BCRE Completes Condo Conversion of 19th-Century ‘Palace of Jewels’

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor New York– Brack Capital Real Estate (BCRE), a global real estate firm, has finished remodeling 15 Union Square West, which served as the headquarters of Tiffany & Co. in the late 19th century.The renovated building, which used to be nicknamed the Palace of Jewels, now consists of 36 two-…

Read More

Apollo Buys Nine Affordable Housing Properties for $43M

Newark, N.J.–In an initiative to increase affordable housing opportunities in Newark, a joint venture of Apollo Real Estate Advisors and Radiant Property Management, a Newark-based real estate company, has purchased nine rental properties in the Newark area for $43 million.“We are excited to welcome Apollo Real Estate Advisors and Radiant Property Management as our newest…

Read More

The Part-Time Homeowner, Continued

Baby boomers are embracing fractional ownership of vacation properties; but this isn’t your mother’s timeshare (even if it is). Instead of buying a place they’ll only use a few weeks a year, an increasing number of homeowners are opting to buy into a destination or resort club, vacation condo or other partial ownership property. And…

Read More

Buying a Piece of Paradise

Today’s market is primed for real estate deals–if you’re going to buy a second home, it seems now would be the time. For some, a vacation condo is the perfect second property. And we’re not just talking beachfront units:  The New York Times reported a few years ago that second homes near popular colleges, especially…

Read More

DEAL OF THE DAY: CalHFA Commits $9.6M to Preserve Affordable Senior Housing Complex in San Francisco

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorSan Francisco–The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) Board of Directors has approved $9.6 million in long-term loans to Alexis Apartments, an affordable housing complex in downtown San Francisco. The loan will allow the owners of the building to maintain affordable rents and serve senior citizens with household incomes at or…

Read More

Residential Builder Lennar Reports Biggest Ever Quarterly Loss

Miami–Miami-based homebuilder Lennar Corporation announced its largest quarterly loss Thursday–$1.25 billion in the forth quarter, the New York Times reports.Citing a decline in home prices and a writedown on company-owned land, Lennar also reported a $1.9 billion loss for last year. The company said it was trying to generate cash and cut inventory while taking…

Read More

New Stimulus Plan Offers Jumbo Mortgage Help to Homeowners

New York–The proposed U.S. economic stimulus plan announced Thursday will prevent foreclosures and make refinancing easier for mortgage seekers in high-cost markets, CNNMoney.com reports.If passed, the package will increase the dollar amount of the loans Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are able to purchase. Currently, the government-backed lenders only can guarantee secondary market loans of…

Read More

Auditor Interpretation of Loss-Related Tax Rule Affects Homebuilders

New York–A major auditor’s re-interpretation of bank loan tax treatments could offer homebuilders a new way of handling its assets, the Financial Times reported Friday.The debate involves accounting firm Ernst & Young’s new interpretation of the accounting rule FAS 109, which determines how to treat tax assets when a company sees an overall income loss…

Read More

Rockrose Completes Condo Conversion of 99 John Street

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorNew York–Rockrose Development Corp., a New York-based real estate development company, has completed its condo conversion of the 67-year-old former office building at 99 John Street in New York’s financial district. Sales for the building have officially begun.Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, architects of the Empire State Building, designed the 99…

Read More

Architectural Concepts Inc. Joins Trump Design Team to Blueprint Condo Hotel

By Matthew Marin, Associate Editor New Orleans–Architectural Concepts Inc. (ACI), a full-service architectural and interior design firm, has joined the design team for one of the first high-rise buildings to be constructed in New Orleans in more than a quarter century. The firm’s design for the residences of Trump International Hotel and Tower New Orleans…

Read More