Vornado’s 220 Central Park South closes another pricey condo

The hits keep coming at 220 Central Park South. Property records filed Thursday show that an anonymous buyer picked up a 47th-floor unit for $61 million in late September. The filing comes days after another major sale was recorded at the Vornado building for a $55 million unit just two floors below. According to the condo declaration, unit 47A has five bedrooms, six bathrooms and two powder rooms. At 6,591 square feet, it prices out

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/31/vornados-220-central-park-south-closes-another-pricey-condo/

Data Alert: What’s going on with i-sales in Manhattan and Brooklyn?

Investment sales in Manhattan and Brooklyn Manhattan investment sales hit a two-year low in August with $995 million in deals recorded — 52 percent down from June and 59 percent below the 12-month average. The borough’s largest deal was Savanna’s $180 million buy of the office building at 360 Lexington Avenue from AEW Capital Management. Brooklyn’s investment sales market slowed down less dramatically, with $550 million in deals recorded in August, a 14 percent drop

source https://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/new-york-city-investment-sales-in-august-2019/

LoanCore lends Taconic, Nuveen $181M on West End Campus buy

LoanCore Capital lent $181 million to Taconic Investment Partners and Nuveen to finance their purchase of “West End Campus” that used to be part of the ABC portfolio. The Washington, D.C.-based real estate investment trust provided the financing for the buyers’ $230 million purchase of the campus from Silverstein Properties, property records filed with the city Thursday show. The deal closed on Wednesday. A representative for LoanCore was not immediately available to comment. Silverstein hired

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/31/loancore-lends-taconic-nuveen-181m-on-west-end-campus-buy/

Broker confidence declines for another quarter: REBNY

An unfriendly regulatory environment has pushed brokers’ confidence down for the second straight quarter. But things are still better than they were a year ago. Brokers reported an average confidence score of 5.84 out of 10 points during the third quarter of 2019, according to the Real Estate Board of New York’s Broker Confidence Index. That was down 12 percent from the quarter prior, but still up 23 percent from the same quarter a year

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/31/broker-confidence-declines-for-another-quarter-rebny/

“Chocolate” building near new Wegmans satisfies sweet tooth for free-market deals

The new Wegmans at the Brooklyn Navy Yard isn’t the only place in the neighborhood to feed a chocolate fix. The former Tootsie Roll factory turned loft-style apartment building in Clinton Hill sold for $67.25 million to a partnership of Fairstead Capital and Meadow Partners, sources told The Real Deal. The sale price for the Chocolate Factory Lofts at 275 Park Avenue comes close to recouping the $68 million that sellers the HK Organization and

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/31/chocolate-building-near-new-wegmans-satisfies-sweet-tooth-for-free-market-deals/

Robert Reffkin’s stock agreement at Compass comes to light

In 2012, Robert Reffkin paid just $335.50 for his stake in a nascent firm known as Urban Compass. Today those shares — made public in a recent court filing — are worth $517.5 million based on Compass’ latest funding round in July. And while Reffkin’s stake was likely diluted over the years, the CEO’s original stock amounts to roughly 8.5 percent of what is now a $6.4 billion firm. Such agreements are typically held close

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/31/robert-reffkins-stock-agreement-at-compass-comes-to-light/

It’s over for Barneys: Luxury retailer to be sold, stores closed

Its official: Barneys will been sold to Authentic Brands Group and B. Riley for about $270 million. The deal, approved by Judge Cecilia Morris in bankruptcy court Thursday morning, means that ABG, a brand merchandiser, will own the luxury department store’s intellectual property. It also will allow the new owner to partner with rival department store Saks Fifth Avenue to use Barneys’ name in its stores. It also means that, most likely, the new owners

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/31/its-over-for-barneys-luxury-retailer-to-be-sold-stores-closed/

Brooklyn binge: Rabsky Group plans to bring 65-unit project to Williamsburg

Rabsky Group is beefing up its presence in Brooklyn even more with plans to build a roughly 73,000-square-foot mixed-use building in Williamsburg. The firm pre-filed plans for the project at 58 Union Avenue with the Department of Buildings on Tuesday. It will include residential, commercial and community space and stand seven stories tall with 65 residential units. Simon Dushinsky and Isaac Rabinowitz’s Rabsky Group purchased the Union Avenue site from Pfizer in 2012 for $12.75

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/31/brooklyn-binge-rabsky-group-plans-to-bring-65-unit-project-to-williamsburg/

How to get away with [selling a] murder [house]

Los Angeles might be just as famous for its grisly murders as it is for its movie industry. Tourists can take true-crime tours of the Beverly Hills mansion where the Menendez brothers fatally shot their parents in 1989, the site where the mutilated body of Elizabeth Short (the “Black Dahlia”) was dumped in 1947 or the East L.A. neighborhoods once terrorized by serial killer Richard Ramirez, aka the Night Stalker. And sometimes real estate is

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/31/how-to-get-away-with-selling-a-murder-house/

Financier at center of 1MDB fraud case agrees to give up hundreds of millions of dollars

Fugitive financier Jho Low will stop fighting for assets valued between $650 to $900 million in the massive 1MDB scandal. He has given up his claim to assets including luxury apartments, jets, yachts and artwork that prosecutors claim he bought with stolen money, according to the New York Times. The settlement will likely impact the Time Warner Center along with multiple homes in Los Angeles. “The message in this case is simple: The United States

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/31/financier-at-center-of-1mdb-fraud-case-agrees-to-give-up-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars/

Chicago office landlords must solve a 2M sf problem before it’s too late

Office landlords in the Central Loop are worried. About 2 million square feet of space is projected to become vacant within the next three years. And they face stiffer competition than ever before — no longer are they just competing with one another, they’re fending off owners with new product in fast-growing submarkets like the West Loop. “This is causing building owners in the Central Loop to come together and talk about ways in which

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/31/chicago-office-landlords-must-solve-a-2m-sf-problem-before-its-too-late/

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Bill Ackman says WeWork is worthless, Demi Moore’s old penthouse listed for $50M: Daily digest

Every weekday The Real Deal rounds up New York’s biggest real estate news. We update this page throughout the day, starting at 9 a.m.. Please send any tips or deals to tips@therealdeal.com This page was last updated at 9 a.m. Bill Ackman says WeWork’s worth is “zero.” The hedge fund manager said at a conference that WeWork “has a pretty high probability of being a zero for the equity, as well as for the debt,” adding

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/31/bill-ackman-says-wework-is-worthless-demi-moores-old-penthouse-listed-for-50m-daily-digest/

WATCH: Howard Lorber in concert(!)

Howard Lorber plays to his own tune. Specifically, “Swans on the Lake’ — the only one he knows. The Douglas Elliman chairman’s talent emerged Tuesday at a press preview and broker tour of 111 West 57th Street, the newest luxury condo building on Billionaires’ Row. Developed by Michael Stern’s DS Development Group, Kevin Maloney’s Property Markets Group and Spruce Capital Partners, the project is nearing completion. Last year Elliman took over marketing and sales from

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/31/watch-howard-lorber-in-concert/

How to sell a haunted listing

Compass agent Micha Hendel wants the record set straight: The listing at 136 Clinton Avenue isn’t haunted. Ever since the current owners bought it in 1996, no poltergeists, ghouls, or other-worldly characters have materialized on the historic Clinton Hill property — a Greek Revival constructed in the early 1830s that’s currently on the market for $3.6 million. Still, once rumors of hauntings get out, they can be tough to escape. In this case, the lore

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/31/how-to-sell-a-haunted-listing/

A-Rod is coming for NYC and SoFla real estate

Alex Rodriguez has seen both his professional and personal life covered exhaustively in newspapers across the country for decades now. But since retiring as the Yankees’ star third baseman in 2016 — and, according to Forbes, pocketing over $480 million during his 22-year, pro-baseball career — he’s become even busier. He’s now juggling regular media appearances with color commenting baseball games (he’s a broadcaster for Fox Sports and part of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball team)

source https://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/a-rods-real-estate-playbook/

Toby Moskovits’ Williamsburg Hotel is headed for receivership following $68M loan default

Months after defaulting on a $68 million mortgage and failing to secure refinancing, Toby Moskovits’ Heritage Equity Partners is set to see management of its Williamsburg Hotel taken over by a temporary receiver. The New York County Supreme Court approved lender Benefit Street Partners’ request for a receiver earlier this month, court documents show. Both parties have until month’s end to propose a candidate for that role, and a receiver will be selected on Nov.

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/30/toby-moskovits-williamsburg-hotel-is-headed-for-receivership-following-68m-loan-default/

Co-op owners get a quick fix on registration program aimed at rent-regulated apartments

After facing backlash from co-op owners, the City Council is moving to amend a law that requires landlords to register their rent-regulated apartments with the city. Council member Mark Levine introduced a bill that will change the definition of “affordable units” that must be registered with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s online affordable housing portal. Local Law 64, which went into effect last year, included Housing Development Fund Corporations, co-ops that were taken

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/30/co-op-owners-get-a-quick-fix-on-registration-program-aimed-at-rent-regulated-apartments/

Fed Reserve lowers rates, and once again real estate is loving it

There may come a time when a Federal Reserve interest rate cut is met with skepticism from the broader real estate industry. But now is not that time, experts say. Investor interest in real estate deals has climbed since the Fed first started cutting rates in July, through to its third and latest round of cuts announced Wednesday. Lowering interest rates makes other asset classes such as bonds less attractive, which has caused investors to

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/30/fed-reserve-lowers-rates-and-once-again-real-estate-is-loving-it/

Here are the week’s top luxury sales

Each week, The Real Deal and CityRealty look back at Manhattan’s priciest apartment sales

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/30/here-are-the-weeks-top-luxury-sales-83/

Barneys creditors push plan to salvage the company

Barneys’ creditors are still holding out hope that an underdog bidder will keep the iconic luxury retailer’s doors open. Ahead of a Halloween-day hearing to finalize the sale of Barneys, the retailer’s unsecured creditors demanded to review a second acquisition bid that would save the department store. But it is unknown whether the bid will even come in before the hearing. The leading bidder appears to be Authentic Brands Group, which owns the intellectual property

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/30/barneys-creditors-push-plan-to-salvage-the-company/

Inside Kushner Companies’ $1B expansion into South Florida

Since the start of the year, Kushner Companies has rolled out plans to build three major apartment projects in South Florida that will bring a total of 3,000 units at a cost topping $1 billion. That’s a major investment for the New York-based developer that had not previously set foot in the Sunshine State. And it comes at a time when condo development has nearly ground to a halt and when South Florida’s multifamily market

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/30/inside-kushner-companies-1b-expansion-into-south-florida/

Here are the neighborhoods where homes are flying off the shelf

Most of the city’s residential listings are collecting dust, but in Queens homes are flying off the shelf. A new report by StreetEasy ranked the top neighborhoods where homes are selling the most rapidly according to median days on the market in the third quarter. In South Queens, where the median sales price rose 5 percent year-over-year to $545,000, homes took an average of 60 days to sell – the shortest timespan in the city.

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/30/here-are-the-neighborhoods-where-homes-are-flying-off-the-shelf/

Short sellers target Brooklyn landlord on Israeli bond market, IBM on the hunt for massive office space

Every day, The Real Deal rounds up New York’s biggest real estate news. We update this page in real time, starting at 9 a.m. Please send any tips or deals to tips@therealdeal.com This page was last updated at 9 a.m. Short sellers are targeting a Brooklyn landlord in Israel. Pinnacle Group has sold $500 million in bonds on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. But as uncertainty about the effects of New York’s new rent laws ramp

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/30/short-sellers-target-brooklyn-landlord-on-israeli-bond-market-ibm-on-the-hunt-for-massive-office-space/

This Park Slope lot has been vacant for decades. Here’s why

Brooklyn’s real estate boom has made Park Slope one of the priciest neighborhoods in New York City. But one prime location, just steps from Prospect Park and a subway stop, has remained stubbornly empty for decades. The lot, at 15 Plaza Street West, once had a paddle tennis court for the stately Montauk Club next door. But the social club sold it to developer Donald Minerva in 1998, according to property records and Montauk Club

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/10/30/this-park-slope-lot-has-been-vacant-for-decades-heres-why/