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]
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]
MANHATTAN EMPLOYMENT GREEN ($$$) SHOOTS
Indicators from Wall Street would say that what is probably the defining source of Manhattan’s luxury real estate market should be in good shape going forward….. The financial work force in New York has shrunk by more than 28,000 since its peak in January 2008, but is still slightly above its level in 2003 after… [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]
FEDERAL TAXATION STUPIDITY – IT GETS WORSE IN 2013!
Is the Federal Government blind, stupid, or worse, thoroughly corrupt? I suspect its all three. Why on earth do federal taxes make absolutely ZERO accounting for the cost-of-living in various cities? Is it accurate that $ 250,000.00 earned in Manhattan is the equivilant of earning $ 250,000.00 in Tulsa, Oklahoma or Albany, New York? NO!… [Read More]
EASTER SURPRISE! OR WAS IT EXPECTED?
In this month’s LUXURYLETTER, (www.luxuryletter.com) it was reported that Manhattan’s real estate pricing and activity picked up notably over the same period last year. Because LUXURYLETTER addresses the luxury market over $ 1 million, the figures are somewhat different to what is being widely reported…. The other reports that came out from the major real… [Read More]
NEW HABITS OF THE WEALTHY BUYER
The majority of wealthy investors rely on their own expertise over the advice of wealth managers, according to a new survey, which will come as a fresh blow to an industry still reeling from massive outflows of client money. Real estate group Knight Frank and US-based Citi Private Bank asked high-net-worth respondents to their 2010… [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]
RETAIL UP 0.3%! A REFLECTION ON REAL ESTATE?
Led by a big gain in electronics, U.S. retail sales increased 0.3% to a seasonally-adjusted $355.5 billion in February, despite three major snow storms in the East, the Commerce Department estimated Friday. Sales have risen in four of the past five months, and were up 3.9% compared with a year earlier. Most categories of retailers… [Read More]
16% MORE MILLIONAIRES IN 2009
The millionaires’ club in the United States grew by 16 percent in 2009, following a 27 percent decline in 2008. Families with a net worth of at least $1 million, excluding primary residences, rose to 7.8 million in 2009, an increase from 6.7 million a year earlier, according to a survey of high-net-worth U.S. households… [Read More]