What you need to know now about...

.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Invested in the Past? Buyers and Sellers at Opposing Ends of the Bargaining Table

By Mark Heschmeyer
Much has been made of the impact of the credit crunch on the slowdown of commercial real estate investments. But just as impactful as the lack of available credit right now, is that buyers and sellers have not yet come to terms with the the 'new reality' and remain at opposite extremes in terms of pricing, which further exacerbates the current deal paralysis gripping the market. There is almost no investment real estate market at this time, say industry executives and brokers... »
Click here for full story
» Retail REITs Seizing Opportunities in Soft Market
» Medical Office Deals Give Shot In The Arm To Ailing Commercial Market
» Stock Prices Linked With Sustainability, Survey Finds

Monday, February 25, 2008

All Starbucks closing tomorrow: WHAT?

Where will Britt and the rest of us go?

Tomorrow evening, starting at 5:30 p.m. (local time), your neighborhood Starbucks is closing. Yes, yours -- and yours, too. (If you live in the U.S., that is.) CEO Howard Schultz has ordered this emergency intensive remedial training, hopefully giving baristas valuable skills they should have learned in the ordinary 40-hour new "partner" training. One of the skills -- which, according to one New York Starbucks manager involved in the test training program, was a "revelation" to some of her workers -- is a milk steaming technique that will allow baristas to "free pour" (without holding foam back with a spoon) the milk no matter how the customer orders the drink. Partners will also be instructed to wipe the steamer wands and rinse the pitchers and shot glasses every time -- not a new idea, but according to anecdotal evidence, also not commonly done. A new procedure will be instituted for the espresso machines; baristas will always pull a double shot, instead of occasionally pulling only one when only one shot is needed. This, apparently, will assure a better-tasting espresso.Baristas, customers, stockholders and analysts all seem to agree that, much though retraining may be necessary for some individuals, it's not bad foam that has prompted the dip in Starbucks' (NASDAQ: SBUX) stock price; no, it's the uneven and quixotic management initiatives. Now, we're a coffee shop... now we're the "third place" with comfortable chairs... now we're a movie studio... now we're an Apple store... now we're a book publisher/record company/toy store/candy store/cookbook... now we're a fast food joint. It's enough for stakeholders to all rise up with a single voice and ask plaintively:

Friday, February 22, 2008

What's Sellin...

Contract Signed Report.

Significant observations in trend are as follows:

Average Sales price increased to $1.9M from $1.6M
Discount from last asking price decreased to -.5% from 2.7%
- due to a number of over bids on asking prices


Discount from original asking price decreased to 2.7% from 3.5%
Transactions sold at ask or above are strong at 44%


Median number of days on market from last ask price increased to 68 days from 55 days
- this may be due to the long holiday period


Sales of Condominiums increased to 63% and Cooperatives decreased to 36%


Active listings on market have increased 3% to 8,470 from 8,212

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Residential Rental Buyers Adapt to Today's Market

By MICHAEL STOLERFebruary 21, 2008
As the second month of 2008 comes to an end, members of the real estate community are beginning to accept the fact that the market has seen a price correction. Purchasers of residential rental property in New York City have had to adopt a whole new terminology, with phrases like "all-cash purchaser," "seller financing," "full and limited recourse," "higher debt service coverage," "lower loan to values," and "personal guarantees."
Despite the new rules now in place, investors are actively pursuing ownership of residential rental developments across New York City. With steady and even rising rents, demand is booming for the city's rental apartment buildings, which represent a safe haven for investors weary of uncertainty elsewhere in the real estate market.

"We continue to see strong fundamentals in the New York rental market," the president of Vantage Properties, Neil Rubler, said: "While operating expenses, particularly energy costs, have inflated significantly in the past 24 months, demand for rental units remains strong, with vacancy rates running south of 3% in most neighborhoods." Mr. Rubler added: "On the investment sales side, continued support for the asset class among both balance sheet lenders and financing agencies, like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, make both acquisition financing and refinancing far easier than in other asset classes. This said, leverage levels are generally in the 65% range versus the 80% and plus range that had been commonplace at this time last year, and spreads are up by several hundred basis points, offsetting lower benchmark pricing, which include Swaps or Treasuries. The net effect is that a buyer's overall cost of capital has significantly increased, and deals are generally being underwritten at levels of between 5% to 15% off of the highs achieved in the second quarter of 2007. Sellers generally have taken a wait-and-see attitude, and many aren't yet willing to accept enough of a price adjustment to make most deals work. This said, New York rental multifamily property remains far more liquid than other real estate categories, and we continue to have a very full pipeline of pending transactions."
The co-founder and managing director of Stonehenge Partners, Ofer Yardeni, is very bullish on New York, and especially its residential rental market. Late last year, his firm closed its Stonehenge Opportunity Fund II, and in the last three months it has closed on more than $400 million in property acquisitions. Last month, Stonehenge acquired both 360 E. 65th St. and 347–351 E. 58th St. for $126 million and $10 million, respectively. Last week, Stonehenge closed on the acquisition of 8 Gramercy Park South and 141 E. 33rd St. for $82 million.

http://www.nysun.com/article/71584?page_no=1

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

How Green Is My Realtor

By SARA SCHAEFER MUÑOZFebruary 19, 2008; Page D1
In a bid to stand out in a sagging housing market, an increasing number of real-estate agents are marketing themselves as eco-friendly -- connecting environmentally conscious buyers to "green" homes and helping sellers make their homes more eco-sensitive.
These agents are promoting their knowledge of eco-friendly and energy-efficient properties on their Web sites and blogs. Some are taking courses to learn about things like geo-thermal heat pumps and how to help home buyers qualify for grants and tax credits for energy-saving improvements.
Yet some housing experts question whether some agents are using a cursory knowledge of green building as a marketing ploy in a tough market. "A Realtor may support [a purchase] regardless of how green the home is," says Jay Hall, acting director of the eco-friendly homebuilding program at the U.S. Green Building Council in Washington.

Still, there are ways to check a real-estate agent's earth-friendly credentials. And for consumers who don't know much about green building or the recent proliferation of green construction labels, these brokers can be helpful, Mr. Hall says.
Many Realtors hope so. Green Key Real Estate in San Francisco asks on its site: "Wouldn't you rather work with a Realtor who shares your values in environmental and social responsibility?" and sends its agents to environmentally friendly building courses. Last fall, Harry Norman Realtors in Atlanta had 48 Realtors certified by EcoBroker International, which educates Realtors on eco-friendly homes and marketing. Meanwhile, individual Realtors are carving "green" niches for themselves: Celeste Karan, of Keller Williams Realty in Chicago, started
www.greenhomechicago.com, a site where she lists properties and promises "to help home buyers understand what truly constitutes a 'green building.'"
Such agents say their knowledge of environmentally friendly designs and materials can help clients in several ways. First, the brokers will link interested buyers to homes that are built with eco-friendly features, like solar power and energy-efficient appliances. Even if the property is old and lacks such features, agents can walk buyers through possible retro-fits that will lower their energy bills or improve indoor air quality.
When it comes to sellers, agents can advise them on simple projects that can make the home eco-friendly, such as improving insulation or touching up the interior with nontoxic paint in a bid to attract buyers.
EcoBroker International, which offers courses for Realtors, says its program has certified more than 2,600 agents total, doubling the amount since last year. Based in Evergreen, Colo., its classes include things like how to make improvements in indoor air quality, what types of eco-friendly retro-fits will be the most cost-effective, and how to piece together the state and local tax credits or grants for "green" projects. Realtors then earn an EcoBroker designation, something concrete that agents can use as a marketing tool, says EcoBroker chief executive John Beldock.
Kermit Baker, a senior research fellow at Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, says it's a potentially good strategy at a time when there's a glut of homes for sale. "Anything that would make you stand out in this market would help," he says.
So-called green real-estate agents represent properties such as this planned solar-powered home in Geos, a community in Colorado (above) and eco-friendly apartments in the Green Armitage building in Chicago (below).
Existing-home sales fell 2.2% in December from November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors, a national trade group. The median home price was $208,400 in December, down 6% from a year earlier.
Hugh Morris, the community outreach representative for the National Association of Realtors, the national trade group, says pitching environmental certifications isn't the only way Realtors are trying to distinguish themselves these days. A few are marketing themselves as experts in historic properties, while one even says his specialty is homes near nature trails. Yet Mr. Morris says interest in "green" properties has surged; he now answers about five calls a week from Realtors asking how they can get eco-friendly credentials, compared with none a year ago, he says.
When Tonia Lee wanted to sell her one-bedroom live/work townhouse outside Atlanta, she turned to local EcoBroker Carson Matthews after coming across his blog online. The home, which she listed at $325,000 a few weeks ago, is part of a sustainable-development community and has many eco-friendly features, including a highly efficient heating and cooling system, energy-efficient appliances and a permeable driveway surface (which absorbs the water instead of adding to run-off). With his blog and knowledge of the benefits of "green" building, she figured Mr. Matthews was well-positioned to sell the property.
With a regular agent, "I don't think I would get the niche buyer I am looking for," she says.
The growing number of such real-estate agents come as the building community is in the midst of defining what "green" is. In December, the U.S. Green Building Council -- a nonprofit that rates commercial buildings on things like energy use and indoor-air quality -- introduced similar rating systems for people's homes. The National Association of Homebuilders, meanwhile, is working with the International Code Council to develop a green building standard. Yet another certification is available through the federal government's Energy Star program, which requires homes to be at least 15% more energy-efficient than those built to the 2004 residential code. States and local building associations, too, may have their own green building programs or guidelines.
Real-estate agents say they will sort through the confusion. Celeste Karan, of Keller Williams Realty in Chicago, asks to see prior utility bills or whether the home is Energy Star rated so she can promote how much actual savings a buyer can expect. She also points out that some homes with quick-fix improvements -- so-called greenwashing -- may not be as eco-friendly as they sound: Bamboo floors, for example, are often touted as "green" because bamboo is a rapidly renewable material. But most bamboo comes from China, and lots of energy is used in shipping the products halfway around the world.
Another perk EcoBrokers can offer is helping to find buyers energy efficient or eco-friendly mortgages. These are mortgages that offer bigger loans or discounts if buyers make energy-efficient improvements or if their new home meets certain efficiency standards. Last year,
Bank of America Corp. launched an Energy Credit mortgage, which offers a $1,000 credit toward closing fees for mortgages on new homes that meet efficiency requirements set by the government's Energy Star program, and Indigo Financial Group, based in Lansing, Mich., started selling such mortgages in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Florida in 2005, and recently expanded to Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and Alabama.
Yet some consumers say that when it comes to environmentally friendly homes, it's easy enough to do research on their own. Bruce Ray, a Chicago pastor, is seriously considering a $400,000 three-bedroom apartment in Green Armitage, a new building made with features like recycled and locally sourced materials, nontoxic paint, and insulation so tight it promises buyers no more than $600 a year in energy bills for the first two years. He says his belief in stewardship of the environment led him to research the various eco-friendly properties and understand the features they offer. As for the "green" agent who showed him the place, he said she was knowledgeable, but her pitch wasn't what sold him on the property.
"There's so much green information for people now," he says. "I think people who are interested in these buildings are already pretty eco-friendly, already driving a Prius and recycling and composting."

Saturday, February 16, 2008

12 Most Common Taxpayer Mistakes

Ok so this has nothing to do with real estate, but noteworthy this time of the year!


The Dolans' Dirty Dozen
How many pages long is the United States Tax Code? If you guessed 18,500, you win the prize. So, it's no wonder that so many of us make mistakes when filing our federal income tax forms. But a mistake or two on your tax return can bring you unnecessary stress, delay your refund or subject you to an appointment with an IRS agent.Avoid all that. Personal finance experts Ken & Daria Dolan show you how to steer clear of these frequent fouls.


No. 1: 2 + 2 = 5
Math mistakes are one of the leading reasons the IRS adjusts returns. We know this sounds basic, but please double-check all figures on your return and use a calculator!


No. 2: Incorrect Address
If you choose to file a paper return, be sure to use the address label off the tax return the IRS sent you. (You can make any necessary corrections right on that label).If you do not have a peel-off label, fill in all requested information in your very best writing so it's clear as can be. An incorrect address can lead to a delay in processing your return, or worse, IRS correspondence and refunds being sent to the wrong address.


No. 3: Incorrect Filing Status
Check only one filing status on the tax return and check the appropriate exemption boxes. Claiming the wrong status could negate your ability to claim the child tax credit, the earned-income credit and dependent exemptions.


No. 4: Using the Wrong Tax Table
If you use the IRS tax tables, be careful to use the correct column for your filing status.


No. 5: Incorrect/Missing Social Security Number
The IRS computers will automatically reject your credits and deductions if your Social Security number is wrong.


No. 6: Direct Deposit Routing Errors
If you are asking the IRS to deposit your refund directly into your account, you must be sure you provide the right information. If your account number or routing number is off, your money will float forever between financial institutions!


No. 7: Incomplete/Missing Documentation
A complete set of supporting documents is vital to the efficient processing of your return. If the IRS can't verify the information that you provide, it may decide to make its own adjustments! Attach all necessary forms and schedules (your W-2, 1099s, etc.) and, especially receipts that back up your deductions/credits to your return as well.


No. 8: Failure to Include Payment
If you do owe money ... enclose a check or money order with your tax return and write your Social Security number, tax form number and tax year on the payment.


No. 9: Failure to Take Tax Credits and Deductions
Each year the IRS collects millions of dollars in overpaid taxes thanks to taxpayers who don't claim all the deductions and credits available to them whether they itemize or not.Such credits and deductions include child and dependent care expense, student loan expense, moving expenses, alimony paid and tuition expenses.


No. 10: Sending the IRS Your Only Copy
Be sure to make a copy of your return and all documentation for your records in case you have to go into battle with the IRS.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

211 Pearl Street Update

New pics...show whats happening on Pearl Street...Seems like the folks at Curbed dont think this has much merit.

The only thing slightly more ridiculous than the preservation of the flimsy façade of 211 Pearl Street (while its historic neighbors were obliterated) is what Rockrose Development Corp. plans on doing with it. A Curbed tipster dropped by the Financial District/Seaport area yesterday and snapped a couple pictures of the Pearl Street scene, and it looks like Rockrose isn't wasting any time in building that new behemoth. Of course, we're still waiting on renderings of the Lam Group's massive double hotel just down the block, what is sure to be another tranquil addition to what was once Manhattan's first World Trade Center. That'll be a fun one, for sure.More constructoporn this way. >>
CURBED

Monday, February 11, 2008

February 10, 2008
Big Deal
A League of Their Own
By JOSH BARBANEL
AVERAGE apartment sale prices in Manhattan soared last month to the highest levels ever, showing the tenacity and power of the luxury market.
With at least 15 closings at the expensive new condominiums at 15 Central Park West, and a steady stream of sales at the most exclusive co-ops, including a record-setting $46 million sale on Fifth Avenue, the average apartment sold for nearly $1.75 million, according to a compilation of preliminary industry statistics.
That was 21 percent above the average sale price reported in the last quarter of 2007 in a market study by Prudential Douglas Elliman.
Meanwhile, the average sale price of a condo approached an astonishing $2 million in January, while co-ops, which had poked above $1.1 million in the last few quarters, hit $1.5 million, based on transactions filed by the middle of last week.
Yet, despite the continuing euphoria in the luxury market, there were signs that the rest of the market was in a holding pattern. The number of closings in January rose sharply compared with a weak December, but remained below levels seen in both co-ops and condos for most of last year.
And the median price — the price at which half of all sales were above and half below — was roughly flat in January, at about $857,000. That was slightly above the median reported last quarter and slightly below the level recorded during the summer. Median prices reflect the broader market without the influence of the mega-sales.
Gregory J. Heym, the chief economist at two brokerage firms, Halstead Property and Brown Harris Stevens, says the pace of sales at the upper reaches of the market was set by the availability of trophy apartments that rarely change hands, while buyers in the rest of the market are “more sensitive to what is going on in the economy and with interest rates.”
“Many want to sit on the fence and wait,” he said. “Some people have the misconception that we have the same inventory here as in the rest of the country, and it is not even close.”
The big transactions last month included the $46 million sale of a co-op apartment at 1060 Fifth Avenue, at 87th Street, to Scott A. Bommer, a hedge fund manager. A $32 million duplex at 740 Park Avenue, near 71st Street, sold to D. Randall Winn, the managing director of Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor’s that provides financial analysis tools, and his wife, Tamara Winn. She is a daughter of Ira Rennert, the billionaire investor who is sometimes credited with having the world’s largest home, in the Hamptons.
Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chairman and chief executive of Goldman Sachs, paid $26 million for a four-bedroom 6,130-square-foot duplex on the 16th and 17th floors at 15 Central Park West, with an 1,100-square-foot terrace and park views.
There were also two sales at 1040 Fifth Avenue, at the corner of 85th Street. In mid-January, Mr. Bommer sold his 14th-floor apartment there for $21 million to Jeff T. Blau, the president of the Related Companies, which built the Time Warner Center.
Two days later, Edgar Bronfman Jr., the chief executive of the Warner Music Group, and scion of the Bronfman liquor fortune, paid $19.5 million for a similar A-line apartment four floors down. That apartment is now back on the market with a $24 million asking price.

Friday, February 8, 2008

OPEN HOUSE NEW YORK 2-10-08

COME ON DOWN

JUST REDUCED!!!! NOW Under $1.1 Million

Two Bedroom and Two Bathroom Co op on Madison Avenue
Open House Sunday February 10th
12-130 pm- bring or send your buyers!!
ASKING $1,099,000
Full listing:

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Top 100 New York Condos

And the winners are....

The NY Condo Blog has put together a 1-100 ranking of Manhattan condo buildings, based on location, layouts, interior finishes, amenities, and investment potential. The Zeckendorfs' record-setting 15 Central Park West is #1 and The Plaza is #2, Ian Schrager's 50 Gramercy Park North takes the bronze.

Top 100 New York Condos [NYCondoBlog]

Who Pays the Most Taxes?

By JOSH BARBANEL
Published: February 3, 2008
A TAX collector’s tour of Manhattan might rightfully begin in front of the neo-Georgian town house on East 63rd Street with stately stone pillars and a bowed brick front, a large flagpole protruding from a fourth-floor terrace. Once a private club and later a Catholic school, it is now the home of Ronald O. Perelman, the billionaire who made his fortune buying up troubled companies.
Mr. Perelman’s 40-foot-wide house, bought for about $5 million in 1983 (a few years before he famously took over Revlon), holds the distinction of being the highest-taxed single-family home in New York City. It is valued by the city’s tax assessors at $37.5 million, under new assessments released a few weeks ago, up 15 percent from the year before. The property taxes on it are likely to be more than $213,000 when the new tax bills arrive in July, based on current taxes rates.
While the taxes paid by wealthy town-house owners may seem high to ordinary mortals, they can be phased in over many years and usually do not reflect the current market values. The owners would pay even more if they were not protected by the same provisions of tax laws created to shield middle-class homeowners in the Bronx or co-op residents on Queens Boulevard from onerous tax increases. Without this circuit breaker, Mr. Perelman’s taxes could have been as high as $347,000.
Or a tax tour might reasonably begin instead at Rupert Murdoch’s opulent penthouse apartment, 20 rooms spread over three floors and 8,000 square feet (plus 4,000 square feet of terraces), at 834 Fifth Avenue (64th Street), one of grandest and most expensive co-op apartments in one of the most pedigreed buildings in the country.
One might think it would be one of the highest taxed as well. Mr. Murdoch paid $44 million for it three years ago, a record price at the time, and it is probably worth more today. However, Mr. Murdoch’s share of the co-op’s tax bill works out to only about $55,000, the equivalent of a ridiculously low $625 tax bill on a $500,000 home on any suburban street.

For full article:

Friday, February 1, 2008

CurbedWire: McTownhouses on the UES

Not the first we heard of the MC MANSION, but now a MC Townhouse? I wonder if these terms are copyrighted?

UES—It's best in this case, to simply relate the story in full that a tipster emailed to us as it quite riveting: "Back in 2005, a mystery buyer paid $5.2M for the 5 story townhouse at 252 East 78th. It was broken up into 7 or 8 apartments, and vacant for some time. For the last 2+ years, the new owner has deconstructed it, leaving only the floors in place to hold up the structures on either side and built this new McTownhouse in it's place. They basically tore off the front and back, gutted it, removed enough dirt to allow for 11' ceilings in the cellar, and excavated the garden to allow for an addition on the back. Let's not forget the elevators, new handcrafted staircases and the extra floor and roof deck...Have tear downs arrived on the UES? I should note that the owner must not have liked the columns in front as they have been removed. Word is new ones are being created." Not the first McTownhouse to have been spotted recently. [CurbedWire Inbox]