It was reported in the Wall Street Journal to-day that the world’s richest man, Carlos Slim of Mexico, may have failed to pay the real estate broker that had listed the property before it sold a commission on the purchase of the Duke-Semans Mansion at 1009 Fifth Avenue…. Of course, the Seller would be the… [Read More]
MORE THAN HALF OF NYC CONSTRUCTION IS EDUCATIONAL
New York City’s education sector has become an increasingly important market for the construction industry, according to the New York Building Congress, a nonprofit group that represents the construction industry. Elementary and secondary schools, as well as higher education institutions, accounted for 56% of the value of all institutional construction starts between May 2008 and… [Read More]
ARCHITECTURE SHIFT: IS THE GLASS BOX TREND OVER?
“New Yorkers may be burnt out on glass buildings,” architect James Carpenter said in a recent New York Times article. With over more than 30 years as a glass artist, he is now more focused on using the material not as mere enclosure, but as a tool for manipulating light. The debate still rages on… [Read More]
JOB CREATION IN NEW YORK CITY BEATS REST OF US.
CRAIN’s reports: After more than a year in which Greenhouse IT couldn’t land a single sales meeting, the company has finally gotten its foot in the door at city businesses over the past three months to pitch its workstation, server and network-management services. “The good news is, companies are ready to talk,” says Simon… [Read More]
WATCH OUR SUB-ZERO: HERE’S THE NEXT CHIC APPLIANCE!
First it was granite counters, then stainless professional appliances, ESPECIALLY a Sub Zero fridge, then Crestron sound system, and so on and so on….: Could the latest-greatest amenity for you home be the car charger? What about this ultra-sleek-apple-chic charger from GE? Designed by Yves Behar, we think it looks great. With Tesla a publicly… [Read More]
BLACKPAD AND I-PAD: HOME AUTOMATION AND BROKERAGE CHANGE FOREVER:
With Research in Motion’s announcement today that they are developing a similar device to Apple’s I-Pad, we should feel certain that home automation and real estate brokerage will more than likely be entirely controlled by these devices going forward. And why not? Unlike cell phones, the larger screen is much easier to read, and much… [Read More]
CLINTON WEDDING vs. BUSH WEDDING (and the real estate)
In this morning’s Wall Street Journal, it was reported that Jenna Bush’s wedding cost a mere $ 100,000.00 compared to the stratospheric $ 3 million estimate for Chelsea Clinton’s wedding: “Bottom line? Think more like Jenna Bush, and less like Chelsea Clinton” A good point, yet one major defining issue was over-looked: the real estate…. [Read More]
CHARLIE RANGEL AND RENT CONTROL
While aggressive evictions are reducing the number of rent-stabilized apartments in New York, Representative Charles B. Rangel enjoys 4 of them, including 3 adjacent units on the 16th floor overlooking Upper Manhattan in a building owned by one of New York’s premier real estate developers. The Harlem building where Representative Charles B. Rangel has four rent-stabilized units…. [Read More]
BIGGEST NEW YORK BIDDING WAR OF 2010
The MANHATTAN BIDDING WAR has returned: Carlos Slim, reportedly the wealthiest man in the world, just won a bidding war on the Duke Semans Mansion at 1009 Fifth Avenue in New York City. His winning bid of $44 million outbid a Russian bidder whose bid was around $37 million. This is the largest multiple bid sale of 2010, and an… [Read More]
THE JUMBO IS BA-ACK!
In this morning’s Wall Street Journal, it is reported that New York and the rest of the country, is experiencing the return of the JUMBO MORTGAGE…..Not long ago, many big banks were turning away New Yorkers seeking jumbo mortgages. This summer, however, banks are competing for the business, creating a wealth of new products and… [Read More]