Real Estate Trends

Over the summer, 6sqft shared the sale of the late Maya Angelou's historic Harlem brownstone. After listing last February for $5.1 million, the beautifully preserved home in the Mount Morris Park Historic District finally sold for $4 million in July. But as it turns 0ut, this wasn't the only property she owned that hit the market at the beginning of the year. The Post reports that the author and activist also owned a property for which she was the landlord, just about ten blocks away at 29 East 129th Street, and after hitting the market for $2.6 million and going through two price chops, it's now found a buyer for $1.98 million.
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October 28, 2016

As the election nears, sales at Trump buildings decline

Now that we're nearer to the election, and since the negative press surrounding all things Donald Trump has come to a head, things are starting to crumble for his real estate empire. Not only did his personal hotel brand decide to drop his moniker, but a group of Trump Place tenants even went so far as to petition their board to remove his name from their buildings. A report out today in the Times takes a closer look at how sales are declining, and data from CityRealty confirms that from 2015 to 2016, there was a 17 percent decrease in the number of sales at Trump condos.
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Real Estate Trends

October 27, 2016

Bjarke Ingels’ curving East Harlem rental breaks ground and gets new renderings

When 6sqft first got a look at Bjarke Ingels' curved East Harlem rental, it sported a red corten steel facade reminiscent of the surrounding brick buildings, but a new set of renderings shows a blackened stainless steel exterior that the Danish starchitect told Curbed is "inspired by an elephant’s skin" and will capture and reflect sunlight. Now dubbed Gotham East 126th Residential, the 11-story structure from Blumenfeld Development Group broke ground yesterday, beginning its journey to offer 233 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, 46 of which will be affordable.
More details and renderings and the first view inside

October 26, 2016

Elite international schools are attracting buyers to new developments on the Upper East Side and Nomad

By Katy Cornell

Families looking to buy apartments in the Big Apple often have a standard list of demands: safe area, family-friendly neighborhood, and space to accommodate their children. But perhaps most important is the desire to be close to a top school. Though not a new idea, this trend appears to be growing among international buyers who are […]

Real Estate Trends

October 26, 2016

POLL: Is Fifth Avenue losing its luster amid soaring rents and empty storefronts?

Fifth Avenue is known around the world as the high-end shopping address, but rising rents are leading to an increase in vacant space along the retail corridor. According to data from Cushman & Wakefield reported by Crain's, the availability rate spiked to 15.9 percent in the third quarter of this year, up 10 percent from the same time last year. On the stretch that has the world's highest rents, from 49th to 60th streets, retail space is listed at an average of $3,213 per square foot, up from $2,075 in 2011. To put this in perspective, current rents in Times Square are $2,104 per square foot after tripling over the past four years.
Do you think Fifth Avenue can get over the hump?

Real Estate Trends

October 25, 2016

Report: Construction spending beat $127B over past three years, set to surpass 2007 peak

An estimate by the New York Building Congress has construction spending in 2016 at more than $43.1 billion, beating the $41.6 billion high of 2007 and reflecting a 26 percent increase from last year's $34.4 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports. The surge in construction, led by mega-project Hudson Yards on Manhattan's West Side and public projects like the Second Avenue Subway, has led to rising construction costs and an attendant surge in the demand for skilled labor, bringing workers to the city from all over the U.S.
Find out more about what's driving the new boom

Real Estate Trends

October 24, 2016

Alexander Wang’s swanky-meets-moody Tribeca Loft finds a buyer for $3.5M

In 2010, fashion designer Alexander Wang bought his Tribeca loft at 39 Worth Street for $2 million from former New York Times Style writer Holly Brubach. He then undertook a gut renovation with decorator Ryan Korban that resulted in an "industrial chic" space that embodies his love of black and his line's signature minimalist, urban vibes, as seen through details like a furry furniture, zebra rugs, leather pillows, and mirrored wall panels. Wang listed the 2,550-square-foot home for $3.75 million in May, and the Observer now reports that it's gone into contract for $3.5 million.
Tour the swanky space

October 24, 2016

Ashley Olsen closes on boutique Greenwich Village condo for $6.75M

Ashley Olsen went into contract on a luxe two-bedroom spread at 37 East 12th Street in May. The Greenwich Village apartment had been listed for $7.1 million, but the Observer confirms that the single twin has now closed on the home for $6.75 million. The 19th century cast-iron building was converted to six full-floor boutique condos, and this privacy is what reportedly enticed Olsen. The prime Village location probably didn't hurt either considering she and sis Mary Kate named their clothing line The Row after the famous stretch of rowhouses along Washington Square Park.
Check out Olsen's new digs

Home aroma: Signature scents are the newest NYC building amenity

Image: John Watson via flickr.

October 24, 2016

Home aroma: Signature scents are the newest NYC building amenity

Something is in the air at luxury apartment buildings looking for new ways to charm residents. The idea of “aromatizing” building common spaces to entice buyers and renters with seductive scents is gaining popularity among developers, according to The New York Times. A growing number of the city's rental and condo buildings have begun to infuse their halls with fragrance via building ductwork or standalone scent machines. With any luck, the result will be something far, far away from the smell of your subway stop in August.
It smells good, but is it working?

Yorkville apartment of Bernie Madoff’s late son Andrew sells for $5.4M

Andrew H. Madoff, the son of Bernie Madoff who passed away from cancer in 2014, lived in a full-floor, five-bedroom apartment at 433 East 74th Street on the Upper East Side. He bought the sprawling condo in 2008 for $4.37 million, and initially tried to rent it in 2012 for $25,000/month. After his death, it went on the market for $5.87 million in February of this year, and according to city records, it's now found a buyer for $5.39 million.
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Nomad real estate prices nearly double in five years as record-breaking listing hits the market

L to R: 212 Fifth Avenue; The Whitman; 10 Madison Square West

October 21, 2016

Nomad real estate prices nearly double in five years as record-breaking listing hits the market

By 6sqft

Prices in Nomad shot up a whopping 43 percent over the past five years, according to a new index from CityRealty, a marked increase that the developers of 212 Fifth Avenue may have been aware of when they put a $68.5 million price tag on their building’s triplex. If the sprawling apartment sells for anywhere near its asking price, it will set a record as the most expensive sale in the neighborhood, where other new developments have already raised the ceiling on the area’s sale records.
More Nomad data ahead

Real Estate Trends

October 21, 2016

Designation of South Village Historic District may mean approval for massive St. John’s Terminal project

The Landmarks Preservation Commission's plans to add 10 additional blocks to the South Village Historic District are at the top of the agenda for city preservationist groups. As Crains reports, the addition of the historic district is also a condition for a City Council vote in support of the St. John's Center development, a 1.7 million-square-foot, mixed-use project proposed for 550 Washington Street across the street from Pier 40 in Hudson River Park. That project requires the council's approval, and City Councilman Corey Johnson said in August that he'd vote for the project, proposed by developers Westbrook Partners and Atlas Capital Group, if the addition of the third and final phase of the historic district, currently bordered by Sixth Avenue, West Fourth Street, LaGuardia Place and Houston Street, goes forward. The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), among others, has pushed for the landmarking of what would be the city's first tenement-based historic district.
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October 21, 2016

Preserved Dakota apartment of late ‘All in the Family’ actor Carroll O’Connor sells for $2.8M

When this perfectly preserved residence at the Dakota hit the market in July 2015, it was asking $3.6 million, but after a price chop to $2.93 million, it's found a buyer. The Observer reports that the gorgeous co-op was home to actor Carroll O'Connor--Archie Bunker from "All in the Family"--until he passed away in 2001, from which point his wife Nancy Fields O’Connor maintained ownership until her death in 2014. The new owners paid $2.84 million for the two-bedroom home, which retains original historic details like "huge arched windows with marble sills and built-in shutters... blended patterned hardwood floors, extra tall solid wood doors with original fixtures and etched glass, distinct moldings and the original sunburst copper grills," as 6sqft previously described.
See the whole place

October 20, 2016

Jean Nouvel’s MoMA Tower is getting the first of its intricate, diagrid skin

News at starchitect Jean Nouvel's condominium MoMA Tower (officially called 53W53) has been relatively quiet since units hit the market just over a year ago. But CityRealty brings us an update from the Billionaires' Row construction site, where the 1,050-foot-tall, tapered tower is currently getting the first of its intricate, diagrid skin, which the architect once said will resemble blood running the veins with its nighttime lighting.
More details and views this way

Listings go live for Extell’s amenity-filled Hudson Yards Skyscraper 555Ten

Model unit designed by Lillian August

October 20, 2016

Listings go live for Extell’s amenity-filled Hudson Yards Skyscraper 555Ten

After launching its affordable housing lottery for 120 below-market rate units back in May, 555Ten has revealed pricing for its 478 market-rate rentals, ranging from $3,150/month studios to $6,250/month two-bedrooms. Designed by SLCE Architects and developed by Extell, the 610-foot, 53-story glassy skyscraper will offer an over-the-top amenity package (including a dog run, two salt water pools, and a bowling alley) and custom-designed interiors from McGinley Design. The model units are open for business, and we're told that the amenity spaces will start to reveal themselves later this week in anticipation of November occupancies.
Find out more here and get a first look at the model units

October 20, 2016

‘Shark Tank’ guru Barbara Corcoran unloads Upper East Side co-op for $4.8M

Real estate legend and "Shark Tank" star Barbara Corcoran bought a glamorous duplex penthouse on the Upper East Side back in April 2015. She and her husband, former FBI agent William Higgins, dropped $10 million on the pad, quite the steal considering it originally listed for $17 million. A year later, they listed their other home in the 'hood, a classic Rosario Candela-designed co-op at 1192 Park Avenue. Now, five months later, they've unloaded the home for $4.87 million (h/t NYP), just under the $4.9 million asking price and a good deal more than the $3.5 million they bought it for in 2000.
See the apartment here

October 19, 2016

Listings go live at 15 Hudson Yards, the development’s first residential building

In anticipation of its sales launch, 15 Hudson Yards released a slew of new renderings last month, showcasing "new views of the bundled quad of cylinders that make up its body, as well as its rectilinear base that will abut the Shed," as 6sqft reported. And now without further ado, listings for the 285 market-rate condos (there will also be 106 affordable rentals) have officially come online, ranging from a $3.7 million two-bedroom on the 25th floor to a $13.8 million penthouse on the 84th floor, according to Curbed.
Find out more and see renderings and floorplans

October 18, 2016

Knicks player Lance Thomas scores $3.56M Tribeca condo

Nets players might be gobbling up Brooklyn real estate, but when it comes to the Knicks it's all about staying near MSG in Manhattan. Recently, both Sasha Vujacic and Kristaps Porzingis rented units in Midtown West's fitness-centric Sky, and Joakim Noah picked up a $6 million Chelsea penthouse. Now, forward Lance Thomas is settling down a bit farther south, as LLNYC reports that he dropped $3.56 million on a sprawling Tribeca triplex at 52 Lispenard Street, which makes sense since he recently inked a four-year, $27 million deal with the team.
See his new home

October 18, 2016

SL Green breaks ground on One Vanderbilt, NYC’s second tallest tower – see new renderings

By Diane Pham

Yesterday 6sqft brought you a time-lapse video showing an entire Midtown block being demolished to make way for the 1,401-foot supertall One Vanderbilt. Now with a cleared site—plus $1.5 billion in construction financing secured—SL Green is ready to build anew, and Tuesday morning the developer held an official groundbreaking ceremony to mark the momentous occasion.
see more here

October 17, 2016

Watch the time-lapse demolition of an entire Midtown block for supertall One Vanderbilt

6sqft recently reported that One Vanderbilt, developer SL Green's new Midtown supertall, has secured $1.5 billion in financing, giving the green light to the 1,401-foot-tall, full-block office tower slated to rise at One Vanderbilt Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets directly adjacent to Grand Central Terminal. Demolition of a full block of commercial buildings next to Grand Central began a year ago to make way for the tower. Now, YIMBY brings us a time lapse video of the lengthy demolition courtesy of One Vanderbilt’s PR team.
Watch an entire block of pre-war buildings disappear

October 14, 2016

Renderings revealed for High Line-adjacent condo on hot West Chelsea block

West 29th Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues is quickly becoming to Chelsea what Bond Street is to Noho--a delightfully concentrated mishmash of high-profile architecture projects. Over on the west side, this one-block stretch is already home to SCDA Architects' Soori High Line with its noted private pools, Cary Tamarkin's 550 West 29th Street, and Maestro West Chelsea, a 35-story trio of rentals. CityRealty now shares a look at the block's newest project, a 10-story, 61-unit condo at 519 West 29th Street from developer Six Sigma, which is distinguished by a glass facade punctuated by rectangular balcony alcoves flanked with green walls.
More news related to the project ahead

October 14, 2016

Bethenny Frankel sells $7M Tribeca loft in just one day

Being a reality TV star and having a broker who's one as well certainly didn't hurt Bethenny Frankel's odds of selling her luxe Tribeca loft. In fact, the Wall Street Journal reports that "Million Dollar Listing" agent Frederik Eklund sold the condo in just one day for its asking price of $6.95 million. As 6sqft noted last week when the loft at 195 Hudson Street hit the market, Frankel bought the four-bedroom spread in 2011 for just under $5 million, then spent $500,000 furnishing and renovating it. But when she and ex-husband Jason Hoppy decided to part ways, the apartment became the most contentious part of the divorce, resulting in a very public, four-year legal battle. With the home finally off her hands, the “Real Housewives of New York City” star and outspoken founder of the Skinny Girl empire told the Journal, "I’m glad that the real-estate gods were looking out for me saying, ‘let’s give her a break.’”
Check it out

October 13, 2016

Brooklyn, Queens are more expensive than they’ve ever been; Manhattan rents are down