News
ZEST FOR INVESTMENT
May 4, 2011
| There’s a fever pitch in NYC investment, creating lines out the door and a competitive process even for deals with thin yields, said William Macklowe Co founder Billy Macklowe, speaking to a room of National Realty Club members at the Friars Club on Monday. |
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| Billy, who just closed a five-year balance sheet loan significantly below 5%, says that deals like 750 Seventh Avenue and the Starrett-Lehigh Building prove that liquidity’s back in NYC—and the diverse real estate market is appealing to investors and capital of all shapes, forms, and sizes. But patient equity, sponsor equity, and skill sets are needed to navigate this high-barrier-to-entry market, as it’s too tight for unknown entities: "It favors experience." Many of the investors coming back to the market are people who know and have sold in NY before. Buildings selling above $175M are extremely competitive, he says, but that’s okay, since there are still small and mid-sized opportunities. |
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| The leasing side’s also seeing activity. Billy (with Mill Pond Capital’s Tom Graf, Vanguard Construction’s Richard Laskowski, and Mill Pond Capital’s Adam Marsh) is in talks for a multiple-floor tenant at 636 Sixth Avenue (which he acquired in January with ING Clarion for $45M), 10% to 15% above pro forma, and says other landlords are seeing the same. He expects that the market will continue to tighten, even if we don’t match the velocity of ‘10. Disappointed you missed Billy? He’ll be speaking at Bisnow’s NY Investment Summit on May 17 alongside Wheelock Street Capital managing partner Rick Kleeman, Ackman-Ziff prez Simon Ziff, Ladder Capital Finance prez Greta Guggenheim, Meridian Capital Group CEO Ralph Herzka, MetLife head of real estate strategic initiatives Ken McIntyre, Dune Real Estate Partners partner Greg Rush, SL Green co-CIO David Schonbraun, Kirkland & Ellis senior partner Stephen Tomlinson, and NAI Bluestone Real Estate Capital chair Matthew McManus.Register here! |
