Over the past decade, a number of prominent Israeli investors have had their ups and downs investing in New York City real estate. Some of these investors who have experienced hardships include Yair Levy, Shaya Boymelgreen and Africa Israel Investments, controlled by Lev Leviev, the company which purchased the former New York Times Building in Times Square. While foreign investors with billions of dollars of capital sit on the sidelines, a few new Israeli investors are testing the Manhattan commercial real estate waters. With prices at record lows, these investors hope to capitalize on the record low prices of property in New York City. Later this month, Israeli company, IDB Holding, controlled by Nochi Dankner, and partner Joseph Cayre plan to close on the purchase of the HSBC Bank Tower headquarters at 452 Fifth Avenue.

more By Michael Stoler

Zillow.com's "Zestimates" of home values are vastly inflated, according to a new study by the Appraisal Institute, published in its quarterly journal (click here for the complete study). The study compares Zillow.com's home values with the actual sale prices of 2,045 single-family homes in 2006 in Arlington, Texas -- the market where Zillow.com claims to have its highest accuracy rating. Zillow.com was off by an average of 11.7 percent, or $13,576 above the actual sale price, with 40 percent of property values inflated by more than 10 percent, the study shows. Meanwhile, only 0.88 percent of values were underestimated by 10 percent or more. In a statement provided to The Real Deal, Zillow.com called the study "out of date and limited in scope," noting that the study compares sales from 2006 and Zestimates from January and February 2007: "apples and oranges as it's two separate periods of time," the statement says. TRD

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Starchitect Frank Williams, known for his geometric-style Manhattan skyscrapers and international influence, has died at age 73. Williams made a notable impact on the New York City skyline, helping create over 20 buildings in the city, many of which are visible from Central Park, according to the New York Times. His portfolio includes the 57-story Trump Palace at 200 East 29th Street on the corner of Third Avenue, the tallest on the Upper East Side, and the 55-story W hotel in Times Square. Even so, Williams told The Real Deal in 2007 that he enjoyed spending time under the radar. “He’s a very talented architect who doesn’t like bragging about his work even though he should,” Donald Trump told The Real Deal at the time.

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The Queens District Attorney handed down a 327-count indictment against five individuals who allegedly orchestrated a $2 million mortgage fraud scheme by using fake identities to buy and sell Queens properties. District Attorney Richard Brown described the fraud as “brazen,” and said he believed that the “mortgage frauds perpetrated by these defendants were among the root causes of the severe economic downturn of the last few years.” Four of the five defendants, three of whom own the Club Kalua nightclub, have been captured, while the fifth remains at large. Club Kalua was the site of the infamous 2006 Sean Bell shooting incident, in which police shot three men including killing Bell, on the morning after his bachelor party. If convicted in the mortgage scam, the defendants could face prison terms of up to 15 years each. The three properties involved in the scheme, 120-18 132nd Street in Ozone Park, 56-10 Waldron Street in Corona, and 116-36 139th Street in Jamaica, were allegedly purchased with fake identities. “In this particular case, one of the frauds was so brazen that it allegedly involved the sale of a house by two people posing as sellers -- one of whom was dead -- to a third person posing as a buyer -- with the defendants pocketing an astounding $250,000,” Brown said. “These types of financial crimes have real-life consequences and will not be tolerated.” TRD

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The Public Theater is off and running with its $35 million renovation of the non-profit organization's landmark 19th-century building at 425 Lafayette Street. Construction broke ground today, and plans -- by Polshek Partnership Architects -- call for an expanded lobby, a façade restoration and a new lounge, among other upgrades. The theater company, which will continue to offer programs in two of its theaters while construction is ongoing, announced at the groundbreaking that it has raised $28 million of the $35 million necessary to complete the project.

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With luxury home prices at an apparent bottom, Wall Streeters -- and others whose bonuses packages have already rebounded -- are re-emerging as buyers with the chance to score bargains and return the second-home market to its former glory. For those lucky investors, Barron's has ranked the top 10 spots for vacation homes, taking into account how far prices have dropped from their peaks in each submarket. Perennial New York favorite the Hamptons came in third, with prices coming in at a median $1.5 million, 30 percent off their peak. The posh island chain ranked as less desirable than Maui, which took the top spot with prices down 27 percent, and Kiawah Island, S.C. (No. 2), where prices are down 21 percent. Florida favorite Palm Beach ranked seventh and Captiva/Sanibel Island ranked eighth. Palm Beach and Capitiva/Sanibel Island homes prices are down 11 and 40 percent, respectively, each to a median $3.5 million. Gasparilla Island, a favorite of actor Harrison Ford's off Florida's southwest coast, was 10th on the list. The median price is $1.8 million, down 18 percent form its peak.

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Landlords Downtown have increased their spending on tenant improvements and free rent in recent months, a new Manhattan leasing report covering February from commercial services firm CB Richard Ellis shows. Landlords are spending on average $66 per square foot on making improvements to tenant space Downtown, and giving an average of 10 months of free rent, the report says. The free rent levels are the highest of any of the three Manhattan markets since the leasing market began to weaken in mid-2008 and the tenant improvement figure matches the previous high from last year, CBRE data shows. At the same time, the report shows average asking rents rising Downtown, as well as in Midtown South, but falling in Midtown. For February, CBRE reported average asking rents Downtown rose by 57 cents per square foot to $38.92 per foot; they rose by 5 cents per foot in Midtown South to $41.71 per foot. But in Midtown, the average asking rent fell by 32 cents to $55.75 per square foot.

more By Adam Pincus

Gary Barnett's Extell Development partnered with investment firm Angelo, Gordon to buy the Helmsley Carlton House at 680 Madison Avenue for about $170 million from the Helmsley estate, the Wall Street Journal first reported. Barnett and Midtown-based Angelo, Gordon are together in contract to buy the 160-unit hotel and apartment building at Madison Avenue between 61st and 62nd streets, which was being marketed by CB Richard Ellis vice chairman Darcy Stacom, three sources confirmed to The Real Deal. According to one of the sources, the bids were due last Friday, and needed to include a signed contract and a $10 million deposit. A fourth source, speaking yesterday, said there were six bids made for the property. The retail portion of the building is considered a particularly valuable asset, insiders said. Angelo, Gordon, one of many investors partnering with local players to purchase distressed properties in New York, declined to comment on the sale. CBRE and Extell did not immediately respond to calls for comment. TRD

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As construction and concrete testing companies and their executives increasingly come under fire in the city, one concrete testing company has received a bit of good news. A State Supreme Court judge ordered the city Department of Buildings to grant a hearing to a Whitestone-based concrete testing company that was denied one after applying to renew its license to operate in New York. The firm, Big Apple Testing, filed suit in January after DOB refused to reinstate its license, claiming the firm previously continued to operate after its license had expired Sept. 15, 2008. Judge Alice Schlesinger denied a request by the firm to have its license automatically reinstated, but said DOB must give the firm an opportunity to present its case in a face-to-face meeting. “I find that the allegations [against Big Apple], at least in part, appear to be of a rather technical nature and do not appear to smack of fraud or unsafe practices,” Schlesinger wrote in her March 1 opinion, released on March 4. “As was pointed out in the petition, BAT has been conducting business pursuant to a license renewal since 1992, a period of 17 years, apparently without event except for license renewals occasionally filed for [sic] late but always granted.”

more By David Jones

While speculation over an impending commercial crisis has abounded, Mortgage Bankers Association data released today shows that commercial and multi-family mortgages nationwide had the lowest charge-off rate of any type of bank- and thrift-issued loan in the fourth quarter of 2009. This is an ongoing trend for commercial and multi-family loans, which also shows the low charge-off rates during the same quarter a year earlier. Even more encouraging, commercial and multi-family mortgages had average 30-plus-day delinquency rates of 5.06 percent and 5.64 percent, respectively, lower than the average delinquency rate for all loans and leases held, which hit 7.3 percent in the fourth quarter. But not all types of loans fared so well -- construction loans, which saw the highest delinquency rate, hit 18. 56 percent, while single-family mortgages had an average rate of 12.49 percent. Still, the performance of commercial and multi-family mortgages may be cause for cautious optimism, the report says. “Like other parts of the economy, the performance of commercial and multi-family mortgages has been negatively impacted by job losses, consumer restraint and manufacturing declines,” the report says. “The relatively stable performance and low charge-offs of commercial mortgages through the recent recession, however, have helped, rather than hurt, the stability of banks.” TRD

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