Posted by Leonard Steinberg on December 5, 2011 Richard Le Frak, one of New York/New Jersey’s great developers and owner of some 16million square feet of property, not to mention his company’s stellar and consistent ranking in the Forbes Top 400 privately held companies, said to-day on CNBC with some conviction: “As of to-day the… [Read More]
BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING MAYHEM: A GOOD THING?……OR IS IT A SIGN OF INFLATION?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on November 28th, 2011 Retail insanity was the order of the day starting mere seconds after the turkey and stuffing had been digested. Reports of fist fights, pepper spraying, gun-shots, etc highlighted American’s intense desire for a bargain. Retail sales were up over 8% over last year, setting new records. These are my… [Read More]
WALL STREET UN-OCCUPIED: IS 2011 THE YEAR OF EXTREMISM?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on November 22nd, 2011 The news is out: Wall Street is shrinking with more than 200,000 jobs lost in the global financial-services industry this year, eclipsing 174,000 in 2009, according to a report by Max Abelson of Bloomberg. (That’s a lot of potential real estate buyers and renters). Wall Street rebounded from… [Read More]
GINGRICH FOR PRESIDENT: REPENT FOR YOUR ROLE IN THE US HOUSING BUST!
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on November 19, 2011 Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, certainly one of the most eloquent, informed and intelligent of all the Republican candidates, is now embroiled in a rather major embarrassment: After consistently and repeatedly blaming Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae for the Housing Bust that still wreaks havoc on our economy,… [Read More]
US RESIDENCE VISA FOR SALE…… VIA REAL ESTATE PURCHASE!
Posted on October 20th, 2011 Senators Charles Schumer of New York and Mike Lee of Utah are proposing a Bill that would provide foreign buyers a residence visa if they buy a US home worth $ 500,000.00 or more. Now that’s a REAL incentive for foreign buyers! I think this is a brilliant idea, and could… [Read More]
IS THE ANSWER TO U.S. UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE NAME STEVE JOBS?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on October 6, 2011 With Steve Job’s passing, certainly one of the greatest losses of 2011, it may be a good time to look at his company as a case study for the future of other companies in the USA. I write this on a MAC, own an I-pad, I-pod and… [Read More]
ITS TIME TO CHANGE NEW YORK CITY SCAFFOLDING
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on July 30th, 2011 We have covered this subject before in LUXURYLETTER: Manhattan and New York City sidewalks are constantly covered with hideous, unsightly construction sheds and scaffolding. Always dark, somewhat sketchy, and often covered with graffiti, the sheds leave much to be desired, which is why the Department of Buildings… [Read More]
ARE WE ALL GUILTY OF SEVERE HYPOCRISY?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on July 23rd, 2011 Are we all too quick to pass judgement without taking a long hard look in the mirror? This week saw two amazing instances of mass judgement: Firstly, everyone everywhere, especially in the press, voiced their OUTRAGE at Rupert Murdoch and his organization’s hacking misdeeds….of course, NONE of… [Read More]
THE STUPIDITY OF GOVERNMENT-THINK BANKS
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 29th, 2011 Some banks are being like governments right now: stupid. When banks do not want to lend to highly qualified, super-reliable, well educated, credit worthy clients, we should conclude that we have a MAJOR problem. When these same banks make everything in the application process so difficult, cumbersome,… [Read More]
CO-OPS: NEW TIMES, NEW RULES
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on May 8, 2011 We live in new times, which requires adjusting. All of us are doing it. Some Democrats are talking about deficits, some Republicans are talking about energy savings and green energy. Condominiums are talking about reserve funds and closer scrutiny of buyers. Yet many co-ops appear to be stuck in… [Read More]