Editorial Staff
The Real Estate Desk covers buying, selling, renting and developing property in New York, including the tax and assessment rules that decide what a building actually costs to own. Reporting under this byline is produced by the editorial staff of Manhattan Standard.
The National Association of Realtors publishes September existing-home sales on October 13, as Freddie Mac's 30-year rate reached 7.40%, up from a 6.54% July average.
A renovated townhouse at 374 Washington Avenue in Clinton Hill sold off-market for about $9.4 million, topping the neighborhood's previous high of $9.05 million, reports said October 6.
Spain's Congress rejected housing decrees on October 2, eliminating proposed restrictions on investment fund purchases, leaving Europe's hottest rental market in regulatory limbo.
A $219 million Northwind loan for 100 Wall Street shows how lenders structure deals that turn office towers into housing as Manhattan's conversion pipeline reaches 15.2 million square feet.
Singapore's 60% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty on foreign residential buyers has effectively locked global capital out of the market. Here's how the tax works and where international money moves next.
Japanese, Chinese and Singaporean investors are moving into London commercial real estate for 8.0–8.4% projected returns, while New York's own office recovery follows a separate trajectory.
New York City's Department of Buildings has begun issuing the first fines under Local Law 97.
Renewal option deadlines in Manhattan office leases are unforgiving. Six months of notice required—and one day late means you lose the lease entirely.
A plunge to just 13 deals worth $66 million signals buyers are hesitating as new taxes and tight inventory reshape the high-end housing market heading into fall.
There's no legal right to sublet or exit early. What matters is lease language, landlord discretion, and how the market has shifted since 2020.
In retail leases, tenants pay base rent plus a percentage of sales above a negotiated threshold. The structure shapes profitability for both sides.
A low appraisal creates a cash shortfall at closing. New York contracts handle this gap differently than most states, and the options depend on your contract language and reserves.
The two dominant forms of apartment ownership in Manhattan can look nearly identical from the sidewalk, yet they create very different legal rights,…
In New York zoning, air rights are not ownership of the sky.
Common area maintenance charges add 30–50% to base rent. A 2025 review found an average 11.4% overcharge across NYC office leases, but tenants have just 60–90 days to audit.
Class A, B, and C designations determine rent, tenant quality, and property values—but there's no official system determining which buildings belong in which tier.
ICAP offers 25 years of tax relief for industrial and commercial buildings that are built or renovated, but geographic restrictions and spending requirements determine which projects qualify.
General Atlantic will anchor Related's under-construction 625 Madison Avenue tower, the latest sign that new Class AA office space in Manhattan is nearly gone.
Seven Manhattan office towers worth billions are on the market or have just sold, the largest test yet of whether landlords can turn a leasing rebound into higher sale prices.
New York now runs two separate legalization paths for basement apartments, one for new units and one for existing ones, and they don't cover the same buildings.
Two similar homes on the same street can pay very different tax. The reason is structural, and it is not an error.
One is cheaper to buy and harder to buy into. The trade is about control, not just price.
The most-searched question in New York property tax, answered without the acronym soup.
The most invasive financial disclosure most people will ever complete, and the reasoning behind each part.
The deposit and the price are the visible numbers. The rest arrives as a list on the day.
A regulatory system covering a large share of the city's apartments, frequently misunderstood by tenants inside it.
Three approaches, one of which does most of the work in New York.
A low base rent that transfers costs and risks most tenants have not priced.
The obstacles are physical and regulatory, and the physical ones are decided by the shape of the building.
Whether a project needs a discretionary approval determines its timeline more than its size does.
Affordable is defined against a regional income measure, which is why the label so often confuses.
Not the building. The approvals, the utilities and the neighbours.
Public records answer most of the questions a viewing cannot.
A funded organization with a defined boundary, paid for by the properties inside it.
Advisory bodies with no binding authority and considerable practical influence.