Real Estate Trends

January 6, 2017

Plans filed for a 21-story Coney Island ‘Dreams’ project on the boardwalk

Developer John Catsimatidis' Red Apple Group has filed plans for a 21-story tower on a Surf Avenue parcel that he purchased last summer according to Brooklyn Daily; the tower is part of a three-building Coney Island project that will likely include 415 apartments and retail. In the billionaire grocery mogul's typically patient fashion, he has slowly been acquiring the Boardwalk-adjacent lots between West 35th and West 37th streets for the project, called Ocean Dreams, since 2005.
Find out more
January 6, 2017

FREE RENT: A roundup of NYC’s latest rental concessions

Midtown West’s Mercedes House with 80,000+ Square Feet of Amenities Now Offering Two Months Free on Select Leases [link] Up to Two Months of Free Rent at Murray Hill’s The Frontier [link] Two Months Free with 18-Month Leases at Battery Park City’s Gateway Rentals [link] Brodsky Offering Up to Three Months Free at City Tower […]

January 5, 2017

Mike Myers drops $14.65M on Tribeca condo at super-luxe 443 Greenwich

The red-brick, former warehouse building at 443 Greenwich Street in Tribeca was converted to boutique condos by CetraRuddy Architects and developer Metro Loft Management in 2014, and since then it's been attracting quite a bit of high-profile interest thanks to its low-profile location, luxurious lofts, and wealth of amenities. The latest celeb to cash in here is Mike Myers; the Observer reports that he and wife Kelly Tisdale have dropped $14.65 million on a four-bedroom spread (more than the $14.25 million list price). The funnyman has been trying to sell his Soho penthouse since April 2015, and though there's no word that it's found a buyer, that could very well be the reason for the move.
More on Myers' new abode
January 5, 2017

Ousted ‘Today’ show anchor Billy Bush finally sells Chelsea townhouse

Disgraced "Today" show anchor Billy Bush had bought the townhouse at 224 West 22nd Street in Chelsea in December 2015 in preparation for his new gig with NBC, but after video hit of his "locker room" chat with Donald Trump, the network gave him the boot. He had listed the residence seven months earlier, but when he lost his job he chopped the price from $8,995,000 to $8,250,000 this past October. His quick getaway plan proved mostly successful, as the Wall Street Journal reports that it's now in contract.
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January 5, 2017

NFL star Damon Harrison scores a $1.55M ritzy manor in northern Jersey

Defensive tackle Damon Harrison (aka Snacks) signed a $9.25 million/year contract with the New York Giants in March 2016, and it looks like he's decided to put some of that cash into the real estate game. The Post reports that the 28-year-old player just dropped $1.55 million on a ritzy, custom-built manor in northern New Jersey. Located in the Washington Township, about 20 miles from MetLife Stadium, the palatial, 7,080-square-foot home was custom built in 2013 and boasts glamorous (though at times a bit gaudy) details like an oversized heated driveway to melt snow, a two-story marble foyer complete with a bridal staircase and gigantic chandelier, and a double-height great room overlooked by three upstairs balconies.
See it all here
January 5, 2017

High-income renters on the rise in the Bronx and Queens

In November, 6sqft shared an analysis from RentCafe that showed the number of high-income renters in NYC has tripled over the last decade, with the number of renter households earning more than $150,000 annually increasing by 217 percent between 2005 and 2015, from 551,000 to 1.75 million. Now, DNAinfo has asked the site to break the data down further by neighborhood, and what it tells us is that Eastchester and Baychester in the Bronx and East Elmhurst and Jackson Heights in Queens saw the largest increase in wealthy renters.
Learn more and explore RentCafe's interactive charts
January 3, 2017

New renderings and details for Rafael Viñoly’s 125 Greenwich Street

Construction at Rafael Viñoly’s slender skyscraper 125 Greenwich Street has reached street level, but as CityRealty uncovered, the tower that was slated to be taller than 1,000 feet over the summer (and previously 1,400 feet), is back down to 898 feet. Though this now makes it shorter than Fumihiko Maki’s 977-foot 4 World Trade Center one block north, fresh renderings show that the 88-story condo will still offer sweeping views of the city and harbor, which are shown for the first time from interior shots.
More views and details ahead
December 31, 2016

From a Trump presidency to rental prices, NYC real estate experts share their 2017 predictions

CityRealty spoke with New York City real estate experts—everyone from developers to architects to contractors to brokers—on their predictions for the upcoming year in the city’s ever-changing real estate market. From the presidential election of real estate magnate Donald Trump to the likely return of 421A tax incentives, 2017 promises big changes ahead. And yes, […]

December 27, 2016

Amy Schumer finally sheds her Upper West Side walk-up penthouse

Amy Schumer will have a little extra to celebrate over this week. According to the Post, the comedienne has finally found a buyer for her Upper West Side co-op. Schumer originally put the adorable pad up for sale in November 2015 for $2.075 million and it's been on and off the market since then seeing several price chops. The home was last listed for $1.625 million and is said to be in contract with an unknown buyer for an unknown amount.
more details and photos inside here
December 22, 2016

Chloe Sevigny’s glamorous $2.75M Park Slope co-op goes into contract

Just 42 days after it hit the market for $2.75 million, and a mere two days since 6sqft and other media outlets reported on it, Chloe Sevigny's Park Slope co-op has gone into contract, a tipster tells us. The Indie actress bought the pre-war spread at 9 Prospect Park West for $2,053,000 in 2013, after which she completed a renovation that created a chic space with "a sophisticated mix of classic furniture and interesting artwork."
See the whole place
December 21, 2016

First look at the artsy common spaces of 5Pointz-replacing rental towers

It's been three years since Long Island City's beloved graffiti mecca 5Pointz was whitewashed overnight and a year and a half since renderings first surfaced of the bland 41- and 47-story rental towers that would replace the site at 22-44 Jackson Avenue. Despite a perceived lack of respect towards the artistic community, G&M Realty’s David Wolkoff eventually said he planned to set aside 20 artists’ studios and displays to make up for those lost at 5Pointz, and it looks like he's making good on his word. HTO Architect, who designed the towers, initially put forth views of a large public park and rotating mural exhibit that would fill the space between the buildings, and now 6sqft has uncovered renderings from Mojo Stumer of the artsy entryway, lobby and pool, which reveal the graffiti-inspired logo for the project.
See it all right here
December 20, 2016

Late fashion designer L’Wren Scott’s Chelsea ‘Sky Garage’ apartment sells for $6.5 million

The Chelsea apartment that had been the home of late fashion designer L’Wren Scott has sold for $6.5 million according to public records. The 3,328-square-foot duplex at the Annabelle Selldorf-designed 200 Eleventh Avenue was listed earlier this year for $8.25 million after Scott’s tragic suicide shocked the fashion world in 2014 (h/t New York Post). Scott, who was Mick Jagger's longtime girlfriend, had purchased the home in 2010 for 5.6 million. The apartment was one of the building's famed Sky Garage units with a car elevator leading to a private 337 square-foot garage adjacent to the apartment.
Celebrity neighbors and a Sky Garage
December 19, 2016

Louis C.K. drops $2.45M on another Greenwich Village apartment

Comedian Louis C.K. (real name Louis Székely) already owns four units in a West Village brownstone, but these were joint purchases with his ex-wife, painter Alix Baily. Though they openly maintain a good relationship, he's now ventured out on his own, as the Observer reports that he dropped $2.45 million on a two-bedroom co-op at 101 West 12th Street, a larger apartment building a few blocks away.
Check it out
December 16, 2016

Durst Organization pays $173.5M for LIC site once slated for tallest tower in Queens

Back in 2015, Property Markets Group and the Hakim Organization announced plans to erect the tallest tower outside of Manhattan in Long Island City at 29-37 41st Avenue. The residential building, then dubbed Queens Plaza Park, would rise 914 feet atop a Queens Plaza site and boast high-end condos and a projected $363.2 million sellout. However, in July 2016, the developers abandoned those plans, putting the site up for sale for an undisclosed amount. Now, as the Times reports, the Durst Organization has scooped up the site for $173.5 million and is considering going forward with the massive construction, but as a rental tower with more than 1 million square feet.
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December 15, 2016

Are concessions and a high vacancy rate a sign the rental bubble will burst?

In the past year or so, there has been no shortage of talk about inventory glut, flat rental prices and bursting bubbles; Now, Slate blogger Henry Grabar has rustled up some numbers and real-life examples to go with the chatter, and we're guessing they weren't too hard to find. According to Grabar, a vacancy rate at its highest since 2009 (with a staggering amount of inventory in the pipeline), and the percentage of rental price chops at a record 42 percent in October point to an impending renter's market of comparatively epic proportions.
More on the horizon, literally
December 14, 2016

ODA’s Rheingold Brewery rental will offer 100 affordable units in Bushwick

The day after securing a $93 construction loan, the Rabsky Group has announced that 100 out of the 500 rentals at their massive Rheingold Brewery development will be below-market rate. As Curbed notes, Bushwick residents have been advocating that the 400,000-square-foot project include affordable housing since it was first announced, spurred not only by the neighborhood's need, but the fact that Rabsky had no legal obligation to include affordable units.
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December 14, 2016

Announcing 6sqft’s 2016 Building of the Year!

You came, you voted, and now it's time to award the title of 2016 Building of the Year to none other than 520 West 28th Street! The undulating beauty along the High Line beat out 11 other game-changing buildings in a fierce two-week competition held right here on 6sqft. Out of nearly 25,000 votes cast, the Zaha Hadid-designed, Related Companies-developed structure emerged as the winner, taking away 8,382 of the count, or 33.62% of the total.
more details on the runners-up
December 14, 2016

POLL: Would you spend $500K for a down payment in Manhattan?

6sqft has previously shared data that it only makes sense to buy a home in New York City after having lived here for 18.2 years, longer than anywhere else in the nation by a long shot. When and if that time comes, Manhattanities are looking to drop an average of $500,000 for a down payment, according to a new report from Property Shark. To put this figure into perspective, the average price nationwide to buy an entire home is $300,000. And in the Manhattan luxury market, the median down payment is a whopping $3.15 million, which might explain why, according to 2014 census data, only 32% of New Yorkers owned their homes.
What would you do?
December 14, 2016

Average Manhattan sales price tops $2M for first time

Despite chatter about the luxury market slowing down, 2016 has seen Manhattan real estate prices continue to climb and set records. The average sales price for an apartment (including both co-ops and condos) was $2.2 million, topping the $1.9 million record set last year, according to CityRealty's newly released Year-End Manhattan Market Report. This is a whopping 91 percent increase from 2006. And things heat up even more in the new development sector, where 1,800 units sold for a projected total of $8.9 billion, a huge jump from last year's $5.4 billion for $1,464 units.
More record-setting data ahead
December 12, 2016

Office landlord SL Green may trade One Vanderbilt for J.P. Morgan’s two Midtown office towers

SL Green, the city's largest office landlord, "pulled off one of New York's biggest office deals of 2016" when they secured $1.5 billion in construction financing for their supertall tower One Vanderbilt, which is expected to ultimately cost a whopping $3.14 billion. The developer is now looking to rake in even more dollars off the deal, reports the Wall Street Journal, as they've proposed to J.P. Morgan Chase (one of the Syndication Agents in the financing) a swap out where the bank would trade its two headquarters buildings at 383 Madison Avenue and 277 Park Avenue for the recently-under-construction, 1,401-foot office tower.
More on the story
December 12, 2016

Willem Dafoe unloads Lower East Side co-op for $860K

Though he's usually cast as the villain, off screen, Willem Dafoe leads a much less destructive life, splitting his time between Rome, Los Angeles, and NYC with his Italian-born wife Giada Colagrande. While in the big apple, the actor resides in a West Village penthouse, but in 2005, he and his son Jack purchased a Lower East Side co-op for $606,000. It went on the market for $850,000 in May, and judging by the listing photos (a little bit artsy, a little bit messy), it was either the younger Dafoe (a public-policy researcher) or another renter who was living there. The Observer reports that it's now sold above ask for $860,000.
See the place here
December 9, 2016

KBA Architects reveal ziggurat-like tower for Kellogg’s Diner-adjacent site in Williamsburg

Back in March, 6sqft reported that a new hotel/rental tower at 500 Metropolitan Avenue had risen above ground, but there was still a bit ambiguity surroundings its final design. Now, just as the Williamsburg building has topped out, CityRealty uncovered the final renderings from KBA Architects. The firm created a 14-story, ziggurat-like structure that will slope down from the adjacent site of longtime local haunt Kellogg's Diner and offer a slew of trendy amenities.
More views and details
December 8, 2016

NYU reveals design for $1B 23-story building at controversial Greenwich Village site

NYU's controversial plan to replace their Coles Sports Center site at the corner of Mercer and Houston Streets received approvals way back in 2012, but due to community opposition and lawsuits, they only filed plans and began demolition this October. The Wall Street Journal now shares the first renderings of the hulking, 23-story, 735,000-square-foot building at 181 Mercer Street designed by Davis Brody Bond (who's also responsible for the 9/11 Museum) and KieranTimberlake. It will cost a whopping $1 billion and host a bevy of uses, including 60 classrooms, common spaces, two cafes, practice/instruction rooms for the arts, three theaters, a giant athletic facility that'll have four basketball courts and a six-lane lap pool, 30 to 60 faculty apartments, and a 420-bed freshman dorm.
Lots more renderings and details
December 8, 2016

Norman Foster will design 985-foot tower at 50 Hudson Yards

It's been 14 months since developer Related Companies bought the site of a former McDonald's at 34th Street and 10th Avenue, the final parcel needed to complete Hudson Yards. Initial reports said the site of 50 Hudson Yards would hold a 62-story, 1,000+ foot commercial tower, but Related and Oxford Properties Group have now revealed that the structure will rise 58 stories and 985 feet and be designed by starchitect Norman Foster. As first reported by Curbed, the news comes on the heels of BlackRock's decision to sign a 20-year lease for 15 floors, or 850,000 square feet, in the building, leaving their long-time Park Avenue home in a show of confidence in the mega-complex.
Get more details ahead
December 7, 2016

Condos at 432 Park selling at an average discount of 10 percent

432 Park Avenue may be the tallest residential building in the western hemisphere and home to the most expensive apartment closing this year, but throughout 2016, the tower's ultra-luxury condos were selling at an average discount of 10 percent, according to an analysis by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. for Bloomberg. And a recent transaction saw an even greater price cut; Lewis Sanders, founder and CEO of Sanders Capital and former CEO of AllianceBernstein, bought an 88th floor penthouse for $60.9 million, 20 percent less than its $76.5 asking price.
What's the deal?