Posted by Leonard Steinberg on October 25th, 2014 I live in a building where several people own apartments that they only use a few months of the year. I am in no way offended by this. My neighbors paid lots of transfer and mansion taxes buying, pay monthly real estate taxes, employ decorators, trades people,… [Read More]
WHEN SPECULATION DAMPENS MARKETS
Posted by Leonard Steinberg of URBAN COMPASS on October 24th, 2014 Speculation can be a powerful thing: as New Yorkers awaken this morning to the reality that the first local EBOLA case has been identified, many are wondering what or if they have been exposed in some way to this deadly disease? Did you walk… [Read More]
J-LO BUYS AT MADISON SQUARE PARK AS CHELSEA CLINTON NEIGHBOR
Posted by Leonard Steinberg of URBAN COMPASS on October 22nd, 2014 Jennifer Lopez, the fly-girl turned super-star from the Bronx is moving Downtown according to the New York Post: she is supposedly in contract to buy the penthouse above Chelsea Clinton at The Whitman, a newly renovated condominium facing Madison Square Park. The massive penthouse… [Read More]
$80 MILLION CO-OP PRICING RECORD SET IN NEW YORK
Posted by Leonard Steinberg of URBAN COMPASS on October 21st, 2014 A new pricing record has been broken in New York: For the first time ever a co-op located at 834 Fifth Avenue has been sold for $80 million. The buyer is the quintessential Russian Billionaire Len Blavatnik. 834 Fifth Avenue is widely regarded as… [Read More]
WORDS OF THE REALLY RICH
Posted by Leonard Steinberg of URBAN COMPASS on October 18th, 2014 There is rich and then there is REALLY rich: As a New York real estate broker I often get lost in this micro-world of what is completely removed from the ‘real’ world, and I try to see the humor in it all. Yes, the… [Read More]
OIL PRICE DELIVERS SOME GOOD NEWS
Posted by Leonard Steinberg of URBAN COMPASS on October 16th, 2014 Wall Street is lamenting lower oil prices, yet this delivers some great news for consumers: the average American consumes about 35 gallons of gas per week, or 140 gallons per month. If gas prices are down about 50 cent per gallon on average since… [Read More]
SOHO ARTIST’S LIVE IN THE RICHEST ZIP CODE IN NEW YORK/USA?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg of URBAN COMPASS on October 9th, 2014 Are Soho artists living in the third most expensive zip code in the USA? It appears so…..The median price for a home in Soho is $6 million yet the City still keeps Soho in the grasp of an antiquated zoning law called A.I.R, or… [Read More]
STUPIDONOMICS: NEW YORK PIED-A-TERRE TAX IS SIMPLY STUPID
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on September 24th, 2014 Imposing a PIED A TERRE tax on New York luxury apartments is probably one of the worst economic proposals to raise tax revenue I have ever heard of. The tax of up to 4% annually would be applied to all apartments and homes with a current market value… [Read More]
2,325 BILLIONAIRES WORLDWIDE, 103 IN NEW YORK CITY, UP OVER 7%
Posted by Leonard Steinberg of URBAN COMPASS on September 18th, 2014 The world’s (known) billionaire population has grown by over 7% in the past year to 2,325. Of that, 103 of them live in New York and 571 in the USA. 8 of the TOP 20 Cities are now in Asia. 81% of billionaires are… [Read More]
SEEN FROM THE WINDOW OF 146 WAVERLY PLACE.
Posted by Leonard Steinberg of URBAN COMPASS on September 14th 2014 As you peer out of the window of 146 Waverly Place, the remarkable townhouse being renovated to perfection, designed by architect Wayne Turett, you catch a glimpse of the property at 27 Christopher Street a few doors away that just traded hands for $45… [Read More]