NYC Real Estate Market Outlook - Bloomberg

Good article. I hope the prices of real estate come down. Who the hell can afford these ridiculous prices at these levels! Maybe then I will be able to buy something.

Yesterdays NY times had an article on Manhattans RE market in the Business section. Not saying I agree with the article but it went into the very strong foreign investment in Midtown Manhattan. It also discussed the bargain prices of Manhattan's RE market to foreigners given the currency situation and comparable to London prices. It also discussed how they felt Manhattan was the showcase of all showcases and how important it was for foreigners to have Manhattan RE in their real estate portfolio. With that said and with all the buying going own particularly in midtown it should be interesting where prices go from here. Not sure if the foreigners are making major investments into Manhattan commercial market because they see a slow down in the future.

To be clear, the article focuses on commercial real estate (exception is one mention of the Apthorp). Different market from residential.

Also, true to NYT form, the deals mentioned are pre-credit crunch deals. The main message of the article is not very newsworthy: "Foreigners have lots-o-money. They've bought lots-o-Manhattan commercial space earlier this year. Hey, maybe they'll keep buying lots-o-commercial real estate."

The article asks rather than answers the question: will foreign cash continue to chase Midtown commercial space right now despite financing issues and slowing financial markets, or is it patient money?

Good point I think what's most interesting is how much they are spending on a square ft per basis. One would only think they will try to recoup the amount they are spending and then some. Although it's commercial it can have an affect on residential as well. Keep in mind the article did stress that the foreign buyers were paying mostly cash for these buildings. I wouldn't think the credit issues would stop them from continuing to buy these buildings with all or mostly all cash.I hope that Manhattan won't be owned mostly by foreign investment but it is a bit scary to see all that cashed being spent in prime commercial buildings in Manhattan by foreigners.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/11/bloomberg-terminal-spying-bernanke-geithner_n_3260559.html

Bloomberg Terminal Spying Targeted Ben Bernanke, Tim Geithner: CNBC
The Huffington Post | By Alana Horowitz Posted: 05/11/2013 5:27 pm EDT | Updated: 05/11/2013 9:40 pm EDT
The Bloomberg terminal spying scandal has reached new heights, CNBC reports.

A former Bloomberg employee told CNBC that he accessed information on the terminals of Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. The employee didn't say specifically what he was looking at, but that it concerned usage of specific functions.

News of the scandal broke on Friday when the New York Post revealed that Goldman Sachs had complained that employees usage of their terminals were spied on by Bloomberg reporters. Further reports indicated that the spying was more widespread, affecting other companies such as JPMorgan.

With over 300,000 customers, Bloomberg terminals are considered a staple of information in the financial world.

On Saturday, the Federal Reserve announced that it would look into the situation. CNBC also reported that the Treasury would be investigating.

Bloomberg CEO Daniel Doctoroff admitted that it was a "mistake" to give journalists access to client data. The company announced Friday that, in wake of the controversy, journalists would no longer have access to client log-in activity on the terminals.

Things got worse for Bloomberg later on Saturday, when BuzzFeed published a report claiming that higher-ups at the financial information giant knew that journalists were accessing subscriber log-in data as early as 2011. A Bloomberg TV anchor made comments on-air suggesting that journalists at the company were using the information for potential stories.

In another CNBC report, Wall Street sources admitted that Bloomberg reporters had openly asked about employees' terminal usage behaviors.

"They were quite open about it," one JPMorgan Chase source told CNBC. "They'd say, 'We see your Whale trader hasn't logged in three days. Has he been fired?'"

This story is a kerflufel