The Empire State Building is now part of a publicly traded REIT

It's official.  The Empire State Realty Trust debuted on the New York Stock Exchange last week, trading at $13 per share.  The REIT includes a portfolio of 12 properties located throughout the region with 7.7 million square feet of office space.  Litigation delayed the initial public offering (IPO) for more than to resolve objections to bundling the iconic building with rest of the real estate portfolio.  

The High Line - Symbol and Catalyst for Growth

NY1 ran a segment this morning to announce the completion of digging for the Second Avenue Subway project - which has been planned and envisioned since the 1920s!  When the new line opens for strap-hangers in 2016, Second Avenue will become a draw for more retail, eating/drinking establishments, community services and more.  One only needs to look at the High Line to see how public & private investment can re-envision an entire neighborhood. 

A recent New York Times article, Cities See Another Side to Old Tracks, discussed how The High Line has become both a symbol and a catalyst for an explosion of growth in the meatpacking district and the Chelsea neighborhood. 

In fact, in the five years since construction started on the High Line, 29 new projects have been built or are under way in the neighborhood, according to the New York City Department of City Planning. More than 2,500 new residential units, 1,000 hotel rooms and over 500,000 square feet of office and art gallery space have gone up.

Making Sense of Dollars and Cents

As an investor, you have a unique investment strategy, threshold for risk, and desire for return on your investment. Ratios like GRM, NOI, and Cap Rate can identify properties that warrant deeper investigation as a financial asset. You can address fundamental purchase questions like: 

• Does this opportunity match your investment strategy?
• How much income do you expect to earn each year?
• Should you reduce costs or increase income?   

Now, let's look at a few stats in more detail...

Giving Due Diligence Its Due

Are you ready to buy property and wanting to know if it is good value? Are you ready to sell your property and want to know what to expect? Have you found an appealing property and are ready to make an initial offer? Did you know that conducting a thorough due diligence can help make the market (and time) work for you to put more money in your pocket and avoid countless headaches.

Simply put, due diligence is the opportunity for you to verify the facts presented about a property or a buyer, calculate value, and identify the risks you may face. A recent article in the Real Estate Weekly offered a bit of quick guidance for conducting the due diligence crucial to commercial real estate deals. The article offers some sound suggestions for due diligence on any size of deal - co-op, condo, townhouse, or multi-unit investment property or more.

While your due diligence will be unique, here are four areas to explore during this time:  

→ Building Condition: Identify repairs, improvements, and upgrades that might be necessary in the near future.TIP: Engage a professional inspector to conduct an engineering inspection. 

→ Financial Health: Verify building financial statements, schedule of improvements & budgets.TIP: Obtain prior year tax returns to compare with reported financial figures. 

→ Current leases: Examine lease terms & options, obtain estoppel certificates for any matters not documented in current tenant agreements.TIP: Review correspondence files for insight.

→ Neighborhood Survey: Review zoning laws, inquire to known plans for neighboring properties and check local government records.TIP: Tap into online data sources to search NYC records for liens, violations, tax records and more.

The bottom line: You will understand the value of a property as well as the risks and rewards  if you plan for due diligence.

Development site sales, prices rise in northern Manhattan

Crain's New York Business RED ALERT: Development site sales, prices rise uptown

The Bottom Line: Demand for development sites is picking up in northern Manhattan.

*Better sites are now drawing bids ... nearly $79 per buildable square foot in the first half of 2011.

*Smaller multi-family units in Harlem seeing rents in line with peak levels prior to the recession.

Dawn of a New Neighborhood?

This morning, the daily real estate alert from Crain's New York featured an interview with Stephen Ross.  The interview provides a few tantalizing tidbits about the future of Hudson Yards... 

Dawn over Hudson Yards

10:06 AM

(The New York Times) -- Related Cos. will likely announce signed deals for 3million square feet of office space at its huge Hudson Yards development on the west side by the end of the year, CEO Stephen Ross told the New York Times in an interview.