Posted by Leonard Steinberg, President of Compass, on June 24th, 2015 This week COMPASS enacted a new policy that I think is truly historical: for the first time it gives real estate agents the respect I think they are entitled to. When a client hires an agent, most times they don’t realize that if that… [Read More]
THE RETURN OF BAD REAL ESTATE HABITS?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg, president of COMPASS, on June 20th, 2015 Two aspects of the last recession…..low down payments and speculators…..are back. Mortgages offered by lenders that have down payments of 10% or less are becoming more common: In the first quarter of 2015, 51% of home buyers with a non-jumbo mortgage (more than 136,000)… [Read More]
ANNABELLE SELLDORF: ARCHITECTURE AT ITS BEST
Posted on June 7th, 2015 I love this article about Anna belle Selldorf: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2015-06-05/annabelle-selldorf-the-darling-of-the-design-world She is truly a rare architect in a sea of architecture screaming for attention. Living in one of her designs has made me a fan for life.
SUBURBIFICATION AND THE CITY
Posted by Leonard Steinberg, President of COMPASS, on May 16th, 2015 Every morning, 365 days of the year, I post a daily contemplation to my fellow colleagues at COMPASS and today I wanted to share one: SUBURBIFICATION AND THE CITY I hate to admit this, but when I lived in Dallas many years ago, one… [Read More]
OUR MAYOR’S MANSION
Posted by Leonard Steinberg of COMPASS on May 8th, 2015 PLEASE: someone PLEASE tell me where you can buy a MANSION for $1,75million….or $ 3million….or even $5 million in Manhattan? Our brilliant local government has officially re-defined the meaning of the word MANSION: Yes, a mansion in New York City can be bought for $1.75… [Read More]
RUDER FINN STARTING AN OFFICE SPACE BUYING TREND?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg, President of Compass, on April 28th, 2015 Are companies re-evaluating office space rentals to become office space owners? An affiliate of Ruder Finn the global public relations firm based in New York, has bought a five-story Sutton Place building previously occupied by antique and movie prop shop Newel for $30.7 million, that will become Ruder… [Read More]
FORREST INVADED WEST CHELSEA!
Posted by Leonard Steinberg, president of COMPASS on April 26th, 2015 Yesterday a literal forrest invaded West Chelsea: numerous massive, fully grown trees were being installed at 500 West 21st Street, the almost completed building by Sherwood Equities……Sherwood Forrest perhaps? The massive scale of the trees, some over 40ft in height, had on-lookers mesmerized. I… [Read More]
RICH-DOOR , POOR-DOOR, RENTAL-DOOR, CONDO-DOOR.
Posted by Leonard Steinberg of Compass on April 20th, 2015 Shockingly, the politically fueled non-story about how people who qualify for affordable component rental housing within a large market-rate condominium would have to use a separate entrance, has resulted in over 88,000 applicants for just 55 units at 470 West 62nd Street. Further proof that… [Read More]
BROOKFIELD PLACE BLAH
Posted by Leonard Steinberg of COMPASS on April 12th, 2015 A recent visit to the highly anticipated new mall at BROOKFIELD PLACE left me cold: Granted the designers inherited some rather bland architecture to begin with, but what they have done with it is truly disappointing. Nothing about this mall is much different or enticing… [Read More]
FROM THE 'IT-BUILDING' TO THE 'I-BUILDING'
Posted by Leonard Steinberg, president of Compass, on March 21st, 2015 New Yorkers like to think of themselves as innovative, individualistic and original: unfortunately many of them often follow trends like a herd of sheep. An article in this weekends Wall Street Journal showcases how a world once possessed by owning an Hermes Kelly bag,… [Read More]