Is Downtown Manhattan the new New York SUBURB? With 200 Eleventh Avenue, you have a garage attached to your own apartment……many full-full service buildings are becoming similar to suburban ‘gated communities’ affording even more conveniences than their suburban counterparts….think 101 Warren Street with its own Whole Foods, Bed Bath and Beyond and Barnes and Noble IN… [Read More]
BRACE YOURSELF: 2010 WALL STREET BONUS BONANZA COMING!
2010 Bonus pay on Wall Street is on pace to break a record high for a second consecutive year, according to a study conducted by The Wall Street Journal……so brace yourself for a real estate boost this coming Winter in New York. About three dozen of the top publicly held securities and investment-services firms—which include… [Read More]
WILL FINANCIAL REFORM EASE THE NEW YORK TAX REVENUE ROLLER COASTER?
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]
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]
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]
TARP PROFITS! TEA PARTY TO CELEBRATE?
The U.S. government, which announced Monday that it plans to slowly unload its 27% stake in Citigroup Inc. over the remainder of this year, currently stands to pocket an $8 billion profit on the investment from last September. That’s a remarkable 30% return in six months, or triple the return generated by the average hedge… [Read More]