New York Real Estate Scene by GreenPearl

Above: Ryan Slack, GreenPearl CEO & Founder, Gail Ziv, Susan A. Padau, Ralph Wilkins

The Plum Lounge at 47-39 Bell Blvd. in Bayside, Queens, was rockin’ with the sounds of real estate networking last night. GP noted a wide collection of owners, developers, architects, brokers, bankers and lenders packing the bar, 4 deep…by our estimate, a good 60 in attendance for our first foray into the quiet, family-oriented Bayside neighborhood.

Above: Edwin Urrego, Jeffrey Silver,

Above: Lou A. Matins, Angie Diaz

GP had one long and interesting conversation about the state of business in the ‘hood, and can report that contrary to MSM reports, the death of the real estate business has been greatly exaggerated.

Above: Frank Brown, GreenPearl, Manika Malik, Preya Gopaul

For example, Birchwood Residential Portfolio’s Dan Robinson, project director for the Towers and Water’s Edge, reported that business is at least as brisk as a year ago. The group bought 165 apartments in the development 18 months ago; now it has 42 left. Average costs of the units are about $450,000 with 3 bedrooms topping $750,000. Since January they’ve got 14 deals, of which 7 are in contract. Sure the paperwork is a bit more detailed, and uncertainty due to Fannie can lead to a few false starts, “until everyone gets on the same page about what they want,” he noted. But deals are closing. Many of the buyers, let’s face it, are more than happy to put their cash into a place to live. After all, does it make more sense to leave it with Mr. Market or stick it in a CD at this moment?

Above: Tom Kandilas, Johnny Reyos

This conversation is typical of ones GP has been having in recent weeks. People are doing deals, maybe they are smaller and a fewer, but for professionals in it for the long run, lean times do not equal zero. They are just part of the inevitable cycle.

Above: Mitchell Slavuter and friends