The financial regulatory reforms signed into law by President Obama last week are intended to accomplish a number of things. But one potential effect that probably wasn’t designed into the legislation is a leveling-off of the economic rollercoaster ride the city’s economy has taken as the financial services sector’s fortunes have risen and fallen in recent… [Read More]
BONUSES WILL BE STRONG THIS YEAR…..
It is very early in the year to be talking about bonuses…..but because bonus season fuels Manhattan luxury real estate so much, we thought now would be a good time to remind buyers that buying before those bonuses are paid out is ALWAYS smart. We know some will disagree with this philosophy, so we will… [Read More]
THE TWO USA ECONOMIES: HERMES vs. H+M
In to-day’s New York Post, a story talks about the mounting evidence that there are two US economies operating side by side. They are correct. While Main Street consumers struggle with high unemployment and mainstream retailers are forced to mark down merchandise to spark even mid-single digit sales gains, the luxury market is enjoying flush… [Read More]
THE HEALTH OF HOUSING
Reports to-day lament the state of the housing market, and for sure the markets around the country are not very healthy. Some housing markets show signs of healing. Home-sales activity in New York, Washington, D.C., and parts of California continue to improve. But other markets, including Tampa, Fla., and Chicago, face rising foreclosures and weak… [Read More]
LUXURY MARKET INDICATOR: HAMPTONS SALES DOUBLE
Home sales in the Hamptons, the beachside resort towns favored by celebrities and Wall Street financiers, more than doubled in the first half of 2010 from a year earlier, according to recent reports. Sales in 15 New York villages and hamlets that make up the Hamptons rose to 923 homes from 433. The dollar volume… [Read More]
RICHARD MEIER’S MODEL MUSEUM – LONG ISLAND CITY
Richard Meier’s Model Museum in Long Island City is a small gallery devoted to the architect’s ongoing love of the physical process of architecture. The 3,600 sq ft warehouse space is dominated by a vast model of the Getty Center in Los Angeles, still one of the architect’s most celebrated and sizeable commissions. Rather than… [Read More]
VEGAS’ STEVE WYNN BUYS AT THE PLAZA
The Wall Street Journal reported that Steve Wynn (boss of Wynn Resorts)has bought the penthouse at the famed PLAZA HOTEL in Manhattan for about $ 23 million from developer EL-AD…..thats a little over $ 4,000/sf which is actually a good price for a park-facing apartment in a condominium with outdoor space and panoramic views. The 5,600sf… [Read More]
FORECLOSURES HIT THE RICH
More than one in seven homeowners with loans in excess of a million dollars are seriously delinquent, according to data compiled for The New York Times by the real estate analytics firm CoreLogic. In an article in this morning’s TIMES, the point is made that the housing bust we are witnessing right now is not… [Read More]
NEW YORK POWER CRISIS
With the current heat wave straining the power supply all across the North East, maybe now is the time to look closer at the accute power needs of New York, not to mention the entire USA. We have more energy on this earth than we could ever use, yet because of political agenda’s, how that… [Read More]
NEW YORK: THE BEST GLOBAL CITY?
New York fares well in comparison to other global capitals following the economic downturn of 2008, according to Cities of Opportunity, an annual report on what makes cities thrive, released in a report by the Partnership for New York City and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The report analyzes how twenty-one global cities perform as centers of business opportunity, according to… [Read More]