Articles
Market Activity Report for SoHo - Third Quarter 2016
10.21.2016 / Robert Burton
The third quarter of 2016 remained consistent with the second half of 2015 and the first two quarters of 2016. Transaction volume has remained flat while pricing has also held steady... View Article
Real Estate Trends In Brooklyn and Queens
5.7.2014 / Betty Castro
Low inventory and increased demand continue to play a key role in the growth of the Brooklyn and Queens markets. Foreign investors are gravitating to the boroughs at an unprecedented rate. It is becoming an attractive alternative or supplement to Manhattan real estate investments. View Article
Manhattan or Brooklyn?
4.9.2014 / Betty Castro
After raising my kids in the suburbs of Long Island, I was ready for the next chapter in my life. My husband and I are empty nesters and still quite young by today’s standards. Whenever we were in Manhattan, whether for a show, dinner or just passing through, we would get the itch for city life again. We missed the excitement, energy and nightlife. So when I decided to join Massey Knakal Realty Services, it was just the impetus we needed to start looking for an apartment in New York City. I needed to be close to Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, so there was flexibility in terms of location. We kept hearing about the expansion to the outer boroughs and that popular line… “Brooklyn is the new Manhattan.”
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With Hell’s Kitchen Getting So Hot… Can Ninth Avenue Keep Its Cool???
4.1.2014 / Dylan Murphy
“Hell’s Kitchen” brings to mind Irish gangsters, underground speakeasies and a general film noir mystique that has foiled every intention to rename the area “Clinton” or “Midtown West.” The neighborhood’s residents and business owners alike take a definite pride in the district’s extremely colorful past. Taking a stroll down Ninth Avenue, the neighborhood’s primary retail center, it seems that nearly every business on the strip has either “Hell’s Kitchen” or “HK” in its name or branding. However, while they are still projecting a certain “edgy” sensibility, the Ninth Avenue corridor in the West 40s and 50s has become home to some of the finest dining and nightlife establishments in the city. Even though the neighborhood has been slowly developing for the last 15 – 20 years, the Ninth Avenue retail corridor has exploded. Patrons are flocking from all over the city to partake in the neighborhood’s seemingly never ending variety of eating and drinking experiences. This incredible influx View Article
Manhattan’s Upper East Side Leads New York City Retail Boom
3.5.2014 / Jill Lovatt
This past year has been a very strong year for New York City retail. In terms of retailer demand and growth in rents, New York City has outperformed the rest of the country, and Manhattan’s Upper East Side has been leading the way.
A driving force for retail rents has been the improving economy due to the recovery of employment and disposable income. Even more impactful has been thriving levels of tourism in New York City. Last year, there were over 54 million tourists exploring New York City, which is an all-time high and impressively 18 million more tourists than what New York City welcomed in 2000. The economic impact of tourism is expected to be nearly $59 billion with $39 billion in direct spending. While the overall number of visitors has increased by 50% since 2000, the number of international visitors was up more than 100%, making international tourism the main driver of growth.
View ArticleThe Future of Times Square West: Eighth Avenue as World Class Hospitality Destination
5.30.2013 / Dylan Murphy
For decades the retail corridor along Times Square's Eighth Avenue has been transforming away from its seedy "Red Light District" past. This year, two of the buildings that house two of the last handful of adult video stores in the district have come on the market and two major development sites have been slated for luxury hotel development. This, along with the rebirth of Icon, the massive Nomura lease at Worldwide Plaza and Microsoft's landmark lease at 11 Times Square has firmly secured the corridor's future as a premier global destination for dining and hospitality. View Article
Tourism Is Key To NYC Retail
5.12.2011 / Benjamin Fox
In general terms there is no question that retail rents in Manhattan have moderated somewhat over the last couple of years in response to the economic downturn. On the other hand, rents in certain high traffic retail corridors have not decreased all that much and in some cases have even risen during this period. Why is this happening? Why are all these stores flourishing? Have New Yorkers all of a sudden found spare cash in their pockets while the rest of the country is still struggling? Three questions, one answer: tourism. View Article
Northern Manhattan: Manhattan's Final Frontier
1.31.2011 / Robert Shapiro
The robust year over year expansion in both dollar and transactional volume clearly signaled a recovery in Northern Manhattan. We believe this is only the beginning of a sustained upward trend as numerous factors will continue to stimulate and encourage growth. The tremendous deployment of capital into Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood over the past real estate cycle has replenished the formally famished neighborhoods. Large scale institutional investments from hedge funds, international hotel chains, and Columbia University, have also played a significant role helping revitalizing the landscape uptown. View Article
Northern Manhattan - Leading The Way Towards Recovery
6.2.2010 / Robert Shapiro
A sense of optimism has begun to return to the New York City real estate investment property market as transactional activity has been steadily rising quarter by quarter. Although this overall trend is being felt in neighborhoods all over the city, nowhere is this more prevalent than in
Northern Manhattan (East & West Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood). With over $116,000,000 in sales consisting of 35 transactions in the first quarter of 2010, it is clear that Northern Manhattan is experiencing one of the sharpest rebounds in activity. View Article
Clear Skies Ahead For Washington Heights And Inwood
2.1.2010 / Robert Shapiro
As with the rest of the New York City investment property market place, Manhattan’s two most northern neighborhoods experienced a very trying year. However due to an abundance of medium sized, multifamily properties, they fared better than most. By thoroughly studying and dissecting real market data, neighborhood trends, and actively brokering properties everyday we are forecasting significantly clearer skies ahead in 2010. Readily available and attractive financing for this preferred asset class has also helped fuel a spike in activity in the Q4 2009 contract signings. The overall improved quality of life, decrease in crime, and geographical advantages, has also contributed to this sunnier outlook. View Article
Positive Signs In The New Investment Sales Market
7.8.2009 / Robert Shapiro
Overall, the beginning of the 2009 investment property market was nothing to write home about. However, as we bring the second quarter to a close and head into the second half of the year, we have begun to see some positive signs within the marketplace. A modest pick up in velocity at the end of Q2 has provided hard comparable sales data for today’s “new market”. With this new information we can now begin to draw some significant conclusions. Many people in the real estate community believed that there would be a flood of foreclosure properties coming to the market place. This has not happened thus far and in-turn has had a stabilizing effect on market values. Multifamily property owners also received some positive news from the shake up of the New York State Senate. A change in power in the State Senate has dealt a significant blow to supporters of the Bill State Legislation to reform housing. View Article
Does LES Equal More? Much More.
12.16.2008 / Michael DeCheser
Statistically the most diverse neighborhood in Manhattan , it’s no wonder the Lower East Side in Manhattan attracts everyone from struggling musicians to wealthy celebrities. The age old destination for many newly arrived immigrants has evolved to become the destination of choice for those looking for culture, art, music, fine dining and nightlife. The influx of development has struck fear into longtime residents that the neighborhood character will be lost, but that is most certainly not the case. LES staples such as Katz’s Deli, Russ & Daughters, Guss’ Pickles and other establishments continue to thrive. View Article
Downtown Looks Up
12.8.2008 / Robert Burton
As the national spotlight targets the banking and real estate industries, analysts are divided over the future of NYC real estate, especially in regards to the last six months. In spite of what news sources have said about the current state of the market, we have found that although activity has been slow through late spring and the summer, prices have not decreased. However, there remains a static gap between what a seller expects their property to fetch and what a buyer can afford to pay given the lending situation. Larger property sales (over $50 million) have come to a virtual standstill, especially since banks have tightened their lending standards, expecting a higher return with some type of recourse in the event of a default. View Article