Real Estate Trends

Long Island City ‘Micro’ Units Will Have Three Bedrooms
October 8, 2015

Long Island City ‘Micro’ Units Will Have Three Bedrooms

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To date, the city's biggest and most news-worthy micro housing complex, My Micro NY, has offered only studios, which makes sense considering a micro apartment is typically defined as encompassing less than 350 square feet. But the term "micro" is getting an expansion (figuratively and literally) in Long Island City, where a new rental complex will offer 57 two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 490 to 735 square feet, according to the Wall Street Journal. The project at 37-10 Crescent Street is being developed by Ranger Properties, whose managing principal Sheldon Stein said, "Our concept is we can offer really high-quality public amenity space, and better value with smaller private spaces, and bring the rental cost down."
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Hudson River Cottage That Was Home to Orson Welles and John Steinbeck Goes Into Contract
October 8, 2015

Hudson River Cottage That Was Home to Orson Welles and John Steinbeck Goes Into Contract

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This Medieval Tudor-style cottage in Palisades, NY had a pretty impressive roster of residents in the 1940s, including Orson Welles (he lived here while working on "Citizen Kane"), John Steinbeck, Sir Laurence Olivier, and Vivian Leigh. Perhaps this celebrity cache is what helped the $2.25 million Hudson River-front home attract a buyer, as the Post reports today that it's gone into contract. Known as "House in the Woods," the three-bedroom stone cottage sits on a bluff overlooking the river, encompassing 2.4 acres of land. It's located in the upscale hamlet of Sneden Landing, where Angelina Jolie’s mid-century modern childhood home is currently for sale and other past and presents residents include Mikhail Baryshnikov, Al Pacino, Lorraine Bracco, Bill Murray, and Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. But name dropping aside, the 2,245-square-foot home is truly charming with open hearths, pitched beamed ceilings, original wood floors, and a stone back house.
See more here
Brooklyn Home Prices Set Record, Manhattan Rents So High Studios Command $2,431/Month
October 8, 2015

Brooklyn Home Prices Set Record, Manhattan Rents So High Studios Command $2,431/Month

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The latest round of real estate reports have arrived and needless to say prices continue to hover completely out of reach of us normal folk. A new Elliman report compiled by Jonathan Miller found that Brooklyn now boasts a median sales price of $676,250, 15 percent higher than just one year ago this time, and 25 percent higher than the record set before the 2008 financial collapse—this makes it the only borough to exceed the pre-recession high. Miller attributes the boost to Brooklyn's change in identity, which has over the years gone from a cheap alternative to Manhattan to a first choice destination for buyers, renters and proprietors. That's not to say Manhattan saw a slump, the median sales price rose to an impressive $998,000, the highest level since the financial crisis.
More numbers this way
October 7, 2015

POLL: Is NYC the New Florida for Grandparents?

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The New York Times recently explored the trend of grandparents relocating to New York City. For many, it starts as a temporary move to help out with the grandkids, but more and more retired folks are finding themselves enamored with city life. “Not for them the early-bird special when dinner awaits at the latest hot […]

Academy Award-Nominated Director Jason Reitman Sells His Classy Chelsea Home for $3M
October 6, 2015

Academy Award-Nominated Director Jason Reitman Sells His Classy Chelsea Home for $3M

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The fate of Jason Reitman's Chelsea pad is no longer up in the air. After just 32 days on the market, the director/producer/screenwriter, best known for the beloved indie flick "Juno," as well as well as the aforementioned pun starring George Clooney, has sold for $3.05 million. As noted by the Observer, the 1,600-square-foot space at 434 West 20th Street was purchased by Reitman with his then-wife Michelle Lee back in 2011 for $2.15 million, with the pair said to be drawn in by the home's prewar detailing and its location just across from the New York Seminary's gorgeous gardens.
More photos inside the beautiful apartment
Related Buys Far West Side McDonald’s Site, Last Parcel Needed to Complete Hudson Yards

Google Street View of the McDonald’s site with other Hudson Yards construction in the background

October 6, 2015

Related Buys Far West Side McDonald’s Site, Last Parcel Needed to Complete Hudson Yards

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Crain's reports that the Related Companies has bought the site of a McDonald's at 34th Street and 10th Avenue for an undisclosed sum, the final parcel needed to build 50 Hudson Yards. The fast food chain has owned the property for decades, but at the end of last month, the company notified the state that it would lay off all of the location's 65 employees by the end of 2015. Though no formal designs have been released for the corner lot, the developer's website tentatively envisions a 2,300,000-square-foot commercial tower that would reach 62 stories and higher than 1,000 feet.
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Watch New York City Get Blown Up With the ‘Every Demolition in Manhattan’ Map

A animated sample of the Every Demolition in Manhattan map, click ahead for a more detailed view

October 5, 2015

Watch New York City Get Blown Up With the ‘Every Demolition in Manhattan’ Map

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You’ve surely realized by now that New York is in the midst of a building boom, but if all the cranes and scaffolding rising from the ground aren't enough convince you that you're living in a pretty historic moment, look no further than this incredible map to put all that construction in perspective. Called Every Demolition in Manhattan, this animated survey tracks every demolition that's taken place in the city from 2003 through 2014.
find out more here
Affordable Housing Lottery Launched for Bjarke Ingels’ Epic Pyramid, VIA 57 West

Construction shot © 6sqft

October 3, 2015

Affordable Housing Lottery Launched for Bjarke Ingels’ Epic Pyramid, VIA 57 West

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Applications are now being accepted for the 142 affordable apartments in Bjarke Ingels' tetrahedron-shaped rental building dubbed VIA 57 West, aka "the Pyramid Building." By downloading applications here, you and 141 other lucky families may have the chance to live in a future landmark that is already turning out to be the most audacious rental building ever built in the city. The massive, half-block-long development will contain a total of 709 units, of which 20 percent will be deemed affordable. Subsidized rents range from $565/month studios for single-person households making between $19,222 - $24,200 annually, to three-bedroom apartments going for $1,067/month for three- to six-person households.
More construction shots and the full pricing breakdown
Zaha Hadid Launches Sales at Her High Line Condos, Talks the Evolution of NY Architecture
October 2, 2015

Zaha Hadid Launches Sales at Her High Line Condos, Talks the Evolution of NY Architecture

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Related Companies has officially launched sales for their highly-anticipated upcoming condominium, 520 West 28th Street. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect and artist Zaha Hadid, the eleven-story building will be Hadid's first ground-up structure in New York and will offer 39 distinctive two- to five-bedroom homes priced from $4,950,000 to $50 million for the largest penthouse. The under construction building, now five-stories up, rises alongside the High Line elevated park from an L-shaped parcel between West 27th and 28th Streets in the center of West Chelsea's art gallery district. Related Companies purchased the site for $65 million in 2012 and soon after commissioned the Iraqi-British designer, who beat out the likes of fellow Brit, Norman Foster. Yesterday, at the development's launch, Hadid said she has "always been fascinated by the High Line and its possibilities for the city. "
More from the event here
A Major Renovation Brought This Soho Loft From a Cheesy Bachelor Pad to an Historic Chic Crib
October 2, 2015

A Major Renovation Brought This Soho Loft From a Cheesy Bachelor Pad to an Historic Chic Crib

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It's rare that a listing gives you a backstory to the apartment it's trying to sell, but that's the case with this unit at 426 West Broadway, a condo building in Soho. Here it goes: "It literally took a year of demolition, permit wrangling, and construction to finalize this $600,000.00 renovation that saw a Pop Art-inspired bachelor pad stripped down to its 19th-century shell." The result is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom loft apartment that now relishes its "original industrial charms," as the listing calls it. Our opinion? It's a big step up from a bachelor pad. The asking price comes in at $3.5 million.
See the rest of the reno
Are Skyscrapers Killing Great Cities?; Mapping What Parts of NYC Have Unused Development Rights
September 30, 2015

Are Skyscrapers Killing Great Cities?; Mapping What Parts of NYC Have Unused Development Rights

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How a crummy suburb turns into a beloved urban neighborhood. [The Atlantic] An argument on why skyscrapers are killing great cities and why old buildings are better. [Treehugger] Here are the NYC areas harboring unused or excess development rights. [Curbed] The Staten Island Ferry is getting increased service. [NYDN] More renters are turning to self-storage in the outer boroughs as a […]

The Bronx May Get Its Own Lowline-Style Park at Abandoned Mott Haven Rail Tracks
September 30, 2015

The Bronx May Get Its Own Lowline-Style Park at Abandoned Mott Haven Rail Tracks

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Ever since the High Line became an international phenomenon, there have been countless proposals across the city for elevated parks and public spaces made from abandoned train tracks. The latest comes from the Bronx, where Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. is asking Mayor de Blasio to transform a piece of unused railway in Mott Haven that is currently a "homeless encampment populated by drug users," according to the Daily News. Because the "litter-and-needle-strewn" trench is below street level, it's being called a lowline, after the underground park taking shape on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
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Canadians Buy More NYC Property Than Any Nationality in the World

Skyline image via Joey Lax-Salinas/Flickr

September 30, 2015

Canadians Buy More NYC Property Than Any Nationality in the World

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Talk around foreign real estate buyers in New York City has been centered around the Chinese in recent months, but as it turns out, investors from China are only the third largest nationality represented in the market. The top spot goes to our neighbors to the north, according to the Post, as Canadians have poured $15.37 billion into the city's commercial property market over the past decade. This is almost double the $8.8 billion that came from runner up the United Arab Emirates and third-place China's $8.1 billion.
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Owner of Grand Central Sues City and One Vanderbilt Developer for $1.1 Billion
September 29, 2015

Owner of Grand Central Sues City and One Vanderbilt Developer for $1.1 Billion

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Grand Central owner Andrew Penson is back in the news again, this time suing the city and One Vanderbilt developer SL Green for a princely sum of $1.1 billion. As the NY Times reports, Penson is claiming that the 65-story behemoth slated to rise next door to the historic structure has led to the devaluation of his air rights atop the terminal. Penson claims that the de Blasio administration, the City Council and SL Green "deprived him of his property rights when the city gave SL Green permission to build a 1,501-foot tall office tower, without having to buy any air rights from him." By allowing for a tower twice the size of what was zoned for the block "for free" (but really, in exchange for a $220M investment into the subway infrastructure beneath Grand Central), his air rights have been rendered "worthless."
More on the lawsuit here
Supermodel Gigi Hadid Sells $2.45M Nolita Apartment
September 29, 2015

Supermodel Gigi Hadid Sells $2.45M Nolita Apartment

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The model of the moment Gigi Hadid has sold her Nolita apartment at 250 Bowery, which was last listed for $2.45 million, according to the Post. The supermodel, who made national headlines yesterday for shutting down online body shamers, bought the ultra-modern pad in 2014 for $1.92 million after moving from LA to NYC to attend the New School, but decided to unload it when a stalker almost broke in. The two-bedroom condo is full of floor-to-ceiling windows and has a custom Carrara marble kitchen, along with white oak flooring and imported Italian white matte lacquer Lualdi pivot-hinge doors.
See more of Gigi's former digs
Epic Outdoor Space for This East Harlem Condo, Asking $875K
September 29, 2015

Epic Outdoor Space for This East Harlem Condo, Asking $875K

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We're not exaggerating when we say this is one of the most epic backyards we've ever seen on a New York City condo. The apartment in question is #1A at 440 East 117th Street, a 10-unit condo out in East Harlem that was built in 2004. What you're looking at (and likely drooling over) is two levels and 915 square feet of backyard enclosed in bamboo walls. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom interior is pretty comfortable as well, with a total of 1,286 square feet. So what does it cost for all of that indoor and outdoor space? The asking price comes in at $875,000.
See more of the backyard
Vishaan Chakrabarti, Principal at SHoP Architects, Sells Flatiron Loft for $5M
September 28, 2015

Vishaan Chakrabarti, Principal at SHoP Architects, Sells Flatiron Loft for $5M

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SHoP Architects is known for its cutting-edge designs, from supertall towers like 111 West 57th Street to massive schemes like the Domino Sugar Factory. So it comes as a bit of a surprise that one of the firm's principals, Vishaan Chakrabarti, chose to settle down in a rather traditional Flatiron loft. But perhaps he's looking to get in on the luxury condo trend that SHoP is such a part of, as he and his wife Maria Altaris (also an architect) have unloaded their massive pad at 12 West 17th Street for $4,995,000, according to city records released today. Chakrabarti previously served as the director of the Manhattan office for the Department of City Planning, as well as a senior executive at the Related Companies. In addition to his current role at SHoP, he is a professor at the Center for Urban Real Estate at Columbia. The architect couple bought the full-floor, three-bedroom unit in 2012 for a significantly lower price of $2,725,000 after moving from a duplex in Tribeca with their young son and daughter. Chakrabarti told the Times at the time, "When I decided to become an architect and a professor instead of a real estate developer, it required a little lifestyle shift. More work for less pay." Not deterred, however, they undertook a gut renovation, clearly referencing their design history books and outfitting the 2,500-square-foot space with modern Chesterfield sofas, a Saarinen dining table, Eames chair, and Barcelona bench.
Look around the loft here
New Details and Final Rendering for 45 Park Place, Condo Tower at ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Site

Rendering of 45 Park Place via Williams New York (L); Aerial view of 45 Park Place in the downtown skyline via CityRealty

September 28, 2015

New Details and Final Rendering for 45 Park Place, Condo Tower at ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Site

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In July, 6sqft revealed that 12,000-square-foot lot at 45 Park Place in Tribeca (the former site of the controversial Ground Zero Mosque that was shelved four years ago by developer Sharif El-Gamal) was cleared to make way for a huge new condo. The lot is owned by El-Gamal’s SoHo Properties, who, just today, unveiled the final design for the slender, SOMA Architects-designed tower, along with new details, including its 665-foot height and sky-high pricing. As Bloomberg reports, the 70-story glass tower "will include at least 15 full-floor units of 3,200 to 3,700 square feet, and average prices higher than $3,000 a square foot... Prices at that level would be at least 13 percent more than the second-quarter average for new-development listings in the borough."
More details ahead
The Most Expensive Home in Every State; Billionaire Peter Morton Nabs Two Village Condos for $25.5M
September 28, 2015

The Most Expensive Home in Every State; Billionaire Peter Morton Nabs Two Village Condos for $25.5M

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Whole Foods is cutting 1,500 jobs, reportedly as a way to reduce prices for its customers. [Gothamist] From North Dakota to New York, here are the most expensive homes in each state. [BI] The Brooklyn Bar Barge is finally open. [B+B] Three historic Manhattan churches were denied landmark status. [Crain’s] Billionaire Peter Morton, the co-founder of the […]

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