Amazon, WeWork and more — the biggest real estate stories of 2019

Some of the biggest real estate stories of the past year revolved around the actions of two companies: WeWork and Amazon. With 2019 coming to a close, here are the stories that defined the year. WeWork, the troubled unicorn In January 2019, WeWork announced that it was rebranding as the We Company, which would serve as the parent company to a slew of other we-branded companies (WeLive, WeGrow, etc.) In fact, the company had registered

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/31/amazon-wework-and-more-the-biggest-real-estate-stories-of-2019/

Gary Barnett gets candid about the condo boom of the 2010s and what’s to come

When Gary Barnett launched sales at One57 in 2011, he was met with skepticism. Prices at the Extell Development tower ranged from $3,000 to $8,285 per square foot. Some in the industry called those asks “very rich” and questioned whether buyers would fork over such sums. But they did. In 2014, Michael Dell paid $100.47 million for the top penthouse, shattering the city’s sales record and solidifying Billionaires’ Row position as the epicenter of ultra-luxury

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/31/gary-barnett-gets-candid-about-the-condo-boom-of-the-2010s-and-whats-to-come/

Here are NYC’s 10 biggest investment sales of 2019

WarnerMedia’s $2.16 billion sale-leaseback of its Hudson Yards office condo topped this year’s list of the 10 most expensive investment sales in New York. In total, the 10 biggest deals of 2019 — all for Manhattan properties — had a combined value of $8.06 billion, just slightly below last year’s $8.36 billion. 1. 30 Hudson Yards condo | $2.16 billion Buyer: Related Companies Seller: WarnerMedia Brokerage: Cushman & Wakefield When WarnerMedia wanted to sell and

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/31/here-are-nycs-10-biggest-investment-sales-of-2019/

Mary Ann Tighe on Manhattan’s office boom the 2010s

The 2010s will go down as a historic boom for Manhattan office development — one that’s not likely to be repeated in the decade ahead. The borough added 28 new office buildings of significant size over the past 10 years, increasing Manhattan’s office space by about 44 million square feet, according to CBRE. That’s roughly double the amount added in the previous decade and four times as much as in the 1990s — a particularly

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/31/mary-ann-tighe-on-manhattans-office-boom-the-2010s/

Compass cites “progress” on 2020 by 2020 goal — but not there yet

In the fall of 2017, Compass announced an ambitious plan to grab 20 percent market share in the country’s top 20 cities by 2020. As the deadline approaches, CEO Robert Reffkin told agents the firm still had some ways to go. In a year-end letter to agents on Tuesday, Reffkin said Compass had exceeded 20 percent market share — or come close — in cities like San Francisco and Washington, D.C., as well as Silicon

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/31/compass-cites-progress-on-2020-by-2020-goal-but-not-there-yet/

David Kramer on outer-borough development in the 2010s

New York’s outer-borough renaissance was well on its way by the start of the 2000s, but it really kicked into overdrive over the past ten years. Think about 2010, when Two Trees Development secured a rezoning for the Domino Sugar factory site in Williamsburg. Two years later, the Barclays Center opened in Downtown Brooklyn. And while most development in Queens was, at the start of the decade, focused on the Hunters Point waterfront, towers started

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/31/david-kramer-on-outer-borough-development-in-the-2010s/

All Year’s rating outlook turns negative as bondholders reject two amendments

All Year Management may face more trouble on the horizon as the outlook for its two unsecured bond series, and the company as a whole, were downgraded to negative by Israeli rating agency Midroog on Tuesday. At the same time, the agency has placed All Year’s two secured bond series under review for upgrade, as Yoel Goldman’s firm mulls a possible sale of the underlying properties — although two bondholder votes on Monday may have

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/31/all-years-rating-outlook-turns-negative-as-bondholders-reject-two-amendments/

Kent Swig on 10 years of recovering from the Great Recession

As the calendar turned to 2010, New York City’s real estate scene was just starting to show signs of a recovery that would explode into a development boom over the next 10 years. Residential sales activity had begun to bounce back at the turn of the decade, though construction projects were saddled with troubled loans and residential foreclosures were still a problem across large swaths of the city. Following a sustained expansion, the city’s residential

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/31/kent-swig-on-10-years-of-recovering-from-the-great-recession/

Andrew Heiberger on the future role of a resi brokerage

As residential prices skyrocketed over the past decade, brokerages took off the gloves to win new business. And in New York, heightened competition paved the way for consolidation. Many of the city’s independent firms like Stribling & Associates, Mercedes/Berk and Aptsandlofts were sold off or they merged with bigger players. Meanwhile, new entrants like Keller Williams and Compass — the SoftBank-backed firm with 12,000 agents nationwide — upended the status quo. Such upheaval has resulted

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/31/andrew-heiberger-on-the-future-role-of-a-resi-brokerage/

NYC’s strong hotel pipeline pushes down occupancy, revenue: report

New York City’s booming hotel inventory includes 113 new developments set to open in the next few years, with just over half located outside Manhattan. That’s according to the latest hotel development report from NYC & Company, the city’s official official marketing, tourism and partnership organization. The report projects that New York’s hotel inventory will reach 144,000 rooms by the end of 2021 — up 65-percent from the 87,000 rooms the city had in 2010.

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/31/nycs-strong-hotel-pipeline-pushes-down-occupancy-revenue-report/

Kelly Mack on the new development boom of the 2010s

The 2010s were a time of decadence for real estate, according to Corcoran Sunshine chief Kelly Mack. The decade birthed the likes of uber-luxury condominiums like One57, 432 Park Avenue and 220 Central Park South. Ambitious developers and investor appetite pushed the median sale price in Manhattan to $1.025 million in the third quarter of 2019. That’s a jump from $850,000 in 2009, according to appraisal firm Miller Samuel. Since 2013 alone, more than 16,200

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/31/kelly-mack-on-the-new-development-boom-of-the-2010s/

If you liked Uncut Gems, you’ll love this story

There are figurative cutthroat businesses, and there are literal ones. Yitzchak Tessler knows the difference. Chain-smoking in his Midtown office, he recalled his days flying from South Africa into civil war-torn Angola to buy gemstones. In the 1980s, “blood diamond” hadn’t yet become a rallying cry for human-rights groups, and traders could work in war zones with impunity. The country’s capital, Luanda, was a woebegone place — sewage in the streets, no running water in

source https://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/rough-cut/#new_tab

London sees flurry of commercial deals after Boris Johnson win

Boris Johnson’s big election win on Dec. 12 has given a boost to London’s commercial real estate market in the closing weeks of 2019. Office investors closed or entered into more than £1 billion ($1.31 billion) worth of deals in the roughly two weeks since, the Wall Street Journal reported, accounting for about 10 percent of the entire year’s deal volume. “With the low interest-rate environment set to continue, investment volumes should rebound sharply if

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/31/london-sees-flurry-of-commercial-deals-after-boris-johnson-win/

Vornado closes out 2019 with another $59M sale at 220 CPS

The year may be over, but the eye-popping closings at Vornado Realty Trust’s 220 Central Park South are not. Noble Birch (US) Inc. dropped a little over $59 million for the 48th floor at the ultra-luxury Billionaires’ Row tower — a deal that had been in contract since March 2015, property records filed Monday show. That price works out to about $8,960 per square foot for the five-bedroom home, though Vornado had been hoping the

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/31/vornado-closes-out-2019-with-another-59m-sale-at-220-cps/

Big portfolio sales grind to a near halt in 2019

It was anything but a banner year for large portfolio sales. Generally driven by big multifamily packages, the market took a big hit this year as investors sat on the sidelines while Albany hammered out new rent laws. The five biggest portfolio sales of 2019 totaled just $1.6 billion — less than half of the $3.4 billion tallied by the top five deals of 2018. 1. Putnam Portfolio | $1.2B Buyer: L+M Development Partners, Invesco

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/31/big-portfolio-sales-grind-to-a-near-halt-in-2019/

Fixing real estate’s persuasion equation in a changing political landscape

In a small Venezuelan restaurant on a bustling street in Jersey City, a group of people on a stage held placards and homemade signs with a simple message: Vote no! The men and women — fighting to repeal a new ordinance restricting short-term rentals — were the public faces of Keep Our Homes, a campaign with legitimate grassroots elements but also nearly $5 million in funding from Airbnb. The effort ultimately flopped: Some 70 percent

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/31/fixing-real-estates-persuasion-equation-in-a-changing-political-landscape/

The best of: TRD reporters share their picks for top stories of 2019

From troubles at SoftBank-backed startups and botched building sales, to big interviews with key players — including a Trump cabinet member — The Real Deal’s reporters continued to deliver hard-hitting coverage of the industry in 2019. Here’s a look at some of the most compelling TRD stories of the year, curated by the reporters themselves: Rich Bockmann, New York associate web editor “How do brokers get listings from the DOJ?”: There’s no spectacle quite like

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/31/the-best-of-trd-reporters-share-their-picks-for-top-stories-of-2019/

Developers score at least $689M in city financing for LIC development

The developers of two new skyscrapers on the Queens waterfront just scored at least $689 million in city financing. The developers, a joint venture between Gotham Organization and RiseBoro Community Partnership, received the loan from the city’s Housing Development Corporation for their Hunters Point South mixed-use project, according to records filed with the city Monday. The massive project will include more than 1,000 residential units and be composed of two towers, according to plans filed

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/30/developers-score-at-least-689m-in-city-financing-for-lic-development/

Bloomberg moving campaign HQ to Times Square

Michael Bloomberg is moving his presidential campaign headquarters from the Upper East Side to Times Square. The new headquarters will open early in January at 229 West 43rd Street on the eighth floor, according to the Wall Street Journal. There are now more than 300 people working on the campaign, and it has outgrown its space on the Upper East Side. The space will utilize an open-office layout and include countdown clocks showing the number

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/30/bloomberg-moving-campaign-hq-to-times-square/

RXR plans 21-story LIC office building with manufacturing incentives

RXR Realty is bringing a new mixed-use office tower to Long Island City, which is set to be the first project outside of North Brooklyn to make use of Industrial Business Incentive Area (IBIA) special permits. Plans filed with the Department of Buildings last Friday call for a 21-story mixed-use building at 42-11 9th Street, just south of the Queensboro Bridge and with frontage on both 9th and 10th streets. The 396,365-square-foot building will feature

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/30/rxr-plans-21-story-lic-office-building-with-manufacturing-incentives/

These global luxury markets are set to improve in 2020

It was a tough year for sellers of high-end residential properties in many of the top markets across the globe. While 2020 could be more of the same in some cities, others are expected to fare better. Oversupply will likely continue to hamper sales in Manhattan, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, as they did this year, according to real estate experts, Mansion Global reported. Manhattan’s market particularly is under pressure from unfavorable tax reforms, property

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/30/these-global-luxury-markets-are-set-to-improve-in-2020/

Epic Commercial Realty lays off brokers; firm’s future in question

Epic Commercial Realty — the middle-market brokerage that has gone through several management reboots in recent years — has effectively shut down. The company’s president, Ido Tzaidi, sent an email to the firms’ roughly 15 brokers and sales associates on Dec. 10 informing them that he was disassociating himself as the company’s corporate broker, one former broker told The Real Deal. In other words, because he holds Epic’s license, any brokers working under him could

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/30/epic-commercial-realty-lays-off-its-brokers-leaving-firms-future-in-question/

GFP partnership lands $152M loan to build LIC biotech center

GFP Real Estate and King Street Properties scored over $152 million in construction financing to build their new life sciences complex in Long Island City. The lender was Acore Capital, which provided the debt for InnoLabs at 45-18 Court Square, property records show. The Carlyle Group also appears to be a partner on the development, which will stand six stories and measure about 267,000 square feet. GFP and King Street announced earlier this month that

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/30/gfp-partnership-lands-152m-loan-to-build-lic-biotech-center/

TRD South Florida’s Winter 2020 issue is live to subscribers!

The first edition of a new decade is live now for The Real Deal South Florida‘s subscribers. Below, issue editor Heidi Patalano outlines a few not-t0-miss highlights: If there’s one thing we love about covering this industry and its many facets, it’s the personalities. To draw millions in funding from investors who buy into your vision, one cannot be a shrinking violet. It’s the style, the panache and the showmanship of a leader that often

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/30/trd-south-floridas-winter-2020-issue-is-live-to-subscribers/

What retirement? Sam Chang files plans for Midtown hotel

Competitive pigeon racing may have lost a major player. Hotel developer Sam Chang, who told media earlier this year he was winding down his real estate business to focus on racing the squat-bodied birds, has filed plans with the New York City Department of Buildings for a new hotel at 150 West 48th Street. Chang bought the site earlier this year from the Rockefeller Group for $140 million, according to Crain’s. Earlier this month, S3

source https://therealdeal.com/2019/12/30/what-retirement-sam-chang-files-plans-for-midtown-hotel/