18
Summer in the city — poolside
26
Nasty divorce battles, and who gets the house
28
Romney’s real estate
60
Inside BofA’s big NYC lending bets
105
Getting a listing video to go viral
THEREALDEAL
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Tallying who won at 666 Fifth Ave. Ranking winners, losers as record deal clears hurdle
BY ADAM PINCUS Vornado’s pending deal to buy the last part of the retail condo at 666 Fifth Avenue for $707 million caps SPECIAL REPORT off a tumultuous few years for investors at the tower, where the Kushners set a record in 2007 with their $1.8 billion purchase. This month, TRD looks at how much each investor walked away with.
N EW YO R K R E A L E S T A T E N E W S
Vol. 10 No. 8 August 2012 $3.00
Caught in the web As NYC firms pump money into websites, what’s working and what’s not
Big demand for small Manhattan rentals New York’s frenzied rental market is seeing big price increases for small apartments. Rent hikes for studios are far outpacing those for larger units. See page 14.
Where NYC’s moguls weekend A look at the second homes of city real estate players
Presidential politics delays office leasing
BY KATHERINE CLARKE In the summer, most NYC real estate bigwigs leave the city’s blistering heat behind. Inside, TRD looks at the second homes of players from Elizabeth Stribling and Dottie Herman to Jeff Sutton and John CatsiSee story on page 38 matidis.
What will going public mean for local brokerages?
BY ADAM PINCUS Realogy’s plan to go public could have big ramifications for the firms it owns here, including Corcoran and Citi Habitats. Some say it will mean more cost-cutting, while others argue that it’ll translate into more resources for expansion. See story on page 40
Overall home sales have increased in Long Island, Westchester and Fairfield County, but luxury sales there have declined. See page 64.
AT A GLANCE
See story on page 43
Realogy’s IPO
FACT
While Manhattan office leasing has been stuck in neutral for a while, real estate pros say the situation is intensifying as tenants hold off on making decisions until after the presidential election. See page 22.
BY LEIGH KAMPING-CARDER digital brands. But now, firms are grappling with how Consumers have become more demanding when it best to quantify the benefits of these major investcomes to what they expect when searching for prop- ments of time and money — and how to size up their erties online. In response, many of rivals’ efforts. New York City’s residential firms This month, TRD looks at how EATURE TORY have overhauled their websites in firms are navigating the challenges recent years, with the goal of attracting more eye- of Web 2.0. We also analyzed one firm’s award-winballs to listings and boosting the amount of business ning website to see what works and what doesn’t, and their agents do. got our smartphones out to review residential apps. But these endeavors don’t come cheap: Some bro- See which ones worked best. kerages have spent up to seven figures remaking their See story on page 32
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Baccarat New York doesn’t sparkle The planned $400 million Baccarat New York, named after the famed crystal, may be a case of branding gone awry, says critic James Gardner. The Skidmore Owings & Merrill-designed hotel-condo is less sparkling than its name suggests, he says. See page 62. Baccarat rendering
Top of Hamptons heap Young gun As market stabilizes, East End firms get bigger
Harald Grant on dating women his own age See page 106.
BY LEIGH KAMPING-CARDER It’s been a rocky few years for the real estate market on Long Island’s East End. But now that the worst of the downturn has passed, the region’s major residential firms are actuBiggest East End Firms ally increasing their agent headC ORCORAN : 327 agents counts. This year, the 10 biggest firms in the Hamptons, Shelter IsE LLIMAN : 326 agents land and the North Fork had 1,248 B ROWN H ARRIS S TEVENS : 132 agents agents — up 8.6 percent from last T OWN & C OUNTRY : 119 agents year, according to TRD’s annual S AUNDERS & A SSOCIATES : 88 agents ranking of East End firms. But so far, the 10 most expensive sales of 2012 — which, of course, involved boldface New York names — don’t compare to prices seen last year. See story on page 50
in spotlight Developer Michael Stern racks up condo projects BY KATHERINE CLARKE Michael Stern was only 29 when he bought the former Verizon building in Chelsea. Now condos at the project, dubbed Walker Tower, are selling fast. But Stern’s JDS Development is just getting warmed up: It’s planning another condo and a big mixed-use project, both in the West 50s, plus several other buildings. See story on page 58
Agent health hazards A look at how the Supreme Court’s health-care ruling affects brokers, who work as independent contractors. See page 16.
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WEB ILLUSTRATION FOR THE REAL DEAL BY ROBERT PIZZO; PHOTOGRAPH OF GRANT FOR THE REAL DEAL BY KARL RIVENBURGH