An increase in wealthy renters is likely a good sign for developers like Orin Wilf, whose firm,\u00a0 Skyline Developers, is launching a luxury rental project at 18 West 55th Street, where asking rents will top out around $35,000 a month.<\/p>\n
Wilf said the team envisioned building luxury condos during the initial planning phase almost eight years ago, but during the pandemic, they shifted to luxury rentals instead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe real explanation is simple,\u201d Wilf said. \u201cRents have increased. Instead of selling, let\u2019s rent them and rent them for pretty good numbers, but still under the cost of buying something across the street on Billionaires\u2019 Row.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, according to his estimation, the project\u2019s units couldn\u2019t be hitting the market at a better time \u2014 wealthy buyers are hesitant to pull the trigger with the upcoming mayoral election still in flux and with mortgage rates still persistently high.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rental market is the hottest it has ever been in the history of New York City,\u201d Wilf said. \u201cThere has never been a market like this one.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Agency\u2019s Mike Fabbri said the \u201cuptick\u201d in demand included tenants who were displaced by the fires in Los Angeles and are now searching for short-term options, between three to six months, to test out a potential move to the city. He\u2019s also secured rentals for those renovating homes they purchased and need a place to stay while the work continues, as well as parents renting spots near their children who are working or attending school in the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Downtown Manhattan has dominated the borough\u2019s luxury activity this year, with new developments drawing some away from the pricey uptown enclaves they have historically picked. But the neighborhoods south of 14th Street have been cleaning up with high-priced rental deals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An executive with Michael Rubin\u2019s sports platform, Fanatics, agreed this week to pay $40,000 a month<\/a> for a condo at 160 Leroy. The deal, which works out to $234 per square foot, is a peak price for the property, which previously set the record for the building when it rented for $32,000 earlier this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n In July, a top-floor unit at 130 William Street set a rental record for the Financial District<\/a> after an off-market deal for $75,000 per month. Corcoran\u2019s Steve Gold initially listed the unit for $20 million in 2020, and told Mansion Global the sale offer stands even after inking the one-year lease.\u00a0<\/p>\n Not so fast\u2026\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Coldwell Banker Warburg is upping its star power.\u00a0<\/p>\n The host of MTV\u2019s \u201cCatfish,\u201d N\u0113v Schulman, is now an agent at the New York City-based brokerage, the firm announced this week. Schulman, who was also the runner-up on \u201cDancing with the Stars\u201d in 2020, is joining the company where his father, Robert Schulman, has been a broker for more than 30 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHosting Catfish taught me how to listen deeply, build trust quickly, and help people<\/p>\n navigate some of the most emotional decisions of their lives,\u201d Schulman said. \u201cReal estate in New York is no different.\u201d<\/p>\n News of Schulman\u2019s debut at the firm comes after one of the stars of Netflix\u2019s \u201cSelling the City,\u201d<\/a> Abigail Godfrey, jumped to the brokerage from Douglas Elliman, where she was a member of Eleonora Srugo\u2019s Eleonora & Co. team. The series, which has only had one season, followed Srugo and her then-cohort of five agents, though none of the show\u2019s cast members appear to be still working with her, according to her team\u2019s website.\u00a0<\/p>\n Coldwell Banker Warburg, led by Kevelyn Guzman, has been on a hiring streak in recent months, including bringing on more than two dozen agents from Elegran Real Estate, a boutique firm that recently broke from its partnership with Forbes Global Properties. One of its managers, Jared Antin, left the firm earlier this summer to join Brown Harris Stevens as an executive director.\u00a0<\/p>\n NYC Deal of the Week<\/strong><\/p>\n The most expensive deal recorded in the city register this week was for a penthouse at Legion Investment Group\u2019s 109 East 79th Street, which sold for $33 million, or $5,000 per square foot. The deal for the Upper East Side condo, which last asked $35 million<\/a>, was up from its 2022 purchase price, when a company registered in Montevideo, Uruguay, bought the apartment for $28 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n Penthouse 16 spans 6,500 square feet and has five bedrooms and five bathrooms. It also features two terraces. The Modlin Group\u2019s Adam Modlin represented the buyer, an entity known as Pixidust LLC, and the seller.\u00a0<\/p>\n \tRead more \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Fanatics exec rents 160 Leroy unit for peak ppsf<\/p>\n
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