanwhile, a […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/03/31/why-rust-belt-real-estate-development-is-gearing-up/

State budget deal includes a one-time “mansion tax”

A deal reached Sunday morning between the New York State Legislature and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo includes a so-called “mansion tax” on pricey luxury homes. The New York Times reported that the maximum tax rate under the new tax would be 4.15 percent on the sale of homes worth $25 million or higher. It was not immediately clear at what point the one-time sales tax would kick in. The Democrat & Chronicle reported the revenue […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/03/31/state-budget-deal-includes-a-one-time-mansion-tax/

Redfin taps into Netflixs “Queer Eye” star power

Redfin has a new public face, at least for the time being: Bobby Berk, the home redecorating expert on the Netflix show “Queer Eye.” As part of the brokerage’s recent ad campaign, Berk talks about how he bought his home through the brokerage and its agent, Nadine Guyaux, Inman reported. Berk approached Redfin about the sponsored series, according to Lisa Taylor, vice president of marketing at Redfin. The brokerage declined to comment on the compensation […]

source https://therealdeal.com/la/2019/03/31/redfin-taps-into-netflixs-queer-eye-star-power/#new_tab

New investor values CitizenM hotel group at $2.6B

Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund has acquired a 25 percent equity stake in CitizenM, a chain of 15 boutique hotels based in the Netherlands. CitizenM said the undisclosed investment gives the hotel company an enterprise value of €2 billion, according to the Financial Times. Founded in 2008, CitizenM targets business travelers seeking short stays and was the first hotel company to list properties on Airbnb, the popular vacation rental platform. Last year, the group opened its […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/03/31/new-investor-values-citizenm-hotel-group-at-2-6b/

Florida is the best state for investors to own vacation rentals: report

If you want to make bank renting out vacation homes, Florida is the place to be. A new report by Rented.com ranked 150 cities in terms of the returns investors could make with vacation rentals and the Sunshine State nabbed the first 19 spots, according to Forbes. The ranking considered local regulations on short-term rentals, costs associated with buying and owning a home in each city and demand for vacation spots based on Rented.com’s own […]

source https://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/03/31/florida-is-the-best-state-for-investors-to-own-vacation-rentals-report/#new_tab

Why listing a home in the first week of April may up your price

Anyone who lists a home for sale within the next week is no April fool. Data from the National Realtors Association’s Realtor.com claims sellers get the highest price — and close in the least number of days — when their listings went live in the first week of April, CNBC reports. Specifically, homes listed between April 1 to 7 typically get 14 percent more online views; close a sale six days sooner; and command prices […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/03/31/why-listing-a-home-in-the-first-week-of-april-may-up-your-price/

Not even death is an escape from New York’s expensive real estate

There’s barely a square foot New York City real estate that doesn’t sell for a premium and it’s no different in the city’s increasingly crowded cemeteries. The cost of burial plots in the cemeteries that dot the city have increased over the years, while plot sizes have shrunk as land becomes scarce, according to the New York Times. Plots typically go for between $4,500 to $19,000 before maintenance and other fees, but pricing is all […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/03/30/not-even-death-is-an-escape-from-new-yorks-expensive-real-estate/

Disgraced restaurateur Ken Friedman plots Long Island comeback

Spotted Pig owner Ken Friedman has been… spotted on Long Island. The disgraced restaurateur has applied for a liquor license on the North Fork, an area that has been described as the “Brooklyn of Long Island,” Eater reported. His partners on the new project are Jennilee Morris and Jess Dunne of North Fork Roasting Company, a local coffee roaster and restaurant. In 2017, Friedman was accused by at least 10 women of various “unwanted sexual […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/03/30/disgraced-restaurateur-ken-friedman-plots-long-island-comeback/

Google is getting into the vacation rental business

On the heels of launching its new hotel booking platform, Google is adding new vacation rental offerings to the business. Users now have the option to book entire lodgings — like apartments, cabins and villas — instead of individual rooms, Skift reported. The feature is available globally for mobile users and will expand to the desktop platform in several months. “Our goal is to provide the best possible search experience for users looking for a […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/03/30/google-is-getting-into-the-vacation-rental-business/

Leave the gun, take the house: “Godfather” home on Staten Island is up for sale

The sellers of this house will need to hear an offer they can’t refuse. The Staten Island home at 120 Longfellow Avenue, which famously served as Michael Corleone’s home in “The Godfather,” is up for sale, according to the New York Post. The four-bedroom property is asking $1.37 million. Owners Elaine and Peter Albert have lived in the home since 1977, when they bought it for $195,000. Its connection to Hollywood was not related to […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/03/30/leave-the-gun-take-the-house-godfather-home-on-staten-island-is-up-for-sale/

Travis Kalanick’s new firm is expanding — this time in London

Travis Kalanick’s new venture — which aims to build a web of kitchens that cater to delivery-only restaurants — has expanded for the first time outside the United States. Kalanick’s City Storage Systems (CSS) quietly picked up FoodStars, a London-based startup also focused on the food-delivery industry, the Financial Times reported. Last year Kalanick, the former Uber CEO who resigned amid a series of scandals at the ride-sharing company, invested $150 million in Los Angeles-based […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/03/30/travis-kalanicks-new-firm-is-expanding-this-time-in-london/

South Florida construction starts plummet in February

South Florida construction starts plummeted for the second straight month. Total construction starts declined 63 percent on a year-over-year basis in February to $589 million, according to a new report by Dodge Data & Analytics. Commercial real estate saw the biggest drop, falling 78 percent to $190.1 million, while residential starts declined 43 percent to $399 million. While monthly housing starts reports can be volatile, February marks the second consecutive month that construction starts fell […]

source https://therealdeal.com/miami/2019/03/28/south-florida-construction-starts-plummet-in-february/#new_tab

Protection at a price: How one home survived the Woolsey Fire

Despite an estimated $5 billion in real estate damage the Woolsey Fire inflicted, Phillip Vogt’s Malibu home was the only one in his area left relatively unscathed. The tale of his property, detailed in a Wall Street Journal report, could become a model for how homeowners in high-risk areas — and who have the significant financial means — can protect their properties against future wildfires. Knowing it was in one of the most fire-prone areas, […]

source https://therealdeal.com/la/2019/03/29/protection-at-a-price-how-one-home-survived-the-woolsey-fire/#new_tab

WeWork expands private event booking service to Chicago

As competitor Convene ramps up its expansion into Chicago, WeWork is inviting members and non-members alike to book private events at several of its local offices. The co-working giant announced this week it will offer four spaces at three of its nine city locations where companies can book “workshops, presentations, offsite meetings, social events and everything in between.” The available spaces include lounge areas — already open to WeWork members during the day — at […]

source https://therealdeal.com/chicago/2019/03/29/wework-expands-private-event-booking-service-to-chicago/#new_tab

Cuomo confirms pied-à-terre tax is off the table, transfer tax could replace it

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday confirmed that the controversial pied-à-terre tax, an annual levy on nonresidents’ second homes valued at $5 million or more, is off the table. During a press conference Friday evening, the governor said the legislature is working on an alternative to replace the tax in the proposed state budget. Instead of an annual tax, officials are working on a proposal for a one-time transfer tax on “high-end properties, residential and commercial” […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/03/29/cuomo-confirms-pied-a-terre-tax-is-off-the-table-transfer-tax-could-replace-it/

City books plans for housing development at Inwood Library site

The city is planning a 174-unit affordable housing project at the Inwood Library site. The development at 4790 Broadway would span about 145,000 square feet and stand 14 stories and 143 feet tall, according to plans pre-filed with the Department of Buildings on Wednesday. The structure will be split between roughly 118,000 square feet of residential space and 26,000 square feet of community space. The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, which filed the […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/03/29/city-books-plans-for-housing-development-at-inwood-library-site/

More brokerages are promoting whisper listings — and REBNY isn’t happy about it

The year was 2016. The billionaire was Len Blavatnik. And the house was the Wildenstein mansion, a 20,000-square-foot property at 19 East 64th Street. After a handshake deal, Blavatnik thought the house was his — until heirs to the art gallery fortune accepted an offer for $79.5 million from HNA Group. Blavatnik sued and lost.  But the story doesn’t end there. With the Chinese conglomerate under pressure to sell off its assets, the billionaire pounced, paying […]

source https://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/secret-listings-soar/#new_tab

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

Here are a few real estate events worth attending this week! On April 2, the Mortgage Bankers Association of New York is holding its 5th Annual Strategic Real Estate & Lending Summit at the Fordham Lincoln Center, 150 West 62nd Street, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Attend for featured discussions on the outlook of the commercial and residential market. Ryan Severino of JLL and Dan Alger of Goldman Sachs will be among the speakers […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/03/29/mark-your-calendars-these-are-nycs-top-real-estate-events-next-week-8/

WATCH: What’s at stake with Albany’s proposed pied-à-terre tax

What’s behind the sudden revival of Albany’s proposed pied-à-terre tax and why is the real estate industry so concerned? Gov. Andrew Cuomo has expressed his commitment to the legislation following a recent report that suggested the momentum behind the tax was waning. Under the current proposal, nonresidents who own homes with a market value of at least $5 million would be charged an annual fee. Brokerage executives have warned such a tax would hurt the […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/03/29/watch-whats-at-stake-with-albanys-proposed-pied-a-terre-tax/

Magna Hospitality picks up Sam Chang’s Garment District hotel for $274M

Magna Hospitality Group has closed on its buy of Sam Chang’s newly built hotel in the Garment District. Sam Chang’s McSam Hotel Group sold the property for $274.3 million, according to property records filed Friday. The parties were reported to have entered contract last month. Deutsche Bank provided a $185 million refinanced loan to buyer Magna Hospitality Group, headed by CEO Robert Indeglia. The lender declined to comment. Chang and Rhode Island-based Magna Hospitality did not […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/03/29/magna-hospitality-picks-up-sam-changs-garment-district-hotel-for-274m/

This art collector’s Connecticut compound just hit the market for $20M

A sprawling Connecticut estate, complete with its own private art gallery, could eventually become the priciest home sale in Litchfield County. The compound in Sharon, Conn. is on the market for $20 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. The property is being sold by the estate of Melva Bucksbaum, a longtime trustee of the Whitney Museum of American Art who died in 2015. Klemm Real Estate’s Graham, Carolyn and Peter Klemm have the listing. The […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/03/29/this-art-collectors-connecticut-compound-just-hit-the-market-for-20m/

Adam Hochfelder appears back in court to plead guilty to misdemeanor fraud charge

Adam Hochfelder was back in court on Thursday, where he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor fraud charge in a scheme involving Knicks season tickets, a false order from a fashion retailer and a Manhattan apartment building, according to court documents. The case arose out of Hochfelder’s 2008 fraud case, when he was accused of defrauding banks, friends and family out of more than $18 million and sent to prison for about two years. A victim […]

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/03/29/adam-hochfelder-appears-back-in-court-to-plead-guilty-to-misdemeanor-fraud-charge/