Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 22nd, 2014 Summer has arrived and the market is much hotter than the incredible temperatures we are experiencing in New York the past few days. In a hot real estate market, a breed of broker emerges that is as amusing as it is annoying: the BOILER ROOM REAL ESTATE… [Read More]
100 MILLION DOLLAR LISTING NEW YORK
Posted by Leonard Steinberg, president of URBAN COMPASS, on June 20th, 2014 Moments away from the official beginning of Summer, things are really heating up in Manhattan real estate when it comes to pricing: the elusive $100 million mark that has yet to be achieved in New York for the sale of a residential property heats… [Read More]
AN AMENITIES ARMS RACE?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 18th, 2014 Last night at Ian Schrager’s spectacular presentation in his immaculate penthouse at 40 Bond Street for his new building 215 CHRYSTIE above the PUBLIC HOTEL in the Lower East Side, he made a statement that I think was noteworthy: in describing his building he said the building was… [Read More]
DO ONLY BILLIONAIRES BUY REALLY EXPENSIVE APARTMENTS?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 17th, 2014 Today word spread that another billionaire swept in to buy the French government owned duplex at 740 Park Avenue for many millions over the asking, supposedly $70 million….for a co-op….that needs renovation work. Can only billionaires pay these prices? I have found over the past few years… [Read More]
THE SOLUTION TO MIDDLE EAST PROBLEMS?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 15th, 2014 Yesterday while touring the magnificent HUDSON WOODS development in the Catskills, a simply beautiful 130-acre development of DWELL-editorial-quality homes designed by Drew Lang and represented by James Cox and Frank Giordano of URBAN COMPASS, I spotted something that could be part of the solution to the turmoil that… [Read More]
NUMBER OF US MILLIONAIRE HOUSEHOLDS RISES 18%, CHINA UP 82%!
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 11th, 2014 For anyone worried that there may not be enough buyers for luxury New York apartments, take a deep breath. The Boston Consulting Group has determined that the number of millionaire households in the US grew by 18% last year from 2012. The total number of millionaire households in… [Read More]
DOW 17,000: REPEATING THE MISTAKES OF THE GREAT RECESSION?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 9th, 2014 As the DOW approaches the 17,000 mark, many are asking whether we are experiencing a repeat of the 2006-2008 bubble? One driving aspect of the financial crisis of 2008 was the volume of over-valued property loans held by banks. Loans secured by real estate typically make up… [Read More]
560 WEST 24th STREET – WE LOVE THIS BUILDING!
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 7th, 2014 I cannot help but gush over this exquisite building currently under construction in the heart of West Chelsea: Its location is superb, perched aside 200 Eleventh Avenue across the street from Gagosian Gallery, between the Hudson River Park and the Highline Park, around the corner from AVENUE’S SCHOOL…..and… [Read More]
BIG BANKS TO CUT JOBS: WILL BANKERS HEAD INTO REAL ESTATE?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 5th, 2014 Reports today are surfacing that the trading businesses inside the biggest global investment banks are expected to suffer job losses (possibly in the thousands) by the end of 2014: what does this mean for the New York real estate market? Bankers increasingly worry that the downturn in… [Read More]
$500,000 for 15 CAMERAS: GOVERNMENT AT ITS VERY WORST?
Posted on June 4th, 2014 by Leonard Steinberg After the horrific stabbing of 2 young kids in the public housing buildings Boulevard Houses, Mayor De Blasio spoke up about the inefficiency of government to install cameras which are an outstanding deterrent and effective tool to capture perpetrators of such awful crimes. A $500,000 contract for… [Read More]