Housing deal winners and losers; HomeServices of America strikes $250M settlement ... and more

The best national real estate stories from The Real Deal. Apr 27, 2024 [View in Browser]( | [$1 for 1 Month]( [The Real Deal Logo](   [The National Logo](   In today’s newsletter, we look at the winners and losers from [New York’s new housing deal](. Plus, the last defendant in a broker commissions suit [reaches a settlement](, Tides Equities investors could see their [investments wiped out](, and WeWork may be getting [back together with its ex-CEO](. These stories and more below.   [Housing deal produces winners and losers]( Last week, there was a housing framework. Now, New York has officially passed a housing deal, with lawmakers [passing the agreement]( last weekend. Governor Kathy Hochul emerged as a winner. But, for the real estate community, the deal was a mixed bag. Developers [scored a win with 485x](, the long-awaited replacement for the 421a tax abatement for multifamily rental projects. But it’s not a perfect stand-in of the earlier policy. 485x includes an increased affordability requirement and raised minimum wages for laborers, meaning higher costs and lower revenues. Meanwhile, developers who kicked off 421a projects before June 15, 2022, emerged as big winners. The new deal [revives the tax break]( for those projects and extends their construction deadline by five years to 2031. While developers may have reason to celebrate, landlords cannot say the same. The more optimistic landlords may simply be happy that things didn’t go worse for them. The state passed a form of “good cause eviction,” a policy derided by landlords across the country. But, they can breathe a sigh of relief that the new law looks nothing like the one socialist lawmakers proposed in 2019. Hochul received [plaudits for her political maneuvering]( in passing a more moderate version of the law, while landlords claimed defeat. Finally, Hochul touted a new law to encourage property owners to bring vacant rent-stabilized apartments back on the rental market by allowing landlords to increase rents for recently renovated apartments. The law was among the few bones thrown to landlords in the new deal. But, at closer inspection, it looks set to make no difference, with some landlords saying they would still rather [leave an apartment empty]( than try to take advantage of the new policy.   Together with Masterworks “Overweight” in equities? You’re missing out on a potential fix. [Masterworks]( It looks like high interest rates may be here to stay. Big Tech stocks (aka about 30% of the S&P 500) could be particularly susceptible, according to a recent WSJ piece. If that's a majority of your portfolio then you’ll want to hear about [this alternative investing idea.]( Here’s the skinny: - Its annual price appreciation has outpaced the S&P by 64% from 1995 to 2023 - Very-low, negative correlation to the S&P 500 (-.06) in same time period - Prices are currently down based on last year’s sales, and while trends can change, when its prices last “dipped” in 2009 they shot up 132% over the next 5 years What is it? Postwar and contemporary art. That's right. In 2024, thousands of investors are diversifying with shares of whole artwork with names like Banksy and Basquiat, thanks to the art investing platform, [Masterworks.]( Interested? The National readers can [use this member link to get access to its latest offerings](.   Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Investing involves risk. Art sales price data is comparative only. Each painting is unique and historical data is not a direct proxy for any specific painting or investment. Data represents whole art not an investment into our offerings which includes fees and expenses. Asset class calculation relies on a repeat-sales index of historical art market prices computed based on a value weighted-basis. Masterworks often uses art market price data to compare art pricing trends to other asset classes. While Masterworks believes these comparisons can be useful to help potential investors discern long term trends in these asset classes, there are significant limitations to the utility of such comparative data, particularly over shorter time periods. Potential investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such data. See Important disclosures at [www.masterworks.com/cd](   [I'm an image]( [HomeServices of America strikes $250M settlement]( The last holdout in the Sitzer/Burnet antitrust case has struck a deal to settle. HomeServices of America agreed to a fine of $250 million to get out of the litigation. [I'm an image]( [Tides’ original investors may be wiped out by preferred equity deal]( Trouble multifamily syndicator Tides Equities has been looking for capital for months. Now, they may have found it. But there’s a catch. The syndicator’s original investors might get screwed by the new deal. In other Tides news, lenders [moved to foreclose]( on three of the investor’s properties in Fort Worth this week. [I'm an image]( [Creditors demand WeWork consider Adam Neumann’s offer]( WeWork’s bankruptcy proceedings have been fraught with trouble. Now, its creditors are demanding that the co-working firm consider a buyout from the ousted co-founder Adam Neumann.   Advertisement   [I'm an image]( [Swig finds a new bottom for LA’s office market]( A recent office sale in Downtown Los Angeles has set a new price floor for the region’s commercial market. Meanwhile, another bigtime sale in the neighborhood [fell apart](. [I'm an image]( [How $20M in South Side Chicago flips got fumbled into foreclosure]( On Chicago’s South Side, a string of multifamily deals made by a pair of investors raised eyebrows in the real estate community. Now, twelve of the properties are all being foreclosed on. [I'm an image]( [Another New York billionaire heads for sunnier pastures in Florida]( Another New York billionaire is making a highly publicized move to South Florida. This time, it’s hedge funder Larry Robbins. [I'm an image]( [Musklandia: Tesla divorces gigafactory land from city of Austin]( Elon Musk is using a controversial “de-annexation” law to break Tesla’s gigafactory away from Austin, sparing the property from the city’s taxes and regulations. [I'm an image]( [George Lucas developing priciest condo in Chicago historyÂ]( Billionaire Star Wars creator George Lucas is planning to combine two luxury penthouses in Chicago’s Park Tower. The result will be a 16,000-square-foot and the most expensive condo in the city’s history.     [The Real Deal Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( [YouTube]( [Manage Newsletters]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Subscribe]( | [Advertise]( The Real Deal 450 West 31st Street, New York, NY 10001 ©2024 TheRealDeal. All rights reserved. [View Online](