Secret deals at 80 Clarkson Street could be the difference between a steady new development market and a booming one.
In Manhattan, buyers signed contracts for 145 new development units last month, which was on par with the previous April and a modest 3 percent below the decade-average for the month, according to Corcoran Sunshine’s monthly report.
But rumor has it that Zeckendorf Development and Atlas Capital Group’s West Village project has been racking up inked deals, though the sales team has been tight-lipped about its progress.
“I heard about another project on the West Side. I’m not going to mention it because it’s not my project. They opened up with about half a billion dollars of sales in the first 30 days,” developer Jonathan Landau said at The Real Deal’s New York City Forum earlier this month, likely referring to 80 Clarkson.
Sales quietly launched earlier this spring, with Dan Tubb and Amy Williamson at the helm, but details on pricing have been few and far between. While the asking prices for a chunk of the inventory remains unknown, sources told TRD’s Jake Indursky that discounts for the units aren’t on the table.
“That’s the big one that everyone is interested in,” John Gomes, the co-founder of Douglas Elliman’s Eklund-Gomes Team, said earlier this year, referring to 80 Clarkson. “That’s the one everybody wants to get into, the one everyone wants to sell in.”
The developers rolled out the latest update more than a month ago, including information on 16 units asking a total of $360 million. The amendment added to another that disclosed pricing for 22 units asking a total of $430 million.
But the jury’s still out on the rest of the building’s 112 units, including its penthouses.
Not so fast…
Residential firms are vying for control over the homebuying process.
Zillow is after total domination with its housing super app, a one-stop shop where buyers can find their new home, an agent and a mortgage lender. On the flip side, Compass and other brokerages are doubling down on the listing game, a move that could box platforms out of the home search process.
The latest player to jump in on the action is mortgage lender Lower, which earlier this week purchased listing portal Movoto and its parent company, OJO Labs, for an undisclosed amount. The firms said the deal was part of an effort to create an “end-to-end homeownership platform.”
Though lesser known than its peers, such as Zillow, Redfin or Homes.com, Movoto was among the top five portals last year.
Lower’s acquisition also comes as more residential firms are leaning toward consolidation following two years of stalled home sales.
Earlier this year, mortgage firm Rocket Companies agreed to shell out more than $10 billion to acquire Redfin and Mr. Cooper in separate transactions, while Compass closed a more than $400 million deal for @properties and Christie’s International Real Estate.
With brokerages and portals in an all-out war over listings, more consolidation is likely on the horizon, as independent shops struggle to compete against the giants. During its first quarter earnings call last week, Compass executives described their mergers and acquisitions pipeline as healthy, while Anywhere Real Estate just hired a new M&A executive.
NYC Deal of the Week
A condo in the West Village snagged the priciest deal to close in New York City this week. The 3,800-square-foot unit at 160 Leroy Street sold for $25 million, which was more than the $16.8 million it traded for when the sponsor first sold it in 2018.
Unit 14A South has four bedrooms and four bathrooms, and the deal included storage and a parking space. Compass’ Hudson Advisory Team had the listing, and the firm’s Jim St. Andre and Michael Maniawski brought the buyer, whose identity is shielded by an LLC.