Not So hush hush! In New York luxury real estate market the sale of Courtney Sale Ross’ 30-room, 740 Park Avenue duplex for $52.4 million to Howard and Nancy Marks, as reported by The Observer and Curbed set a new record for the most expensive Manhattan luxury co-op sale. The asking price was $60 Million.

Mr. Marks is the founder of Oaktree Capital, a $75 Billion investment fund involved in distressed debt. They also have homes in LA and London. The Observer reports that Ms. Marks serves on the Board of the American Ballet Theater and the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art among other charitable organizations. Mrs. Ross was the wife of late Time Warner CEO, Steve Ross. They purchased and combined two units in the 1980′s for $8 million.

740 Park Avenue is considered to be New York’s one of (if not the) most exclusive Manhattan co-op residences and was designed by famed architect Rosario-Candela.

Per Tony Sargent, SVP at CORE super-prime Manhattan luxury condos, luxury co-ops and townhouses are in very high demand and Downtown and Upper East Side prime properties are commanding premium prices. Whether buying or selling you need a solid strategy to win in this marketplace. Contact me for more information.

Lower East Side Condo Development News: Crain’s reported that Urban-Scape, a Brooklyn-based developer recently purchased 100 Norfolk St in the Lower East Side with the intent to build a new condominium opposite the existing Blue building on Delancey St. Despite the 120′ height limits implemented in the Lower East Side after the 16-story Blue was built, Urban-Scape reportedly owns the neighboring properties to 100 Norfolk allowing for the transfer of air rights to the lot.

Expect to see more development in the Lower East Side in the coming years. Its vibrant artist and low-scale nature is attracting more interest from both buyers and developers. Clinton Street is especially beautiful with its green foliage shading small boutiques and galleries.

Condo to rise on former Ratner’s site off Delancey | Crain’s New York Business.

Today the Freedom Tower – 1 World Trade Center becomes New York’s tallest skyscraper. A new chapter of New York’s future begins. Watch a cool timelapse video of the Freedom Tower being constructed. The Daily Mail from the UK also has some great photos of history in the making today. New York, New York! Love it!

The Wall Street Journal reported that multiple bids are stunning condo apartment buyers from New York to Miami and homebuyers in California. A lack of inventory compared to demand has been especially evident in New York luxury real estate for over a year. Now multiple bids are occurring on entry-level properties both in Manhattan and in other areas of the country. 3 years ago Miami’s condo market was languishing and its huge inventory remained unsold. Today, between local and foreign investors (namely Brazilian) there is only a 4.1 month supply (34% decline in inventory – see chart below).

In Manhattan while demand for the super-luxury market ($5+ million) has slowed slightly compared to a year ago, fast-increasing rents and low interest rates have lead to the highest level of Read more…

The New York Municipal Archives has just and it’s Department of Records just announced the availability on-line of almost a million images of New York from more than a 100 years ago to the mid-80′s. The images are part of a collection of over 2 million images shot over the years by municipal workers – from projects like the building of the Manhattan Bridge, to one of my favorites – the public swimming pool in Astoria, Queens in 1940. We see a city as vibrant as today but also gritty. From workers hanging new cables on the Brooklyn Bridge with the low-rise nature of downtown Manhattan punctuated by the Woolworth Tower, to crime scene photos. As with everything, time presents new perspectives on our lives and our city.  Click here to see more

What I do see is that Manhattan is as Read more…

What is real estate? As I leave my office late tonight, I look at the list on my desk-wall of clients who want to buy or sell. They aren’t numbers to me. They are people: fathers, mothers, children, partners. All with a dream of owning a home or having more space. A place to create memories, to celebrate anniversaries, to laugh, to cry, to perhaps disagree and then come back together. To watch teeth fall and then the 1st sideburns grow.

This is why I do what I do. To help people make their dreams come true, as smoothly as I can. Nothing feels better than to seem them smile on closing day…and five years later. – By Tony Sargent

I went to the new Broadway musical, “Once” last night. Thumbs Up! A powerful musical journey based on the Academy Award-winning movie of the same name, the show transports you from the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater to a Dublin bar where “Guy” and “Girl” meet and… well, go and see this wonderful musical! It’s a story of love and loss and includes the dream of moving to New York to create music and ‘be someone’. It is an immigrant’s story millions of New Yorkers can relate to.

So many of us move to New York Read more…