Posted by Leonard Steinberg on October 11th, 2012 Reports indicate the penthouse at 18 Gramercy Park has gone to contract for $ 42million, setting a new record for pricing in Downtown New York. The Robert A.M. Stern-designed building At $ 6,636/sf it seems like a relative bargain when compared to the penthouse sales uptown at… [Read More]
MANHATTAN RENTS SOAR 10+% IN ONE YEAR: MAJOR INFLATION?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on October 11th, 2012 The Douglas Elliman RENTAL REPORT just came out and Manhattan rents soared 10.2 percent in the past year as tenants scrambled for new apartments in the tightest, fastest-moving market in years, new figures show. The median rent hit $3,195 a month — and $3,500 with a doorman. Apartments… [Read More]
MARKET STREET RHINEBECK DRAWS ROCK ‘N ROLL AND ARTWORLD ROYALTY
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on October 10th, 2012 Seen at MARKET STREET, Rhinebeck’s hot new restaurant on Market Street this weekend: rock ‘n roll royalty and artworld royalty…..and because no-one at Market Street ever breathes a word, you’ll have to keep guessing who these patrons were. Maybe you know someone who was in the restaurant… [Read More]
MORE OR LESS REGULATION? WHAT ABOUT SMART REGULATION?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on October 8th, 2012 Both presidential candidates are arguing over regulation: Romney says we have too much and Obama says we don’t have enough. What about SMART regulation: efficient regulation that actually works? David Rubenstein, the co-founder of The Carlyle Group and the ‘king’ of private equity, made the point the… [Read More]
THE NEW YORK BUILDING BOOM OF 2013
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on October 5th, 2012 New York is poised for one of the greatest building booms of all time in 2013, fueled by the awakening sleeping giant of residential new construction. There are literally hundreds of buildings where already the roar of machinery and activity are firing up. This is what I… [Read More]
A.D.D. SOCIETY: THE INCONVENIENT DETAIL.
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on October 2nd, s012 Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan says it would take too long to explain the numbers behind the tax plan that he and Mitt Romney are proposing: sounds familiar? Of course! Neither side has the time to explain anything in detail…..we want a ratings-grabbing one-liner! We now live in a world whereby detail… [Read More]
THE NEW SOLAR PANEL? V3 SPIN CELLS
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on October 1st, 2012 Flat solar panels are becoming increasingly efficient, yet they do take up quite a lot of space. The Spin Cell could be a game-changer. On their website V3 explains that if one places a 20x solar concentration on a flat, static solar panel then the temperature quickly reaches 260… [Read More]
BRICFLATION: ARE BRIC COUNTRIES ARTIFICIALLY INLFATING REAL ESTATE VALUES?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on September 22nd, 2012 Is BRICFLATION upon us? In this morning’s Financial Times a story addresses a potential pricing bubble in the Central London new construction real estate market, where it was identified that just under 20% of the buyers are UK citizens and the majority buyer pool are foreign, mostly… [Read More]
DOES THE LOW INTEREST RATE MARKET REWARD THE WEALTHY OR/AND THE 47%?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on September 21st, 2012 Interest rates are at record lows, so financing a property today is more affordable than ever. Here are some disturbing facts to absorb: 1) Is everyone who has a mortgage and takes the tax deduction part of Mitt Romney’s 47%?…..the mortage deduction is a government subsidized handout….basically. I… [Read More]
NEW YORK IS THE DIRTIEST, NOISIEST CITY IN THE USA: TIME TO FIGHT BACK!
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on September 20th, 2012 After ranking a tidier No. 5 last year, New York City has regained its No. 1 spot for grit and grime as the dirtiest city in the USA. Some have argued that littering fines here should be tougher: now you can get up to 10 days in jail. Pollution isn’t… [Read More]