A report from the Wall Street Journal on New York. “An investment firm owned by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. bought the defaulted mortgage on a downtown luxury condo tower, the latest sign that a wave of investors is scavenging the wreckage of Manhattan’s condo glut. Fortress Investment Group LLC paid about $230 million for the defaulted mortgage for 125 Greenwich Street, an 88-story residential building in the Financial District, according to the debt’s seller, investment firm BH3. BH3 was moving to foreclose on the property, which is under construction but mostly completed. By buying the loan, Fortress is also inheriting the right to continue the foreclosure lawsuit.”
“A surge in new construction has created a glut of luxury condominiums in Manhattan. That, in turn, has created an opening for investors to bail out developers at high interest rates, buy defaulted loans or take over struggling projects for bargain prices. ‘Condo inventory loans’—mortgages to refinance projects with a large number of unsold apartments—have become common.”
“A September study by listings site StreetEasy found that more than a quarter of the 16,242 New York City condos built since 2013 hadn’t found a buyer. BH3’s co-founder Gregory Freedman said he expects more opportunities to buy distressed debt in Manhattan’s condo market, as well as retail spaces and rent-stabilized apartments. ‘History repeats itself, and everything is cyclical,’ Mr. Freedman said.”
The Sunday Times. “Occupying an entire block of midtown Manhattan, the Waldorf Astoria New York has been the hotel of choice for presidents, royalty and A-list celebrities since it opened in 1931. It was bought in 2015 by Anbang International, a Chinese company, for $1.95 billion and its doors have been firmly shut since 2017. The reopening, now expected in 2021, is a year behind schedule but the first batch of residential apartments that will be part of the exclusive hotel’s new look go on sale next week.”
“In a way, the Waldorf Astoria has always been half-hotel, half-residence, but its billion-dollar renovation will make it official. The Towers will have 375 luxury apartments and there will be an equal number of hotel rooms. Two thirds of the flats will have no more than two bedrooms and prices for studios start from £1.31 million.”
“‘Over the past ten years, there’s been this fight for differentiation,’ says Liam Bailey, the head of research at Knight Frank, the agency marketing the residences in the UK. ‘For the Waldorf, it’s about the heritage and backstory. The New York market is a well-evolved luxury market, but there has been a lot of unsold stock in 2018/19.’”
From Variety. “Nine million dollars may buy a magnificent mansion just about anywhere in the world, but it’s also the amount by which billionaire businessman Vincent Viola recently chopped the asking price for his unapologetically lavish, six-floor townhouse on New York City’s tony Upper East Side. The titanic spread was originally listed at an almighty $114 million before the price plummeted to $88 million, and the current, still heart-stopping asking price of $79 million means the property remains the most expensive townhouse available on the open market in Manhattan.”
From Scarsdale 10583. “Thinking of a move to the city or buying a pied a terre? Before jumping in, There’s lots to learn about the Manhattan market. We spoke to Geri Grobman, a realtor with Corcoran, to get answers to questions many suburbanites might have about NYC real estate.”
“How did the 2018 and 2019 Manhattan real estate market do? 2018 and 2019 were tough years for the NYC real estate market. An oversupply of high-end apartments, tougher tax laws, and an overall uncertainty led to a purchasing slow down not seen since 2009.”
“Do you think that sellers are more negotiable now than previously? I think that sellers are more realistic about the market and what their property is currently worth resulting in more deals closing now. Negotiations may depend on many factors, for example, how much the seller wants or needs to sell, how long the apartment has been on the market, and the amount of inventory available on the market, or even in a specific building.”
From 68 Square Feet. “It’s been a busy 2020 so far for Real Housewives of New York alum Bethenny Frankel, who’s finally unloaded two properties: her Soho condo and one of her Hamptons retreats. The Post reported last week that Frankel sold her seven-bedroom residence in Bridgehampton for $2.28 million after listing it for $2.99 million. It’s a good thing she made a slight profit there because her Soho condo ended up selling for a significant loss.”
“After almost three years on the market, Frankel sold her two-bedroom apartment at 22 Mercer Street for $3.65 million, the Observer reported last month. That’s a $550,000 loss compared to the $4.2 million she paid for the pad in 2014—and more if you factor in what she spent on an extensive renovation.”
From Newsday. “Nassau County is moving to sell the property of the former Long Beach Motor Inn in Island Park to private developers at a $2 million loss after scrapping plans to build more than 90 units of affordable housing on the site. The county purchased the site for $3.6 million in 2017 after condemning it during the administration of former County Executive Edward Mangano.”
“Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, after gaining legislative approval last week, plans to sell the parcel to developers for $1.15 million. Officials said the county paid $3.6 million for the property. The owners had asked for $10 million, based on the ‘highest and best use,’ a common real estate measure of value, even though it was appraised post-Sandy for as little as $750,000.”
“Legis. Siela Bynoe (D-Westbury) called the sale ‘a missed opportunity’ to build housing for low and moderate income residents. ‘This just seems like a loser for us,’ said Bynoe. ‘We purchased this property at $3.6 million and now we’re selling it at $1.1 million.’”
The New York Post. “Famed TV host Dick Cavett has just slashed the price of his oceanfront estate in the Hamptons even further. The Montauk property at 176 Deforest Road is now on the market for a mere $27.95 million. That’s less than half of its original asking price of $62 million.”
“After first hitting the market for $62 million in June 2017, Tick Hall’s price was cut to $48.5 million in August 2018. By January 2019, it was dropped again to $33.95 million. It is now priced at $27.95 million, said listing broker Gary DePersia, of Corcoran.”