Real Estate Tools Archives
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
The Mynt Steams Things Up in Bed-Stuy

Let us diverge from our weeklong forage into Clinton Hill for a stop next door in Bed-Stuy, if you don't mind. Listings for the insanely-priced rental building The Mynt at Myrtle and Nostrand have been flooding Craigslist for days, each offering something different. There's a "Luxurious studio at the MYNT"; the claim that "the MYNT has it all"; and, for the texting generation, a pitch "for those who r not millionaires BUT want to live like one." (Someone's been doing their viral marketing homework!) It's the three-bedroom listing, though, that really shines, offering an additional glimpse into the life of the pretty lady living in her luxurious new rental (above). Er, wow?
· Perfect 3-BR [Craigslist]
· 756 Myrtle gets Mynty [Curbed]
Monday, May 7, 2007
It Happened One Weekend: Chumley's Owners To Buy and Rebuild

1) According to their real estate broker Bill Butler, Chumley's owners are determined to reopen the historic restaurant and are close to signing a contract to buy the whole building, which was for sale before the building collapsed. But what of the regulars who will not be able to enjoy the historical bar for months during renovation? Village resident Greg Garcia has an idea, saying they probably went "back to New Jersey." [Street Level/Jake Mooney]
2) It's been one year since the Greenpoint Terminal Market mysteriously went up in flames. The fire was the City's biggest in 10 years, and since then there has been no development activity on the site. One time suspect Leszek Kuczera is currently completing a six month rehab stint for alcohol, but is no longer considered a suspect. [Jotham Sederstron/NY Daily News]
3) Ever wonder just who is responsible for creating the Best Places to Live list? Didn't think so. But if you have, the answer is Bert Sperling, a Brooklyn born former Navy brat who moved around so much that he became determined to find the greatest city to live. Various magazines hire Sperling to create a specific list (Most Romantic, Healthiest for Women) and his site gets 20,000 visitors a day. But a city may not want to wind up as Bert's #1; Charlottesville, Va made it to the top in 2004 and quickly saw its median housing price and cost of living double. [The Guy Who Picks the Best Places to Live/Alina Tugend]
4) A Jehovah's Witnesses consolidation plan has real estate developers salivating over 6 Brooklyn Heights buildings that are about to be put on the market. Included in the lot is the historic Standish Arms Hotel building, which had been used to house followers. [Brooklyn Heights Report/Jake Mooney]
5) Author Robert Caro offers a rebuttal to the new batch of Robert Moses revisionists who sponsored this years historical retrospective of New York's Master Builder. Caro, who believes his Pulitzer prize winning novel The Power Broker still speaks for itself and says, "we don't need a new Robert Moses because he ignored the values of New York." [A Tale of Two Cities/Michael Powell]
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
CurbedWire: Platinum Sales; PayPal Madness, New CBers
MIDTOWN WEST—A few blocks uptown from its burgeoning tower cum billboard (right), the team from Platinum NYC awaits your sales inquiries. A tipster reports, "[J]ust noticed this morning that Platinum NYC has set up a sales office in the building on the corner of 50th and 8th. The space has been vacant.... forever I think. Also - I can see the building from my window. About 3 floors are up already. I have a feeling this one is going up quick!" [CurbedWire Inbox]
DIGITAL FRONTIER—A tipster writes, "My friend is looking for an apartment and came across this website and was wondering if it was legit. You can pay rent through paypal!!!" [CurbedWire Inbox]
COMMUNITY BOARDS—Borough President Scott Stringer has announced 101 new appointments to Manhattan's various community boards, meaning 33% of the CB members are brand new. They anxiously await your liquor license applications. [CurbedWire Inbox/MBPO]
Monday, March 26, 2007
CurbedWire: LIC Madness, LES Hikes, Caledonia's Quest

LONG ISLAND CITY—Hot on the heels of last week's rant on the LIC inventory overload, a tipster directs us to LICNYC, which ran the above photo of the 10-50 Jackson sales office on opening day. Writes our tipster, "What the hell, is it 2004 in LIC? People are actually making lines to buy a condo." [CurbedWire Inbox/LICNYC]
CHELSEA—A tipster sends this clarification on Caledonia's quest for private access to the High Line: " FYI - The Villager got it wrong. The Caledonia is *seeking* but has not yet received the go ahead for their access to the High Line. Important distinction." [CurbedWire Inbox]
LOWER EAST SIDE—A Hell Square resident writes, "I live on Ludlow & Stanton in the hell which is becoming the Lower East Side. My neighbors told me this morning their rent for a convertible 3 (2 becomes 3) is being raised $940 to $3995. Is it even legal to raise the rent 30%?!? Furthermore, these apartments are tiny." [CurbedWire Inbox]
Thursday, September 21, 2006
CurbedWire: Feeling Ill in Chelsea
1) Chelsea: "Here's a cautionary story about listening to too much hip-hop. Today I was walking down 6th Ave in Chelsea (655 6th is the exact address) and spotted a banner that stopped me dead. It appeared to call attention to a website for the 'one ill building', or oneillbuilding.com. Hmm, I thought, that's interesting terminology for a building featuring more multi-million dollar condos. Not every potential buyer might understand that 'ill' used in certain circles, is a compliment. Instead, especially given the bright red color of the banner, it may be possible that some of these folk might think the building was ill, or sick, and give it a wide berth.The next banner set me straight. The building in question is 'The O'Neill Building'. What a difference a missing apostrophe makes!" Okay, we've done this one before, but still get an email or so a week about it. A true fan favorite. [CurbedWire Inbox]
Monday, April 10, 2006
Trump Mortgage: The Hair Up There
Nouveau Wall Street gossip blog Dealbreaker sends correspondent John Carney to last week's launch announcement for Donald Trump's new mortgage brokerage:
Somebody nearby says, "The hair." I turn and see Donald Trump's hair floating above the heads of the crowd. Only its not floating. It is being carried atop the head of Donald Trump. Camera whirl. Flashes flash. Sound techs get very serious looks on their faces.
Click through for the full report including—oh, don't you know it—additional exclusive photographs of The Hair.
·
We Report, You Deride: Trump Mortgage Opens [Dealbreaker]
·
Trump Mortgage [Official Site]
Friday, February 17, 2006
Alexa to Zillow: You're Bigger Than the Olympics, Baby

What word is the big gaping maw of the internet whispering in our ears? Bode? Kwan? Weir? Teter, even? No. Zillow: now 11,000% more popular than before (it was live)! If only home prices could do that ...
· Movers & Shakers [Alexa]
· Zillow Update: Bargain Hunting Time! [Curbed]
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Cool New Thing: Trulia Launches in NYC

This is a huge one, kids, and a Curbed exclusive: ballyhooed real estate listings metasearch service Trulia.com launches this morning in New York City. As with existing metasearch tools like StreetEasy and NateFind, Trulia gathers listings from many of the city's brokers in one easy-to-search place. Google Maps integration? Duh. But here, there's much more: property data from PropertyShark, market data from Miller-Samuel, and even previously sold data for the neighborhood. Tons of ways to search and sort. And a wonderfully clean interface. We're hesitant to use the word seismic, but there's no doubt that the playing field just shifted.
· Trulia Search: New York, NY [Trulia]
· Trulia Search: Brooklyn, NY [Trulia]