Posted by Leonard Steinberg on July 2nd, 2013 Last month in LUXURYLETTER we posted a note about how inventory levels have dropped to their lowest in almost a decade. This week, the market reports reported the same story……inventory levels are indeed very low right now. What these reports do not indicate is all the inventory… [Read More]
508 WEST 24th STREET: A BEAUTIFUL ADDITION TO WEST CHELSEA
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 22nd, 2013 The chic art gallery block on West 24th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues, home to Gagosian, is getting a swell new neighbor…….a facade rendering has now been revealed: Designed by Cary Tamarkin, the concrete and black steel windowed building is quite a looker and brackets the… [Read More]
THE NEW WORLD OF FINSH-OUT IN MANHATTAN NEW CONSTRUCTION
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 21st, 2013 Walker Tower set the stage for an entirely new level of finishes in Manhattan New Construction by delivering esthetics AND mechanical sophistication similar to that of a very high end custom renovation. Gone were those hideous Home Depot-style HVAC grills and diffusers. Baseboards and moldings were not… [Read More]
URBANIZATION: BIG CITIES CONTINUE TO GROW BUT HOW LIVABLE ARE THEY?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 17th, 2013 The UN projected that half of the world’s population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008. By 2050 it is predicted that 64.1% and 85.9% of the developing and developed world respectively will be urbanized. What does that say about cities like New York, Los Angeles,… [Read More]
ITS ALL ABOUT THE BIG VIEW, BUT NOT FOR ALL
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 14th, 2013 My recent experience selling 150 Charles Street, the record-shattering new Witkoff-developed building in the West Village, and more recent sales in other new very high end buildings in Manhattan, has given me a great insight into the mindset of New York high end buyers when it comes to… [Read More]
INTEREST RATES ABOVE 4%: WILL THIS IMPACT THE RECOVERY?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 5th, 2013 The Wall Street Journal asks the question whether rising interest rates could stop the improving housing markets in the USA. Interest rates have climbed past 4% in the past month. The truth of the housing market is that in the hardest hit areas, prices fell so low… [Read More]
WHERE ARE THE EDITORS?
Posted on June 1st, 2013 We live in a world where the volume of content that is growing at an excessive rate. In real estate land the volume of information is overwhelming: much of it is not fact-checked, and claims can be made that are not true, especially on the web. The same is seen… [Read More]
A WORLD RECORD FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT SALES AT 150 CHARLES STREET?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on May 13th, 2013 Is it possible that sales at 150 CHARLES STREET are breaking a world record? After reaching the 3 month date on the calendar this weekend (February 11th, 2013 being the day we started sending out contracts) we are now in contract for almost $750 million worth of… [Read More]
WILL THERE BE ENOUGH SUPER-HIGH-END RENTERS?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on May 8th 2013 Many of the very successful new buildings being sold right now in New York can attribute a chunk of their success to investor buyers: these are the buyers who plan to either re-sell or rent the units they are buying upon completion of these building which should… [Read More]
NEW STEINWAY HALL TOWER COMING TO 57th STREET, THE CENTER OF THE 'POWER TOWER'
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on May 7th, 2013 It’s music to New York’s explosive new developments market: Steinway Hall has been purchased by its next door neighbor who plans to build another super-swanky condominium tower. What was once considered a mediocre block at best on New York’s 57th Street, where the two tallest condominium towers in… [Read More]