Back HomeThe New York City Real Estate Market: The Business of Legacy and Numbers
When you own a real estate firm or property management company the assets associated with said firm grow. Most owners and developers usually capitalize on existing property and do not sell right away. In hot markets like New York City, where some of the most coveted real estate in the world exists, owning property is a rare and coveted commodity.
In a recent article in the Real Deal Magazine, Konrad Putzier quotes Forest City Ratner CEO MaryAnne Gilmartin: “‘It’s a dynasty business, it had been very much a place where if you’re in the family, you’re in the family business” (1). Real Estate is a tradition: an art that gets passed on for generations. Family dynamics are extremely common in the industry, especially in New York City. Parents in real estate have kids that have grown up with the knowledge and the atmosphere of the business. When you live in New York, avoiding Real Estate is a virtually impossible task: it is one of the core industries in the city, and influencer in other cities, and is the life-blood of the streets.
The New York City Real Estate Dynasties are major players in not just the tri-state area, but the world. BizNow did an article about the history of the New York City Real Estate dynasties that have been passed along for generations: Benjamin Mazzara profiles legendary power players like The Rockefeller Family and the LeFrak family.
As much as real estate is about the legacy, it is an industry of making money. Analyzing the times, being able to see what the public needs, and figure out the best way to give it to them. In an article in The Real Deal magazine, “Stern argued that a residential construction wave preceding a commercial one is better than the other way around, because the added population makes the neighborhood vibrant” (1). It is important to the public to have a rather diverse population and to be able to see growth in the neighborhoods and environments in which they live. Neighborhood vibrancy is an automatic “value added” feature for developers and property managers.
“A $1.5 billion construction loan, a $6 million sale of a vacant lot in the East Village and a partnership doomed after just eight days — in real estate, it’s all about the numbers” (2). Anything can happen in the real estate industry, especially somewhere as competitive as New York City. It is all about negotiation and sales and who can market a property better; and it is not personal, it is business.
