Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 21st, 2013 Walker Tower set the stage for an entirely new level of finishes in Manhattan New Construction by delivering esthetics AND mechanical sophistication similar to that of a very high end custom renovation. Gone were those hideous Home Depot-style HVAC grills and diffusers. Baseboards and moldings were not… [Read More]
URBANIZATION: BIG CITIES CONTINUE TO GROW BUT HOW LIVABLE ARE THEY?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 17th, 2013 The UN projected that half of the world’s population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008. By 2050 it is predicted that 64.1% and 85.9% of the developing and developed world respectively will be urbanized. What does that say about cities like New York, Los Angeles,… [Read More]
ITS ALL ABOUT THE BIG VIEW, BUT NOT FOR ALL
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 14th, 2013 My recent experience selling 150 Charles Street, the record-shattering new Witkoff-developed building in the West Village, and more recent sales in other new very high end buildings in Manhattan, has given me a great insight into the mindset of New York high end buyers when it comes to… [Read More]
DOLLY LENZ DEPARTS DOUGLAS ELLIMAN
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 12th, 2013 Super-broker and semi-un-touchable Empress of Manhattan real estate Dolly Lenz has left Douglas Elliman after a 13 year reign. Rumor has it she will be following the footsteps of brokers such as Michael Shvo, Shaun Osher and Wendy Maitland to start her own brokerage firm. The departure does not come… [Read More]
BLOOMBERG'S STORM PROTECTION PLAN
Posted on June 12th, 2013 New York Mayor Bloomberg called for a $20 billion system of flood walls, levees and other measures to protect vulnerable regions from storms and the effects of climate change. A 400-page report outlines 250 concrete recommendations for how to confront the risks we face, and build a stronger, more resilient city. As… [Read More]
RATINGS-OBSESSED WORLD
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 8th, 2013 We live in a ratings-obsessed world: is the only way to achieve strong ratings these days through extremes? American Idol’s ratings soar when a contestant is discovered to have been jailed in their past, not because they sing well. People love those Mob Wife’s when they get into… [Read More]
INTEREST RATES ABOVE 4%: WILL THIS IMPACT THE RECOVERY?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 5th, 2013 The Wall Street Journal asks the question whether rising interest rates could stop the improving housing markets in the USA. Interest rates have climbed past 4% in the past month. The truth of the housing market is that in the hardest hit areas, prices fell so low… [Read More]
WALL STREET RESCUES THE HOUSING MARKET CRASH WITH PRIVATE STIMULUS?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 4th, 2013 Did large Wall Street firms save the crashed housing markets in the USA with PRIVATE STIMULUS? Some would say yes. Large investment firms have spent billions of dollars throughout 2012 buying homes in some of the nation’s most depressed markets. The influx has been so great, and… [Read More]
BUSHWICK WAS HOT THIS WEEKEND: AP CAFE OPENS ON TROUTMAN
Posted on June 2nd, 2013 Bushwick, the uber-cool artists neighborhood a few stops past Williamsburg on the ‘L’ train, sweltered in the heat this weekend with an Artist’s open studio event. Hundreds of artists opened their studio doors to visitors……and while it was hot outside, it was even hotter inside. There certainly was some wonderful… [Read More]
WHERE ARE THE EDITORS?
Posted on June 1st, 2013 We live in a world where the volume of content that is growing at an excessive rate. In real estate land the volume of information is overwhelming: much of it is not fact-checked, and claims can be made that are not true, especially on the web. The same is seen… [Read More]