Manhattan's 'top-this' luxury condo game

It used to be that a full-service apartment building in New York meant a doorman, a roof garden, maybe a gym. These days, the can-you-top-this amenities include chic screening rooms; covered dog runs; golf simulators where you can practice your swing in front of a screen; wine cellars; bocce courts; rooftop beaches with sand and hammocks; and your own personal "art concierge," to dispense expert advice on what to hang on your walls. With Manhattan's luxury real estate market awash in money from rich foreigners and Wall Street investment bankers with big bonuses to spend, developers are competing hard to attract tenants.

WHAT makes a successful real estate developer in New York

Ambition, vision, insight, timing and, equally important, personal charm. At least this is the case with Donald Trump, whose name appears on many of the most prestigious buildings in New York. Gwenda Blair, author of "Donald Trump," tells a fascinating tale of the up and down career of Donald Trump, the American business icon. Blair provides insights about the family relationships and friendships that shaped Trump's personality and his business.

The Real Estate Board of New York

Brooklyn has the highest median and average prices out of the four “outer” boroughs, but the borough’s hot, hot real estate market is not exactly gaining on Manhattan: The average sales price for an apartment here was $484,000; in Manhattan it was $1.2 million. The average sales price for a one to three-family dwelling in Brooklyn was $671,000, in Manhattan it was $5.2 million. Queens came in third with an average sales price of $588,000, below the citywide average of $622,000.

N.Y. parking spots go for $200,000

Spaces are in such demand that there are waiting lists of buyers. Eight people are hoping for the chance to buy one of five private parking spaces in the basement of 246 West 17th Street, a 34-unit condo development to be completed next January. The developer is seeking city approval to add four spots. Parking in new developments is selling for twice what it was five years ago, said Jonathan Miller, an appraiser and president of Miller Samuel.

Big Real Estate Firms Buy Up in Poor Neighborhoods

The current real estate boom is attracting major investment in some of the most unlikely places. Over the last several years large real estate groups, often backed by the deep pockets of Wall Street firms are buying up blocks of rent stabilized buildings in poor neighborhoods such as East Tremont and Highbridge in the Bronx. Even foreign groups have gotten into the game investing in this cheap stock of housing that’s far from luxurious.

How big real estate firms, often from abroad, are buying up apartment buildings in the Bronx

WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez has a piece today on how big real estate firms, often from abroad, are buying up apartment buildings in the Bronx and Northern Manhattan. Fueled by the weak dollar, foreign firms are purchasing properties "this cheap stock of housing that’s far from luxurious." But at the current rents these buildings are barely profitable (if at all), so they still can't be considered bargains even for someone buying with euros or pounds. The deals only work for the investor when they can raise the rents.

Thor Nabs 200,000SF Manhattan Building

Thor Equities has acquired 25 West 39th Street, a 16-story, 200,000-square-foot Manhattan property located near the city's famed Bryant Park. The seller and sale price were not disclosed.

New York parking spaces join the real estate boom

While real estate in much of the country languishes, property in Manhattan continues to escalate in price, and that includes parking spaces. Some buyers do not even own cars, but grab the spaces as investments, renting them out to cover their costs.

26 prime acres offered in Manhattan's West Side

For sale: Development rights to 26 acres of costly, but potentially prime, real estate near the Hudson River on Manhattan's West Side. Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced Friday that city, state and transit officials have begun soliciting bids for the right to build over a big rail yard where Mayor Michael Bloomberg wanted to put a new stadium to host the New York Jets and the 2012 Olympics.

Brooklyn condo sales stunner

With luxury condos soaring all over the borough, Brooklynites might have reason to expect a massive invasion from well-heeled neighbors in Manhattan. But figures obtained by the Brooklyn News from a number of high-profile developments show that borough residents have led the push to snap up those new homes - a trend even the developers did not expect.

Israeli-Led Group to Buy the Lipstick Building in Manhattan

The two Israeli companies said they would own 70 percent of the building, which is at 885 Third Avenue, on East 53rd Street. Investors including the Marciano Investment Group and Metropolitan Real Estate Investments will own the rest, Tao and Financial Levers said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The 34-story Lipstick Building, so known because of its elliptical shape, was designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee and completed in 1986. The price includes a reserve fund to preserve the building’s facade, the two companies said.

Mario Testino has signed a contract on a New York City condominium for close to $6.3 million

Testino's roughly 2,600-square-foot apartment is in 40 Bond, a soon-to-be completed downtown-Manhattan project of hotelier and developer Ian Schrager. Testino, who is based in London and is well known for portraits of celebrities such as Princess Diana and her sons, will have Ricky Martin as a neighbor; the Puerto Rican pop singer has signed to buy a similar $6.3 million apartment in the loft-style building. Contracts are set to start closing in mid-July.

The Katz family is the owner of two prize residential apartment houses on Park Avenue

The tightening of underwriting standards and of the availability of capital seems not to have affected sales of residential apartment buildings across the five boroughs, as some had feared.

Manhattan condo market heats up

Manhattan real estate prices are soaring even as the national housing market flops, with condos averaging a record $1.5 million, according to a Halstead Property report. Prices were buoyed by international buyers and Wall Street executives, especially downtown where the average three-bedroom or larger is going for more than $3 million, real estate observers said.

New York Building's Record Price

In a sign that demand for commercial real estate continues unabated despite the recent turmoil in the debt markets, investors agreed late last week to buy 450 Park Ave., a boutique office building in midtown Manhattan, for $1,589 a square foot, or about $510 million.

Cogdell Spencer Inc. Acquires Central New York Medical Center in Syracuse

Cogdell Spencer Inc. announced this morning that they expect to close today on the acquisition of Central New York Medical Center in Syracuse, New York for approximately $36.8 million. The six-story, 111,634 square foot facility is located on the campus of the Crouse Hospital and includes the 469 space parking garage.