A Housing Crisis Has More Politicians Saying Yes to Developers
For years, elected officials from across the political spectrum in New York City have scored points by attacking a common enemy: Real estate developers. Politicians routinely quashed projects. Some officials argued they were protecting a neighborhood’s character and property values. Others said they were fighting corporate greed. On Friday, a left-leaning City Council member, Julie… Read more »
Commercial Real Estate Is Slowing Down in Q3 2022
After the strong rebound for the U.S. economy in 2021, growth in 2022 has slowed in the face of rising inflation, the household income squeeze, and geopolitical events. While the economy continues to deal with elevated inflation, data shows a slowdown in the growth of commercial real estate. Demand for apartments and office spaces is… Read more »
Finding Good News in NYC Commercial Real Estate
by Neil A. Dolgin After a strong economic rebound for commercial real estate in 2021, data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) indicates a slowdown in the growth of commercial real estate in 2022 resulting from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, rising inflation, higher interest rates, and geopolitical events that have caused a… Read more »
Lenders favor resi projects in big month for outer-borough loans
Kings County reigned in July as lenders pumped billions into outer-borough real estate projects. The month’s 10 biggest loans totaled $1.8 billion, more than five times June’s total, and about twice as much as last July — closely mirroring a similar rebound in Manhattan. Brooklyn captured seven of the month’s 10 largest commercial loans, while… Read more »
Innovation QNS Development Gets Nod From City Planning Commission
The New York City Planning Commission approved plans for a 2.7 million-square-foot mixed-use development in Astoria, Queens, dubbed Innovation QNS, even after the project was shot down by the borough president and local community board. City Planning approved the plan by a vote of 10 to 3 on Wednesday morning, with City Planning Commission chair… Read more »
Affordable grocery chain Lidl to expand into Brooklyn at site of former Park Slope Key Foods
Lidl, a budget-friendly grocery store, is scheduled to arrive in Park Slope in 2024— as the center of a mixed-use development in place of the former Key Food on Fifth Avenue. The German grocer signed a lease with developers William Macklowe Company and Senlac Ridge Partners for its first Brooklyn outpost at 120 Fifth Avenue,… Read more »
New York City’s Empty Offices Reveal a Global Property Dilemma
In the heart of midtown Manhattan lies a multibillion-dollar problem for building owners, the city and thousands of workers. Blocks of decades-old office towers sit partially empty, in an awkward position: too outdated to attract tenants seeking the latest amenities, too new to be demolished or converted for another purpose. It’s a situation playing out… Read more »
The Commercial Real Estate Market: Crash, Train Wreck, Or Apocalypse?
Dire warnings about commercial real estate appear almost daily these days. While office markets are stressed due to increased working from home, some real estate professionals see an increasingly bifurcated market, divided “into haves and have-nots.” Investors, renters, and cities—especially those with older, declining buildings— will need to pay close attention in the coming months… Read more »
REBNY Report Shows New York City Construction Activity Outpacing Year-Over-Year Totals
The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), the City’s leading real estate trade association, today released its Quarterly New Building Construction Pipeline Report for Q2 2022. Construction activity in Q2 2022 again outpaced historical averages. Offering good-paying jobs and essential for attracting and retaining investment, employers and residents, this construction activity represents significant progress… Read more »
This Time, Corporate Executives Mean Business On The Return To Office
Leaders at major companies across the U.S. want workers back this week, and they mean it this time. Labor Day 2022 is the latest, and starkest, line in the sand drawn yet by corporate executives who think their workers should be spending more time in the office. Companies have been trying to lure workers back… Read more »
Meeting Emissions Mandates in New York’s Buildings, Explained
Building owners are scrambling to meet new rules on greenhouse gas emissions. New York’s congressional candidates do the last-minute primary shuffle. In 2019, the City Council enacted a package of bills to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, including one bill that became Local Law 97 and set limits for emissions from… Read more »
How Today’s Economy is Affecting Commercial Real Estate
by Neil A. Dolgin Fall has arrived with an economy still finding its way. There is low unemployment which bodes well, but the challenges of high interest rates and inflation are increasing concerns about the possibility of a recession. Interest rates are already up 2% this year, and inflation is still soaring despite a downturn… Read more »
Commercial Real Estate Is Facing a Triple Threat: Interest Rates, Inflation, and Recession
Commercial property sectors, other than office, have recovered well after the shock of the pandemic. Generational demographics and a particularly robust job market have sustained demand, and rents and occupancy are continuing to rise, albeit at a slower pace than last year. The fundamentals are good, yet property investors are appropriately nervous. They face the… Read more »
More Affordable Parts of Brooklyn, Queens See Big Rent Increases
As the average rent in Manhattan surpasses $5,000 a month for the first time, the latest report from brokerage MNS finds that even more affordable parts of Brooklyn and Queens saw some of the largest rent increases in the past month. In Brooklyn, MNS finds that average rents increased in 15 of the 16 neighborhoods… Read more »
After Slowdown in Property Sales, ‘Repricing’ Becomes This Summer’s Dreaded Word
Summer lulls are nothing new in commercial real estate, but this year’s slowdown in deals is more pronounced because of one word that has defined the season: repricing. Rising interest rates, inflation and worries of a recession have caused a reset on prices, prompting sellers to accept a less satisfying price or pull properties from… Read more »
The Incredible Shrinking Office
In a week sure to cause office brokers and landlords some agita, it seemed nary a day went by without some major company announcing a downsizing of its office space. First it was BuzzFeed consolidating two 217,000-square-foot Manhattan offices to only 107,000 square feet at the former New York Times headquarters at 229 West 43rd… Read more »