NEW YORK AVERAGE PRICES SOAR 20%: THE 'PLAZA EFFECT' AGAIN?

Posted by Leonard Steinberg, Urban Compass, on July 1st, 2014 In this morning’s NEW YORK POST:  “The sale price for Manhattan apartments has skyrocketed 20 percent this year, a market report has found. Manhattan home buyers paid an average $1.69 million in the second quarter of 2014, compared with $1.41 million for the second quarter of… [Read More]

NYC MARKET RESULTS: NEGLECT OF THE MIDDLE RICH?

Posted by Leonard Steinberg, President of URBAN COMPASS, on June 30th, 2014 Is the New York real estate market starting to soften? Some reports say so, but it probably has everything to do with the INVENTORY issue.  Signed contracts may have declined in recent quarters compared to the prior year but it’s not because of… [Read More]

KIM KARDASHIAN SHOPPING NEW YORK REAL ESTATE?

Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 27th, 2014 Is Kim Kardashian shopping for an apartment in New York or is she just trying to fill her show with footage of her shopping for a home in New York? Is Sotheby’s broker Mark Amadei showing Kim apartments, but ONLY if her camera crew can accompany her on… [Read More]

THE JILLS ARE THE NUMBER ONE TEAM IN THE USA…..NATIONWIDE!

Posted on June 27th, 2014 by Leonard Steinberg The Wall Street Journal/REAL TRENDS rankings came out this morning to reveal the NUMBER ONE TEAM NATIONWIDE for 2013 as……The Jills (Jill Herzberg and Jill Eber of Miami): CONGRATULATIONS!  Many claim they are the number one team and in this digital age where claims can be made that… [Read More]

ITS ALL ABOUT THE WEATHER!

Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 26th, 2014 The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that the US economy took a 2.9% dip in the first quarter of 2014….the GDP slipped by as much as an annually adjusted rate of 1%…..mostly attributed to the bad weather we experienced throughout the USA. The weather? Really? Having… [Read More]

NEW HOME SALES SOAR IN MAY: DELAYED DATA?

Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 25th, 2014 While new-home sales soared in May, the reality is the gains simply put the market back on track to match 2013’s overall pace, rather than signaling a significant momentum gain. This points to the dangers of monitoring the market moment-by-moment. Real market trends can only be seen over… [Read More]

BOILER ROOM REAL ESTATE BROKERS

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]