Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate

If you’re a buyer looking for a good deal in the Manhattan housing market, consider condominiu  read more »

How far Manhattan's come. A new report says that the average sales price for a condo or a co-op in the borough has increased more than 200 percent in the last 10 years. The average price in 1997 was $430,927, and, in 2006, it was $1,295,445, according to the report from appraisal firm Miller Samuel and brokerage Prudential Douglas Elliman.

The titanic upswings in housing prices shouldn't surprise any halfway sentient New Yorker. But some stats in the report did startle The Real Estate.

The median sales price for a Manhattan co-op apparently jumped 244.4 percent from 1997 through 2006, traveling from what now seems a very affordable $196,000 to the decidedly less so $675,000. The median price for Manhattan studio co-ops was under $100,000; now, it's nearly three times that.

The prices-per-square-foot for Manhattan apartments in the late 1990's seemed especially quaint. An Upper East Side co-op sold for an average of $315 a foot 10 years ago, and for $988 a foot now. Along Central Park West a decade back, co-ops went for an average of $524 a foot; now, $1,548. Chelsea condos in 1997 sold for an average of $319 a foot--just about one-third of what condos there sell for now. In Harlem and East Harlem, the price per foot increased 340 percent, from $145 a foot to $639.

And, despite such price increases, the number of Manhattan home sales stayed steady year to year over the last decade, going from a valley of 7,316 in 1997 to a peak of 9,522 in 1999.

Miller Samuel CEO Jonathan Miller assured The Real Estate on Monday that a link to the full report would be up on his firm's Web site by early Tuesday.

UPDATE: The link is up (PDF). - Tom Acitelli

It’s hard to leave home if your dad is the billionaire Mayor of New York, especially if he has  read more »

The Real Estate got the above invite on Wednesday morning. It's for a three-day broker party marking the grand opening of the condos at 100 West 18th Street. Tuesday night's for the Corcoran Group; Wednesday's for Prudential Douglas Elliman; and Thursday's for sister firms Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead.

Keep them apart, people! Brokers can get quite ravenous.

- Tom Acitelli

For those fleeing Manhattan's pricey housing, Queens may be the answer. Or maybe not.

A new report from appraisal firm Miller Samuel for mega-brokerage Prudential Douglas Elliman pegs the average sales price of a Queens home at $492,117 in the fourth quarter of 2006, down 1.5 percent from the quarter before, but up 1.2 percent from the same time in 2005. The median sales price was $485,000 in the fourth quarter, also a slight quarterly decline, but year-over-year increase.

Both the Queens median and the Queens average sales prices are about half of Manhattan's. Which might help explain why it takes around half as long in Queens (83 days) to sell a home as it does in Manhattan (149), according to Miller Samuel.

Still, sales were down in the fourth quarter 12.6 percent from the quarter before, the new report states. Maybe, then, while Queens is cheaper than Manhattan (and Brooklyn, for that matter), it's still... well, Queens. (We kid, of course. Kind of.)

- Tom Acitelli

On Monday morning, The Real Estate received a third-quarter Manhattan housing report from the lovely high-end broker Jacky Teplitzky, an executive vice president at Prudential Douglas Elliman.

Nevermind the fact that we should've gotten the fourth-quarter report. Much funnier is Jacky's loving "special fact" (after eight bulletpoints about the Manhattan market):

Aiden, my oldest son, was accepted into Riverdale Country School - Yeah! Yippee! Hooray!

Now, mothers at one of the city's poshest private schools all know what broker to do their business with...

- Max Abelson

The Manhattan real-estate market can be as predictable as the changing of the years.    read more »

Pity the poor Manhattan housing market in 2006; it missed out on so many adjectives.    read more »

Syndicate Public Relations, Dec. 20, La Esquina, 203 Lafayette Street  read more »

We reported last week that the Real Estate Board of New York will be starting early next year its own searchable Web database for residential listings.

Of course, the cost to the dear consumer is zero. But if REBNY's more than 300 member residential brokerages want their listings included in the new database, the price won't be so small.

According to one source, bigger firms will be charged $7,500 annually, while the little folks will pay $3,500. We called Warburg Realty Partnership president (and REBNY board member) Fred Peters for confirmation.

"That was certainly a proposal that was being kicked around," he said, "but it was one of a number."

Did mom-and-pop brokerages find the proposal unfair? (After all, the city's mega-conglomerates like the Corcoran Group and Prudential Douglas Elliman can afford much, much higher fees.) "No doubt there were people who thought that it was too much, and no doubt there were people who thought that wasn't enough."

Self-described "one-man show" Basil Ashmore is in the former REBNY camp. "I'm one person. If you look at Corcoran and Douglas Elliman, they have a thousand [brokers, at least]. So I think it's unfair I should pay 50% of their fee." (He remembered the currently proposed numbers as $3,500 and $7,000.)

"I suspect the proposal will change," he said. "But how much closer to fair it will be at the end of day, I'm not sure."

Back to Warburg prez Mr. Peters: "I like to make a joke as a broker: you know you've successfully made a deal when every side is equally unhappy. That's the point we're trying to negotiate toward: the point of equal unhappiness."

- Max Abelson

Click to expand

This afternoon, quite a big listing popped up on the Brown Harris Stevens website.

But just how big is the Harkness House, aka the Harkness Mansion? "It's the widest house you can buy in New York," said BHS managing director Paula Del Nunzio, who has the exclusive listing. And it will cost you $55 million.

When the Trowbridge, Colt and Livingston-designed townhouse first went on the market in October 2005, the listing belonged to Prudential Douglas Elliman executive vice president Ann Cutbill Lenane. Ms. Lenane, who is traveling, could not be reached.

"When you have a wonderful shell, you can do so many things," film producer Jean Doumanian told The Observer earlier this year. "There are very few things you can't do in that house." Ms. Doumanian and her boyfriend, banker Jaqui Safra, own the mansion.

Ms. Del Nunzio, who would not comment on why the sellers switched brokers, pointed out that the 1896 Neo-French Renaissance mansion went off the market in December. Afterwards, it became the Kips Bay Designer Showhouse for 2006

"Now it's on full force," said Ms. Del Nunzio.

If you happen to buy the mansion, you'll live in the former digs of shipping magnate Nathaniel McCready, IBM-founder Thomas J. Watson, and Standard Oil-heriess Rebekah Harkness (who bought the place for her famous Ballet Arts school.)

So what's the big point? "The point now is $40 million was a record, but then that didn't last because $45 came along. Can $55 beat it? Can this one sell for more than $45?".  read more »

- Max Abelson

• Bonds worth $256 million will pay for the "rehabilitation" of the top 41 floors at 20 Exchange Place. The landmark 1929 Financial District building was the longtime home to Citibank (then known, shockingly, as Citi Bank). But sometime soon, those top floors (16 to 57) of the 800,000-square-foot tower will be converted into 369 "luxury rental apartments." We miss Citi Bank already. (Globe St.)
• The New York Republican Party chairman has accused Attorney General hopeful Andrew Cuomo of violating campaign finance rules by getting a bargain on rent. The Times' story on the subject omits the locale of his current HQ: Cuomo's campaign lists its mailing address at Floor 8 of 1740 Broadway. (New York Times)
• Which comes first: sound-bites from superstars (like Prudential Douglas Elliman CEO Dottie Herman) that declare "we're not really in a boom anymore," or the real end of the boom? It's a vicious paradox. Either way, the second quarter of 2006 has officially "shut the door" against the halcyon days of winter 2005. (The Real Deal)
• Chuck Schumer does not like post-9/11 greed, so he calls the WTC Captive Insurance Co. a "stingy, bottom-line-obsessed corporation" (to the face of its CEO, no less). He demands that the company's $1 billion of federal funds is distributed to the 40,000 workers "who gave of themselves at Ground Zero." Somehow the EPA is involved too. And Hillary. (NY Daily News)
• Today's great MTA news: practically nothing has changed for the city's subways in half a century. By 2056, however, we'll all be flying to Jersey beneath the Hudson River. (NY Post)

(Note: The item on Mr. Cuomo's B-way office has been updated.)  read more »

- Max Abelson
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• The Times spends 250 precious Sunday editorial words on adult dormitories--though after word 181 the piece veers from a light-hearted "whiff of nostalgia" to a "noble" plea for affordable housing. All we ask is that the mystery of the Falcon address is solved before anyone pays attention to niceties like "families with small children." After all, the solution to affordable housing is simply Sunset Park. (New York Times)
• Poor Bruce Ratner cannot get a break: 'thousands of Brooklynites' turned up in Grand Army Plaza to protest the Atlantic Yards Development--even the much feared Rosie Perez. Will better news be around the bend? According to Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn's Daniel Goldstein, the city will soon present its official review of the big proposal's environmental impact. (NY Post)
• Crain's frontpage: As everyone else gets ready for "a declining market," Countrywide Financial preps dozens of new residential brokerage offices in Manhattan. Less astoundingly, the city's Hudson Yards plan will politely ask for $2 billion to stir up commercial development (and to fund that pesky No. 7 subway extension.) (Crain's premium)
• Why would a reasonably priced three-bedroom duplex in Manhattan Valley go half a year without an offer? New York seeks answers from Bellmarc, Prudential Douglas Elliman, and City Connections execs--and their guesses aren't that sharp. Maybe, guys, it has something to do with that "decline." (New York)
• And why so many new Upper West Side condos--like Anbau's currently anonymous development at 120 West 72nd? "You don't have to get in a cab in the dark to go to a health club," proposes Prudential Douglas Elliman's executive VP Ann Cutbill Lenane. Now Upper West Siders think: "'Wow, cool, this is so much easier.'" (New York Times)
• Pardon the gratuitous Hamptons item, but one cannot ignore The Post's bewildering story on the "head-to-head" brawl between East End's Bridge and Sebonack golf clubs. We were sure Sean Combs had killed the Hamptons late last century, though apparently the culprit has something to do with the recent dwindling of bloodline golf club membership. (NY Post)
• Pleasant Monday tidbit: Midtown office rent may hit $200 per-square-foot by December. So far this year twenty $100+ leases have been signed in Manhattan--"compared to just 10 in all of 2005." (Globe St.)
- Max Abelson  read more »
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So which bubble bursts first-the contemporary art market or the Manhattan real estate market? Neither, if painter Elizabeth Peyton is to be the judge of things.

She and her artist boyfriend, Tony Just, have recently dropped $3.8 million on a Commerce Street townhouse in the West Village, according to deed-transfer records. The couple signed a contract on March 9, with the deal closing in late June. Ms. Peyton--the critics' darling who has painted numerous portraits of rock stars (such as The Libertines to the right) and pop-culture eminences--also regularly paints her boyfriend, both while sleeping and awake.

The couple has been living for years in on the North Fork of Long Island, but they'll now have an idyllic brownstone to work and sleep in (or work while the other is sleeping).

Located between Bedford and Barrow streets, the 25-foot-wide townhouse dates back to 1832. Along with the three-story house, there is a large garden in the back.  read more »

Broker Frank Lemann, of Prudential Douglas Elliman, had the listing. Mr. Lemann did not return calls for comment. Ms. Peyton and Mr. Just could not be reached for comment.

- Michael Calderone

This morning, Prudential Douglas Elliman broker Mark Baum received an email from Dr. Nicholas Bartha, the owner and occupant of 34 East 62nd Street, the site of today's massive explosion.

"I read the email at around 8:50 or 8:55," said Mr. Baum, who became concerned for the doctor's welfare. "I reported it to 911 right away."

However, the explosion occurred at approximately 8:45 a.m, and Dr. Bartha was later found in the rubble, still alive.

It has been reported that Dr. Bartha's estranged wife also received the rambling, 15-page email, but not how many others did, too.

"The email will eventually be made public," said Mr. Baum, who did not go into details.

Mr. Baum had worked with Dr. Bartha in the past, renting out at least one of the apartments in the four-story townhouse, according to a real estate source.

" We had a business relationship.," said Mr. Baum. "After six years, you can build a relationship a little bit outside of the business. Not that we socialized much, but we had a smooth business relationship."

"He was definitely hurt by the divorce," said Mr. Baum.

- Michael Calderone

It seems that now is the right time to start looking at the first half of 2006. And broker Leonard Steinberg, of Prudential Douglas Elliman, has just dropped the newest "Luxury Letter" in our inbox.

So how's the high end--or "luxocrat"--market looking right now: "slower, yet strong," says Steinberg.

After an unusually robust, bonus-fueled first quarter, the market certainly cooled in the past 6 weeks....cooling to a more normal pace, that has some skeptics worried. But worrying is par for the course in the real estate world.

Of course, Mr. Steinberg mentions 15 Central Park West--where business is booming (and cocktails are flowing)--to show that pricey apartments are moving.  read more »

However, one thing that the brokerages don't give in their official market reports--which are expected to be released tomorrow--is a bit of gossip. According to Mr. Steinberg's July lettter, a 5,500-square-foot apartment at 40 Bond Street has gone to contract for over $15 million. Unfortunately, the Herzog and de Meuron-loving buyer still remains a mystery.

- Michael Calderone

Reed Krakoff, president of the fashion-accessories giant Coach, has found a buyer for his $14.995 mi  read more »

A few weeks ago, Harry Belafonte told The Observer that he needed to "pare down" his life--and had become even more eager to sell his 21-room, West End Avenue co-op (which first listed for $15 million).

After the Corcoran Group grabbed the listing from Prudential Douglas Elliman, the price dropped to $11.75 million. But now there's another choice for wealthy buyers: you can buy half of it for either $6.1 or $5.65 million.  read more »

Considering that the full-floor spread was originally two units, the split makes sense. However, the $11.75 million price still exists for the buyer that wants both the A and B lines together--to live as the Belafonte family (and friends) did for the past 46 years.

- Michael Calderone

Brown Harris Stevens has scooped the listings for 823 Park Avenue away from Prudential Douglas Elliman, who had been marketing the luxury condo conversion.

Now, the pricey apartments are being listed with Kathleen Sloane, of B.H.S. The penthouse apartment is a potential record-breaker, with a $49 million price tag.  read more »

- Michael Calderone

Since Britney Spears first put her Noho penthouse on the market in summer 2004, the pop star married  read more »

It's already been quite a year over at 515 Park Avenue. In just the past couple months, two sprawling duplex apartments have sold for over $20 million.

In February, French billionaire Francois Pinault sold his 5,000-square-foot duplex for $22 million to financier Menachem Sternberg, as reported in The Observer.

Now, technology executive Craig Goldman has sold his luxurious apartment for $21 million, according to deed-transfer records. (Mr. Goldman paid $13.7 million for the apartment in 2001).

We could tell you how great it is, but why don't you see for yourself? Inman News has a five-minute video tour that was made while the apartment was on the market for $26 million, listed with Drew Glick and Richard Ferrari, of Prudential Douglas Elliman.  read more »

- Michael Calderone

The Brooklyn Eagle has an article on two new residential towers going up in downtown Brooklyn on Gold Street, near Tillary.

With 400,000 square feet and 40 stories, 306 Gold Street will have 303 condo units. Its sister building, at 313 Gold Street, will have 250,000 square feet and 214 condos, and will be 35 stories tall.

The buildings are being developed by Ron Hershco and Dean Palin, and Prudential Douglas Elliman will handle the marketing and sales.

These buildings are the result of downtown Brooklyn's 2004 rezoning, which was originally planned to bring more office space to the area, but, as Matthew Schuerman explained in these pages a few months ago, it's turning into a bedroom community instead.  read more »

-Matthew Grace

It looks like the five-story mansion at 20 East 64th Street is back in the news, as Curbed reports it is now a $90,000 rental. Another chapter begins in the saga of this magnificent townhouse.

In October 2005, The Observer first reported that a contract was signed.

Investment banker Robert de Guardiola and his wife, interior designer Joanne de Guardiola, have a contract signed on their $27.9 million home at 20 East 64th Street, according to a source with knowledge of the listing.

The five-story mansion is co-listed with Kirk Henckels of Stribling & Associates, and Julie Kammerer and Barbara Kemp of Prudential Douglas Elliman. Independent broker Cheryl Tanenbaum brought in the buyer, an Irish businessperson.

No. 20 came on the market in 2004, with a slightly higher asking price of $29.5 million.

Last January, The Observer reported on the closed deal.

Irish investor Derek Quinlan, whose company owns tony properties throughout Europe, is adding an Upper East Side townhouse to his portfolio.

Mr. Quinlan recently purchased the 64th Street home of investment banker Roberto de Guardiola and his wife, interior designer Joanne de Guardiola, for $26.25 million, according to deed transfer records.

Seems like Mr. Quinlan is looking to make some quick cash. And the broker that helped him buy the place, now has the rental listing.  read more »

- Michael Calderone

The Wall Street Journal reports today that Donald Trump will soon be listing his Palm Beach Estate for $125 million. But hasn't it been listed in the past?

Previous reports have placed the listing with Apprentice winner (and Florida broker) Kendra Todd. Last fall, the New York Post reported that Prudential Douglas Elliman and Corcoran would be co-brokering the massive property.  read more »

However, there are no brokers mentioned in today's "Private Properties" column, which requires a subscription. So, it will be interesting to see which brokerage emerges after it is "officially" listed.

- Michael Calderone

The Fort Greene mansion we wrote about here earlier this week has sold, according to a report in the Daily News:

"A known person in real estate" plunked down the unbelievable sum to Belgian artist Marc Lambrechts for his South Oxford St. home this week, said Prudential Douglas Elliman broker Kathryn Lilly.

The eye-popping price also includes two carriage houses and a two-family home on the property.

The main house will be spared, but the two carriage houses, one of which the seller, Belgian artist Marc Lambrechts, uses as a painting studio, will be knocked down to make way for a 40,000-square-foot luxury building.  read more »

- Tom McGeveran

• Developer Steven C. Witkoff fired Corcoran Sunshine Marketing from his Cipriani project and replaced them with Prudential Douglas Elliman the following day. Louise Sunshine says "I feel raped," but she and Pamela Liebman remain the best of friends. (The New York Times)
• After Boston's Big Dig, developers entice prospective residents with luxury condos and sprawling park space in the center of town. (The New York Times)
• The Morgan Library complex, J. P. Morgan's "second-hand mansion" and private library, will reopen after renovation in April. (The New York Times)
• The Church of St. Brigid in the East Village, designed by Irish architect Patrick Keely, doesn't have the funds to bring the building up to code and it will likely be demolished. (New York Post)
• The owner of the oldest boatyard in New York is giving up fishing to farm, and developers are knocking on every door nearby, on City Island in the Long Island Sound. (The Village Voice)
• Single women are twice as likely to be home buyers than single men, because, well, men are immature. (The New York Times)
• The ever expanding New York University plans to build the largest research and training facility for children's psychiatric treatment in the world on First Avenue between 25th and 26th streets. (New York Daily News)
• There are "enforceable" rules in coops, like no smoking. (New York)
• Broke after a "bad real estate deal," a plumber went from bankrupt to turning a major profit. (NewYork)
• Nora Ephron inspires new trend: strudel. (New York)

 read more »

In 2005, any slight change in the real-estate market was typically greeted with an ominous headline  read more »

Life in the fishbowl isn’t the thing for Nadine Johnson, the Belgian-born über-publicist  read more »

For 17 years, the neo-Federal townhouse at 54 East 64th Street served as the headquarters for this publication. Since being sold about a year ago, the 25-foot-wide building took on another form. After the old newspapers got tossed, and the well-worn, ink-stained rugs were hauled out, the decorators arrived. And they came full-stocked with fluffy pillows!

In 2005, the townhouse became the Kips Bay Decorator Show House and was later put on the market for $20 million, listed with Stribling’s C.B. Whyte and Shel Joblin. And now a contract has been signed, according to the company website. Calls to the brokers have not yet been returned.

Over the past few months, three big deals occurred on East 64th Street. Gianni Versace’s former home (Number 5) sold for $30 million; Prudential Douglas Elliman broker Linda Schlesinger sold her townhouse (Number 16) for $23.5 million; and a contract was recently signed at interior designer Joanne de Guardiola’s $27.9 million place (Number 20).

Although the buyer of Number 54 is currently unknown, it seems a fair guess that they will not be publishing a weekly newspaper amidst all the linen and ruffles.  read more »

-Michael Calderone

On a picturesque block off Central Park, two East 64th townhouses are changing hands.  read more »

Donald Trump is selling his 117-room Palm Beach mansion for $125 million, according to the New York Post. Mr. Trump bought the 60,000-square-foot home for $40 million a year ago.

It is the most expensive listing in the world, and should soon be on the website of co-brokers Prudential Douglas Elliman and the Corcoran Group. Mr. Trump’s property is about $3 million more than the previously most expensive, Updown Court, a 103-room mansion outside London.  read more »

-Michael Calderone

Last week, The Observer reported that the five-story, limestone mansion owned by investor Jaqui Safra and his wife, producer Jean Doumanian, was being quietly offered for $50 million. Rumors even circulated that art dealer Larry Gagosian was a prospective buyer.

But there is nothing quiet about this listing. The 20,000-square-foot property is now officially on the market for $55 million, with broker Ann Cutbill Lenane of Prudential Douglas Elliman. It is the highest priced mansion in Manhattan, topping two $50 million residences currently on the market.  read more »

A call placed to Ms. Lenane’s office has not yet been returned.

-Michael Calderone

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons just slashed $1.8 million off the asking price of his duplex penthouse on Liberty Street. The 13-room, 7,000-square-foot apartment (which was once featured on MTV Cribs) is now available for $8.2 million, listed with Lisa Maysonet and Gary Kabol of Prudential Douglas Elliman.

Last May, the palatial downtown pad came on the market at $11 million, but the price dropped down to $10 million about a month later, as The Observer reported.

Could the drop in price be a sign of a cooling luxury market? Or, maybe the development squabbles across the street at Ground Zero have scared off high-end buyers.

Shortly before the terrorist attacks, Mr. Simmons had a signed contract with fellow music impresario, Diddy. Not surprisingly, the building sustained ample damage and the deal was broken. However, the apartment has since been completely renovated.  read more »

-Michael Calderone

New Yorkers woke up to some dire real estate news today (scroll a couple posts down for a recap). But that isn’t stopping one condo-owner from trying to pull off a $15 million flip!

In August 2004, Upper Deck chief Richard P. McWilliam reportedly paid $20.8 million for this 9,455-square-foot apartment. (At the time, it was lingering on the market with a $28 million price tag). Mr. McWilliam's spread takes up the entire 23rd floor of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Despite market reports and bleak headlines, the lavish apartment has just landed on the market for $35 million, listed with Heide Mamouris of Prudential Douglas Elliman.

Your move, housing bubble.  read more »

-Michael Calderone

China's most famous woman, Yue-Sai Kan, already owns a tony, Sutton Place townhouse. But that didn't stop her from snatching the one next door.

The cosmetics tycoon recently purchased neighbor Sandra McConnell's 23-room dwelling for $16,000,000, according to a source close to the deal.

The red brick, Georgian-style townhouse was a direct deal (sans broker), meaning that a pricey commission vanished, said the source. The luxurious property was previously listed for $19.5 million, with Dolly Lenz of Prudential Douglas Elliman.

"It is one of the grandest houses in New York," said Laurance Kaiser IV, president of Key-Ventures Realty, and an expert on luxury homes.

The 11,500-square-foot townhouse offers river views from northern and southern exposures, and provides access to a private community garden-shared with the likes of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and architect I.M. Pei.

Because Ms. Kan's ritzy, Sutton Place soirees often find their way into the city's gossip columns, Manhattan's social set will be watching closely. Now owning both residences, Ms. Kan can sell her current residence (which is smaller), make extensive renovations, or combine them into one massive party palace.  read more »

- Michael Calderone

Is comedian Jon Stewart having second thoughts about parting with his West Village apartment? The Observer reported in mid-May that the Daily Show anchor grabbed a 6,000-square-foot Tribeca loft for $5.8 million, through a corporate entity.

Shortly after that, he put his 2,240-square-foot, West Village pad on the market with Prudential Douglas Elliman for $3.995 million--if he got it, that'd be almost $1.4 million more than he paid for it in April 2002.

When initially listed, the apartment’s description stated that it could not be shown until May 23. (It takes time to pack up all those Emmys).

But recently, according to the company’s website, the owner’s request has now emphatically changed to the following: "Cannot be shown until further notice."  read more »

Presumably, Mr. Stewart will have to start showing his former home, unless he desires to have a pied-à -terre less than two miles away.

- Michael Calderone