Real Estate
Trends and updates on property markets, including residential and commercial sectors.
A gold-domed penthouse apartment is up for sale in New York City, located next to the famous Flatiron Building. The 5,777-square-foot apartment that occupies the golden dome is being listed by Sothesby’s International Real Estate for US$25 million. Proceeds of the current sale will be used to build schools and preschools in Mozambique. The five-bedroom, five-bathroom property sits at 170 Fifth Avenue, also known as the Sohmer Piano Building, and was built in 1898. The property offers 360-degree views of the city from the dome, an open kitchen with skylights, marble bathrooms, a private roof deck and an iron-wrought spiral staircase. The Beaux-Arts building was designed by Robert Maynicke, a prominent architect in NYC in the early 20th century. “It’s really buying a true old New York piece of property…the cupola is iconic.” said the Sotheby’s listing agent, Lawrence Treglia. Having once contained various businesses,170 Fifth Avenue was converted into a condominium around 2000. The domed penthouse, which was formerly a loft, has only had one other residential owner; the philanthropist and entrepreneur Gregory C. Carr, who bought it in 2001 and renovated it.
Grupo Prato has won the 2024 Best Luxury Apartment Living Award for their new Montecarlo apartments. The Montecarlo Ocean View apartments are located on the Ocean Reef Islands in Panama Bay, close to Panama City and the Tucumen International Airport. Designed by architect Saul Bassan, it features six floors and eight exclusive apartments, ranging from 181-577 square metres. Each apartment has acoustic insulation, marble floors and floor-to-ceiling windows which have been soundproofed for privacy. The amenities for the apartments include direct access to a private yacht club, parking with electric vehicle charging, a rooftop pool and barbeque area with views of the ocean and a Jacuzzi. Grupo Prato has been established in both construction and project management since 1979. In response to the award they issued a statement saying: “We are thrilled to be recognised by Luxury Lifestyle Awards for Montecarlo Ocean View. This project represents our dedication to delivering not only beautiful homes, but also a lifestyle that exceeds the expectations of our clients. We are proud to offer a new level of luxury living in Panama.”
Foreign nationals have cut $1 billion from their spending on Australian real estate over the last year, largely driven by a drop in demand from China. This comes from new data released by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) this month. In the past financial year, offshore buyers spent $6.6 billion on residential property around Australia, with that figure making up 5581 sales. However, the previous year saw that figure reach $7.9 billion from 6576 transactions, and in the 2021-2022 financial year it was $7.6 billion. The FIRB stats released this month also showed that commercial real estate transactions have been slashed by more than half in the past financial year, from $50.2 billion to just $23.3 billion. The figure was more than $63bn in the 2021-2022 financial year.Credit: Foreign Investment Review Board and realestate.com.auWhile China remained the biggest spender in the figures, it was still a fall from the numbers shown in previous financial years. President of the Real Estate Institute of Australia Leanne Pilkington said the pull back was not a surprise due to China’s ongoing property industry problems at home, with one of their biggest developers, Evergrande, collapsing early in 2024.
Trinity Investments, Oaktree Capital Management, and Partners Group have joined forces to acquire London luxury hotel The Standard. The Standard was previously managed by Crosstree Real Estate, and was reportedly purchased for UK£185 million (A$359,87 million). “This hotel has quickly become a cultural icon in one of London’s most dynamic neighbourhoods. We see huge potential to build upon this strong foundation by collaborating with Standard International, following its incorporation into the Hyatt family of brands, and solidify the hotel’s position as a leading luxury lifestyle destination in Europe,” said Trinity Managing Partner Ryan Donn. The Standard is located at King’s Cross, and features 266 rooms as well as six high-end restaurants and bars. The hotel first opened in 2019, having been converted by Crosstree. The building previously held offices, and was known as the Camden Town Hall Annex. “We strongly believe that distinctive brands drive performance. We are delighted to have the opportunity to acquire such an iconic hotel as we continue to build our focus on global hospitality as a priority investment theme,” said Partners Group Managing Director Stephen McCall. Trinity has invested over EU€550 millio
The bottleneck of houses under construction has started to ease, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Australia's national statistical agency said the surge in residential building in 2021 led to labour and materials shortages, projects stalling at various stages of construction and new houses taking long to complete. “Extreme weather events and construction industry insolvencies further added to the construction delays, leading to a bottleneck of houses under construction, which has started to ease through mid-2023,” the ABS said in article. The “Home building through the pandemic article” about residential building approvals and activity in Australia from 2019-2024 covers the period before, during and since the emergence of COVID-19 in Australia. The data was sourced from the ABS’s monthly Building Approvals, Australia and quarterly Building Activity, Australia publications. “The conditions for residential building in Australia have changed considerably over the past five years,” the ABS said. Total dwelling approvals (174,528 dwellings) and commencements (172,959 dwellings) fell in 2019-20 to the lowest annual totals since 2013-14 as a large expansion in apartment building
