The Manhattan LUXURY real estate market is a market that addresses about 10% of the population….the very wealthy. The top 10% is experiencing what economists would consider full employment. Maybe this explains the very active real estate market we are witnessing? According to a study from Northeastern University’s Center for Labor Studies, unemployment for… [Read More]
FOUR SEASONS HOTEL ON THE BLOCK
We hear the Four Season’s Hotel is being actively marketed….The magnificent hotel located on 57th Street has room rates STARTING around $ 1,000/night. This made us think: For anyone visiting for 10 days or so per month, $ 10,000.00/month would pay the mortgage and monthly charges for an apartment that sells for around $ 1.75million. It… [Read More]
500 WEST 23rd STREET
The new building planned for the corner of Tenth Avenue and 23rd Street looks like it will happen! The project was recently sold to a Chicago based group. Most of the foundation work is completed already so the project could be completed a lot sooner than expected, depending of course on how fast or slow… [Read More]
THE RICHEST HARDLY EVER SELL.
The New York Times published a story about how the oldest New York families appeared dowdy and obsolete in the boom years, yet now they appear quite brilliant: “What distinguishes the families from other real estate players is that they buy property but rarely sell. They usually have relatively low levels of debt on their… [Read More]
BIG EARNERS: FAIR?
With all the outrage about bonuses, we thought we should examine the subject further. What is fair? Are banker bonuses unfair if they are paid as a result of strong performance? We don’t think so. Especially if the shareholders are compensated equally. They seem extremely unfair if they are paid out regardless of performance. The… [Read More]
BLANKFEIN’S $ 9MILLION NON-CASH BONUS
Goldman Sachs, whose shares doubled last year as profit soared to an all-time high, awarded Blankfein a $9 million all-stock bonus for 2009, according to a Feb. 5 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Blankfein’s payment of 58,381 restricted stock units, valued at $9 million at the Feb. 5 closing price of $154.16,… [Read More]
HOUSING FIGURES STABILIZE.
Pending sales of previously owned homes edged up as expected in December, a survey showed on Tuesday: Will this help to calm fears of renewed weakness in the troubled housing sector? The National Association of Realtors’ index of pending home sales rose 1% in December after tumbling 16.4% in November. Economists had expected sales to be unchanged. The NAR’s index was 10.9%… [Read More]
WHITE HOUSE 2011 BUDGET: NOW WHAT?
How will the just announced White House $3.8 trillion budget for fiscal 2011 impact the luxury real estate market? In it is a proposal to raise capital gains taxes back to 20%. (The Bush tax cuts had reduced this to the current 15%.) …..Better get those capital gains posted in 2010! The top tax bracket would… [Read More]
SUPER-BUSY JANUARY MARKET.
The month of January 2010 was a busy real estate month indeed: Brokers babbled about how this weekend’s Open Houses felt more like 2007/2008. How sustainable is this when The White House just announced raised budgets and taxes? Only time will tell. Manhattanites are often similar to Igor in ‘Young Frankenstein’….the world may see the… [Read More]
The Meat Packing District Spreads…..
Is 14th Street becoming chic? If the rumors about the imminent opening of a highly exclusive SOHO HOUSE-style private club are true, it would appear so. The club, THE NORWOOD, will be located in a sensational mid-19th Century Greek revival townhouse and membership will be strictly by invitation only….The club could be an important bridge… [Read More]