36
Airbnb sees blue skies in New York
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Unraveling an HPD scam
70
Debating Dumbo’s new architecture
is no help for some agents 112 Yelp
THEREALDEAL
www.TheRealDeal.com
Comeback kids
A look at some of NYC’s most impressive real estate recoveries
N EW YO RK R E AL E S T A TE N E W S
Vol. 9 No. 11 November 2011 $3.00
The new foreign buyers City lures investors from abroad as Europe scrambles to control crisis
BY C.J. HUGHES While the industry is not back to its highs, there are comebacks to be found — whether from developers who flopped earlier on mega deals, stock prices that had hit rock bottom, or even bankers whose billion-dollar loans went bellyup and are now back on the scene in a big way. See story on page 68
Autumn market not what it used to be Manhattan brokers say the residential market is seeing less activity this fall than in the past. And they expect the trend to continue as the market becomes more “spring-centric.” See page 22.
Mogul creating new empire, but is his NAI deal in trouble? BY DAVID JONES Billionaire investor Andrew Farkas, who built Insignia Financial Group into one of the counSPECIAL REPORT try’s largest firms, is on his most prolific acquisition run since the ’90s. Most recently, he agreed to buy firm NAI Global and to purchase a stake in Grubb & Ellis. But as he builds his empire, sources say the NAI deal, which has yet to close, has hit snags.
For office market, Q4 won’t deliver Manhattan office leasing experts say volume may reach only 26 million square feet by the end of 2011, falling far short of expectations. See page 28.
See story on page 32
Top agent abodes
250 West Street
Inside the homes of big-shot Manhattan residential brokers
BY LEIGH KAMPING-CARDER This month, The Real Deal peeks inside the homes of five top Manhattan brokers. What we found is one agent who paid only $10 for her condo after helping Donald Trump sell 120 units in the building, and another whose townhouse is filled with Damien Hirst paintings. Find out more about these brokers’ abodes inside.
BY LEIGH KAMPING-CARDER weeks, while others, from tottering econoAt press time, European leaders had reached mies, have flooded into the city as a safe haven. a deal to avert a potentially disastrous Greek The Real Deal looks at 10 countries that send a debt default. The move could significant number of homebuyFEATURE S TORY ers here, and breaks down the have implications in NYC, where some foreign buyers have been spooked into priciest riciest 2 2011 deals involving for foreign players. inactivity by the European debt crisis for See stories beginning on page 51
Ron Moelis’ secret weapon
Broker pay draws fire
BY CANDACE TAYLOR At a time when most are cutting back, Ron Moelis’ L+M Development — one of the only firms in the city that does both affordable and market-rate housing — has added 40 employees. And this spring, the billion-dollar developer will start a new Harlem condo, one of only a few to rise post-Lehman.
BY ADAM PINCUS Some real estate execs are quietly fuming over what they say are aggressive bonuses that several new and expanding commercial firms are paying to poach brokers. In the last few months, Avison Young, Stan Johnson Company, Lee & Associates, Brookfield Firms opening and Financial and Colliers International have expanding in NYC: all made plays to open, expand or ramp up NYC hiring. Sources say at least one of those Avison Young firms has offered twice the typical bonus Lee & Associates package to lure agents — a move that has angered established rivals who believe the Brookfield Financial firm is “over-providing” for brokers “who Stan Johnson Company are not top producers.” See story on page 48
L+M is rare builder of both affordable, market-rate units
Rechler’s Indiana Jones moment See page 114.
Out of 25,000 condo projects nationwide with recent expiration dates for FHA eligibility, only 2,100 have been approved or recertified; the rest can’t get FHA mortgages. See page 40.
AT A GLANCE
Andrew Farkas: The NYC sequel
See story on page 46
FACT
See story on page 64
Some new commercial firms accused of offering ‘above market’ to poach agents
Wild wild 250 West Units at the Elad Group’s new condo conversion, 250 West, are moving briskly. Some 36 of the 106 apartments have already sold, due in part to the lack of available inventory in Tribeca. See page 38.
Halal and hipsters on West 29th Street The Real Deal takes a buildingby-building look at one rapidly evolving 29th Street block, as it transitions from wholesalers to trendy shops. See page 60.
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CURRENCY ILLUSTRATION BY SQUAT DESIGN; SCOTT RECHLER PHOTO BY MARC SCRIVO; 250 WEST STREET PHOTO BY MAX DWORKIN