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By Robert Knakal 2/27/12 9:00am

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Fingerprinting and Real Estate Taxes: What’s the Common Denominator?

It is very obvious that we are approaching election season in New York, as the fundraisers and calls from local politicians are starting to come with greater frequency.

Given the budget deficits that New York is facing, both at the city and state level, one of the questions I always ask politicians looking for donations is what three specific line items in the city budget do they believe could withstand cutbacks.  I have never received a straightforward answer to this question and most of the time the default position from the politician is, “We must work hard to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse.” Read More

By Robert Knakal 2/21/12 11:00am

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Robert Knakal.

Multi-Family Properties Reign Supreme

As we have seen, year after year, in the New York City investment sales market, multi-family apartment buildings is the asset class that is always in the highest demand. The inherent upside potential within these properties, based on artificially low rents created by rent regulation, keeps investors flocking to this product type and makes regulated apartment buildings the easiest property type to finance. Read More

By Robert Knakal 2/07/12 12:00pm

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The Troubling Trend Behind Multifamily Investment Woes

The face of multifamily investing in New York may be changing.  Given recent trends, it might well be that we are seeing the start of a fundamental shift in the way purchasing apartment properties is structured for a large slice of the buying population.

While there are families and high-net-worth individuals who are very prominent and invest their own funds, many purchasers, particularly in the multifamily arena, rely on institutional equity partners to fuel their acquisitions. Read More

By Robert Knakal 1/31/12 3:06pm

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The Manhattan Review: A Closer Look at How the Submarkets Fared in 2011

As Manhattan always sets the pace for New York City, this week we will take a look at how its leading submarket performed last year.

In 2011, the dollar volume of sales in the Manhattan submarket (defined as south of 96th Street on the East Side and south on 110th Street on the West Side) showed dramatic improvement over 2010 levels. There was $21.7 billion in investment sale transactions last year, up from the $11.6 billion that occurred in 2010, an 87 percent increase. Read More

By Robert Knakal 1/17/12 12:30pm

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Robert Knakal.

A Love Letter To REBNY

Throughout my career, I have been active in many different trade organizations and have always made networking a significant component of my annual brokerage business plan. Networking can take many forms. In 2011, I chalked up 264 such events, or more than one per business day on average. Clearly, this aspect of my business plan is something that I focus great attention on, as business opportunities frequently seem to be generated from these interactions.

While there are many wonderful trade organizations out there, one of the best, and one of the most beneficial and productive for my firm and I has been the Real Estate Board of New York. Read More

By Robert Knakal 1/03/12 1:30pm

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Robert Knakal.

With Current Tax Rates Ending, Capital Gains Taxes Threaten to Move Markets

Recently, one of the questions I have been asked most frequently is what factor will have the most significant impact on the investment sales market in 2012. Interest rates could have the most profound impact on our market, particularly if they rise more quickly and to a greater degree than most people expect (which is not an outlandish assumption), but I believe taxes will have the biggest impact on market activity, especially the volume of sales. By taxes, I mean capital gains taxes or at least the anticipation of their rising. Read More

By Robert Knakal 12/08/11 12:41pm

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As the U.S. Economy Goes, So Goes Retail

When we look at the performance of the retail sector of the building sales market, we generally look at how the retail rental market is doing to gain some insight into what can be expected on the sales side.

To a large degree, the health of this sector is dependent upon consumer sentiment and, subsequently, Read More