Monday, February 28, 2011

Ranch has key selling point: Steve McQueen


House Profile: Iconic star's hideaway is on the market


By Mary Umberger, Monday, February 28, 2011. Inman News™

Editor's note: Inman News will be profiling a series of homes with interesting stories and backstories to tell. Got a house story to share? Send an e-mail to press@inman.com.

Steve McQueen. Flickr image courtesy of classic film scans.

The "King of Cool" apparently found a measure of peace in Santa Paula, Calif., where he could stash his collection of cars, planes, and motorcycles, and the locals didn't seem to think it was such a big deal that a legendary movie star was living in their midst.

Steve McQueen had largely turned away from Hollywood when he settled in the town, about 75 miles northwest of Los Angeles, in 1979. Drawn there, according to biographers, by the town's reputation as the vintage-plane capital of America, the tough-boy icon purchased a nearby 15.5-acre ranch (see slide show below) with an 1892 cottage and a 4,500-square-foot hangar that he stuffed with dirt bikes, Indian motorcycles and rare sports cars.

McQueen, who became one of the world's highest-paid actors in the 1960s, honed an image of toughness in such noted films as "Bullitt," "The Great Escape," and "The Cincinnati Kid."

But he started turning down most roles in the 1970s, focusing instead on auto and motorcycle racing and traveling the back roads of the West. He purchased two vintage Stearman biplanes and persuaded a Santa Paula local to become his flight instructor.

"He married his third wife, Barbara Minty, in the living room of the house at the ranch," said David Kean, the Los Angeles real estate agent who's currently marketing the property for sale. McQueen and the former model wed in January 1980, not long after the couple moved into the house.

McQueen's time at the ranch was to be brief. Diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer related to exposure to asbestos, shortly before they were married, he spent his last months there and in Mexico seeking medical treatment.

He died of complications from surgery in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in November 1980, at 50.

A memorial service for the actor was held at a pond on the Santa Paula property, Kean said.

"He loved to ride his dune buggy around the ranch," Kean said. "The airplane hangar on the property was full of his cars and motorcycles."

They're gone now, having been auctioned in Las Vegas in 1984. But other McQueen touches remain, Kean said.

Although a subsequent owner installed a kitchen/family room addition and planted a vineyard, "everything else is as McQueen left it," Kean said.

"He collected old pull-chain toilets from old bus stations, and had them installed in the house," Kean said. "He tried to make everything of the period that the house was built."

The property declined, turning into "kind of a mud pit" in the years after McQueen died, Kean said. The current owners bought the place about seven years ago, spruced it up, and established a now-flourishing vineyard that produces 5,000 to 7,000 bottles a year, he said.

"My idea would be to make a deal with the McQueen estate, and buy the property and work in the McQueen rights," he said. "They could produce wine and export it to Asia -- McQueen is a folk hero in Asia."

The McQueen name apparently has retained its luster: In 2007 Forbes magazine listed him as No. 10 among 13 "top-earning dead celebrities," with the licensing of his name having earned $6 million in the prior year.

The magazine said at the time that McQueen's image of hard driving and fast living, which earned him the nickname "King of Cool," had found appeal with a new generation, 40 years after the release of "Bullitt," arguably his best-known film.

Actor Ashton Kutcher and David Beckham, among others, have said they regard McQueen as a personal style icon.

Indeed, Keen said, it's been mostly Hollywood-types who have visited the Santa Paula ranch as a candidate for a second home, drawn by the McQueen connection and the isolation of the property.

"McQueen liked the town because people left him alone," and that attitude appears unchanged, Kean said. "I've had celebrities (who came to see the ranch) go into the town, have lunch, and nobody bothers them."

But no sale so far, Kean said.

Even for a Beverly Hills buyer, the $1.095 million asking price for the three-bedroom home (down from the original $1.95 million, and now listed as a short sale) gives pause.

"In this economy, even my wealthiest clients are tightening their wallets," he said. "One client said his net worth had dropped from $1 billion to $600 million and he's nervous about it. They see the loss, they don't see what they have."

Still, he said, some actors "who I think may want that McQueen image" have been interested in the place.

"They want the fantasy of the ranch, but they get overwhelmed" by the idea of maintaining its acreage and horse facilities, he said. "It's a fun fantasy, but not everyone wants the reality."

Thursday, February 24, 2011

What $48 Million Will Buy You in Aspen

Love to ski and have $48.5 million burning a hole in your pocket? Then a fabulous mansion in Aspen adjacent to the ski slopes that just hit the market might be perfect for you. Candace Jackson has details.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Homebuilders Report Profits Despite Tough Market

Original Post: http://blogs.forbes.com/heatherstruck/2011/02/23/homebuilders-report-profits-amid-still-tough-market/
By Heather Struck for Forbes.com Feb. 23 2011 - 10:10 am


The Department of Commerce said Wednesday that real GDP declined by 2.4% by metropolitan area in 2009, after a 0.4% decline in 2008. The drop in production appeared in 292 of 366 MSAs, reflecting the slow-down in manufacturing and construction, that took place that year.


Meanwhile, luxury builders Meritage Homes and Toll Brothers are beating the Standard & Poor’s Supercomposite Homebuilding Index this year to date, reflecting a gradual recovery out of 2009’s near stand-still for the housing market. Meritage has returned 14.6% this year and Toll Brothers has returned 9.3% compared with 2.9% for the S&P homebuilding index. Shares of Meritage were down slightly Wednesday by 0.3%, while Toll Brothers shares saw a 2.5% gain.

Toll Brothers reported a profit for its first quarter ending January 31, with net income at $3.4 million, or 2 cents per share, compared with a loss of $40.8 million, or 25 cents per share, in the year-ago period. The profit beat the 7 cents per share loss that analysts were expecting for the quarter. The Pennsylvania-based company also reported net revenue of $334 million, up from $326 million the year before.

The average price of homes sold increased to $586,000 from $548,154 a year earlier, while the number of new homes sold grew by 4%. The company ended the first quarter with more units in its backlog of 1,472, but a 2% decrease in value at $825.2 million.

Toll Brothers’ CEO Douglas C. Yearley, Jr., said that, “The market is still tough; the home buyer is still wary. Although our customers recognize that this is perhaps the best time to buy in many years, so far the market is not generating the positive momentum that creates urgency among buyers.”

Home improvement stores are also improved in their last quarter. Lowe’s reported a 39% increase in its fourth quarter profit, boosted by higher-than-expected sales for the quarter. The announcement came after Home Depot, the larger company by revenue, said on Tuesday that its fourth quarter profit increased by 72% from the year-ago period.

Lowe’s reported a profit of $285 million, or 21 cents per share, and revenue up 3% at $10.5 billion for the quarter ending January 28. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting profit of 18 cents per share on revenue of $10.4 billion.

Home Depot’s fourth quarter profit soared to $587 million, or 36 cents per share, on revenue of $15.1 billion, beating analysts’ expectations for net profit of 31 cents per share on revenue of $14.8 million. The company said same store-sales growth in the U.S. helped it beat the consensus.

Markets opened Wednesday lower than its previous day’s close, still pressured by rising oil prices and political heat created by protests in the Middle East. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 41 points at 10 am at 12,171, the Nasdaq was down 9 points at 2,747 and the S&P 500 was down 2 points at 1,312.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Homes That Help You Take Aging in Stride

More homes are being built with "universal design" features that will help boomers stay in their homes as they age. But these features no longer evoke a hospital room -- and they're appealing to a younger demographic, too. Amy Hoak reports.

KB Homes Takes On Foreclosures

Monday, February 21, 2011

For Sale By Owner: Not a Good Move Right Now?

Original Post: http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/02/18/for-sale-by-owner-not-a-good-move-right-now/

By Barbara Correa Posted Feb 18th 2011 3:32PM



Do you really need a real estate agent to sell your house? Fans of the For Sale by Owner (FSBO) approach say no. But here is a cautionary tale about the potential pitfalls of going the For Sale by Owner route.


Matthew Peters and his wife, Fiona, had two FSBO home sales under their belt, so they naturally opted for the do-it-yourself strategy the third time around as well.

The average seller looking to unload a home automatically assumes the first stop is securing a trustworthy real estate agent to market and sell the property. But for an adventurous few, the idea of saving that 5 to 6 percent broker commission is just too tempting.

The Peterses were in that small percentage. The couple had been renting out their two-bedroom ranch in Madison, Wisc., for about three years when they finally found a buyer last year willing to pay the $191,000 asking price.

Then the trouble began.

The couple planning to buy the Peterses' home was anxious to move -- the lease was ending on their rental -- so they asked if they could come in three days prior to closing. With a loan commitment letter in hand, the Peterses opened their house to the new family. That's when the trouble started.

According to Matthew Peters, their would-be buyers promptly charged roomfuls of new furniture, even two flat-screen TVs, to the point that they compromised their credit score and the bank canceled their loan. The worst was yet to come.

Soon, Peters learned that the ideal family he thought he'd been dealing with were actually his See photos of homes for sale in your area and across the country on AOL Real Estateworst nightmare, and now they were living in his house. "The house that we kept so tidy and spent thousands getting ready for a sale was now a disaster area,'' says Peters. "They ruined some of the floors, kids drew on the walls, they punched holes in the walls. They had a troubled teen that kicked in a door, the lawn was ruined from the above-ground pool they put in. We started getting complaints from neighbors.''

The family was now renting, and in addition to trashing of the house, they were constantly late with the rent. Peters continued to show the house to prospective buyers, but in its junked condition, it was a hard sell. Finally, after six months, Peters evicted his tenants for nonpayment. He spent two full days cleaning and hired some contractors to fix a series of broken items.

Then he ran into a little luck. One day, a man called about the house, saying his 70-something mother was looking for a single story place in the neighborhood and could pay cash. The house closed 10 days later. The two parties ended up splitting the fee to the buyers' broker, each paying around $5,000.

Peters, who is now renting, says if he had it to do all over again, he would definitely hire a sales agent. "We thought we were going to cash in not having to pay the broker commission,'' he says. "One thing people don't factor in is the time. I probably spent dozens of hours on showings.''

Still interested in trying it yourself? Check out these factoids:

• FSBO sellers declined in 2010, from 14 percent of overall home sales in 2003 and 2004 to just 9 percent in 2010.

• Another 32 percent of FSBO sellers sold to a relative, friend or neighbor.

• Before listing your own home, you need access to good current data about sales prices, market times, and activity. Be familiar with the process and know the requirements for your state. Some sellers believe that because they are not licensed, laws and regulations do not apply to them. Know the law, or hire someone who does.

• You will need to invest time to market the property and be available to show your home and respond to any inquiries.

• If the property is priced to reflect true market value and it is placed in the multiple listing service, nothing will stop it from selling.

• Most FSBOs often wind up paying at least half of the brokerage fee to the broker who produces a buyer.

Source: RISMedia

Friday, February 18, 2011

A Luxury Stucco House With Unique Features

Architect Robert Bartels built a rustic cottage as a retirement home in Rowayton, Conn. The 2,550-square-foot stucco house has generous open spaces, a den with a clock tower and a unique stairwell hatch inspired by the Paris metro. It's on the market for just under $2 million.

Room for Rent at the Mansion

The mortgage crisis is hitting multimillion-dollar homeowners especially hard and some of them are renting out rooms in their mansions in an effort to raise cash. Alyssa Abkowitz explains.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Steve Jobs Has Months To Live? American Cancer Society Cries Foul

Original Post: http://blogs.forbes.com/matthewherper/2011/02/17/steve-jobs-has-months-to-live-american-cancer-society-cries-foul/

Feb. 17 2011 - 2:55 pm By MATTHEW HERPER for Forbes.com



The National Enquirer has reported that Steve Jobs has only six weeks to live based the paper’s analysis of photographs that purportedly show the Apple founder. Hogwash.

Even if the photographs are real, the estimate of how much time Jobs has left, or any speculation about his condition, is baseless. You don’t have to take my word on that – you can listen to Otis Brawley, Chief Medical Officer of the American Cancer Society and a noted oncologist.

“Based on a photograph or even based of a videotape of someone giving a presentation on stage, it is impossible to make an estimation of someone’s life expectancy,” says Brawley. What’s more, he says, it’s not even really possible to make those kinds of estimates after a real exam. “I can’t look at someone’s picture and immediately say they’re sick,” says Brawley.

Nor would extreme weight loss necessarily mean a bad prognosis if Jobs is being treated, Brawley says. Wasting occurs among people who are undergoing chemotherapy – even if the patient is going to get better. And it’s also not always possible to tell wasting from weight loss due to dieting or exercise, either.

Brawley says he has some experience with supermarket tabloids. He was once quoted in one making a prognosis about Dirty Dancing star Patrick Swayze’s cancer. Later on, he says, another ACS official was quoted by the tab saying exactly the same thing about Senator Edward Kennedy.

As I’ve written before, because we all know that Jobs is sick, new information doesn’t tell us much about whether he will get well. There’s no excuse that hanging on every bit of Jobs news is material to Apple. It’s just evidence of our fascination with celebrity.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Why LinkedIn is More Valuable than Facebook

Original Post: http://blogs.forbes.com/ciocentral/2011/02/16/why-linkedin-is-more-valuable-than-facebook/
Feb. 16 2011 - 12:07 am Posted by Bruno Aziza

Image via CrunchBase



Investors started the year excited, then disappointed, about the potential of a Facebook IPO and a $50B valuation. But fortunately, the upcoming LinkedIn IPO and its $2B valuation gives them an opportunity to get in the game and cash in on the much talked-about “social network” trend.

The LinkedIn IPO is indeed exciting, but if you are an executive, you should spend more than just your money on LinkedIn – you should spend time understanding how the social network works, and how its model can help you build better applications for your organization.

LinkedIn offers many practices that organizations should follow when building internal applications. In this post, I’ll focus on two: how LinkedIn thinks about productivity, and its approach to data.

“Time In App”

Most productivity applications measure success by the number of hours its users spend in it. For example, we know that Facebook represents about 12% of your internet time. According to Nielsen Research, internet users spend close to 5X more time on Facebook than YouTube. So Facebook wins, right? Wrong! While “time in app” might appear to be a great gauge for stickiness, LinkedIn’s CEO argues that it might not be the right measurement (see Jeff Wiener’s explanation at the O’Reilly Web 2.0 conference here).

While Facebook’s drive towards advertising dollars might justify the importance of the ‘time in app’ metric (you might have noticed Facebook’s recent advertising addition to your photos?) – LinkedIn focuses on productivity for its members (LinkedIn makes money via ads, but member services and enterprise hiring services are also part of its business model).

What does this mean to you: Your company’s application model is more similar to LinkedIn than to Facebook. Don’t be drawn to the overly satisfying measurement of “time in app” unless your business model is driven by ads; your company gets more value by optimizing your employees’ time.

If you are looking for inspiration on how to change the culture of measurement inside your organization, I highly recommend looking up Zappos’ CEO Tony Hsieh’s work in call centers. In this video, Tony explains how a longer resolution time is better than a shorter one (his book, “Delivering Happiness” tops the customer service and management charts on Amazon).

“Mi Data es Su Data”

Facebook is not particularly regarded for its ability to give its members value back on their own data. While it’s very easy to get data into Facebook, it’s very difficult to get data out and in a meaningful way. Simply charting your friends’ geographical spread is difficult (join the Facebook Data Team page to stay appraised of the latest). Beyond suggesting new friends, Facebook does little to share back with the community the incredible insights it gathers about its users.

LinkedIn’s approach to data is quite different. The LinkedIn Analytics team has been hard at work understanding your data trail, and they are not shy to share these analytics with you. My favorites include LinkedIn’s “Signal,” “Career Explorer,” “InMaps” or “Skills” which launched most recently.

Each application exemplifies LinkedIn’s drive to fulfill its vision – better connecting business people, through analytics. The above applications showcase that, by using clever algorithms, members can be presented with insights that anticipate their questions and connect with others more efficiently.

What does this mean to you: Your organization is sitting on latent data that, if used, can return incredible value to your employees and bottom line. Think through the data your applications hold and the tasks that could be automated or suggested. Take a look at LinkedIn’s Career Explorer. You can use it to explore the future of your career based on the paths of others. Along the way, Career Explorer suggests relevant information to make your exploration more useful. Imagine if you could build something similar inside your organization. Say your employee wants to launch a new product and your application suggests what the path to launch will look like; who’s encountered similar issues or the knowledge base articles they should read? Wouldn’t that be useful? Career Explorer exhibits the characteristic of the best analytical applications. They don’t just provide insights, they allow you to visualize a possible future and prompt you to act on it.

As I argued in my recent keynote at Predictive Analytics World, our world is becoming more analytical. And in this regard, LinkedIn is light years ahead of Facebook.

Where does your organization stand?

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Does Buying a Rental as an Investment Make Sense? .

By JUNE FLETCHER

  • FEBRUARY 11, 2011


  • Q. Since so many people have lost their homes to foreclosures and can't get credit, I expect that it's a good time to buy a rental investment place. But I'm also worried that property prices may fall further. Do you think this would be a wise way to spend my money?


    A. It all depends. If you're able to obtain a property that's deeply discounted from its current market value, can achieve positive cash flow and can handle the out-of-pocket expenses that inevitably arise when you're a landlord, then it could be a good deal.

    But first ask yourself these questions: Do you mind panicked calls at 3 a.m. to deal with stopped-up showers or heat pumps that are on the fritz? Do you have a cushion of cash to tide you over during vacant periods and cover costs like advertising and vetting tenants? Can you afford to put down a hefty down payment to obtain financing? And do you plan to own for a few years so you can benefit from the boost in equity you'll get as you pay down the mortgage, even if it takes a while for home prices to rise again?

    If the answer to all of these questions is yes, then you can go shopping. Ask the current owners for copies of all rental receipts, as well as all bills, including utilities, water and sewer, property management and taxes.

    Then you'll have to do some figuring so you can compare the income potential of your targeted properties.

    First, for each property, take annual rental income and deduct the average vacancy rate for your area, which in Chicago was 9.5% in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Then deduct all of the operating expenses; this will give you your net operating income or NOI.

    Once you get this figure, you can divide it by the purchase price to get the capitalization, or cap, rate. This is a useful figure to have when you're comparing properties, since those with higher cap rates will bring you better returns.

    You'll also want to calculate the cash flow by deducting your annual mortgage payment from your NOI.

    From that you can calculate the cash-on-cash return for the first year of ownership. Figure out your cash outlay by adding up closing costs, down payment and any expenses for necessary maintenance that was not done by the former owner. Divide your cash flow by your cash outlay and you'll have your cash-on-cash return, which is expressed as a percentage.

    This figure can help you decide which property is the most lucrative, and also to compare the yield of a property with that of other kinds of investments, like Treasuries and stocks.

    Write to June Fletcher at fletcher.june@gmail.com

    Tuesday, February 8, 2011

    Home Affordability Returns to Pre-Bubble Levels .

    By NICK TIMIRAOS for the Wall Street Journal
  • FEBRUARY 8, 2011, 8:53 P.M. ET



  • Home affordability returned to pre-bubble levels in a growing number of U.S. markets over the past year as price declines laid the groundwork for a housing recovery.


    Bloomberg News

    Rows of houses stand in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., as seen in this aerial photo taken on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009.


    Data provided by Moody's Analytics track the ratio of median home prices to annual household incomes in 74 markets. By that measure, housing affordability at the end of September had returned to or surpassed the average reached between 1989-2003 in 47 of those markets. Most economists believe the housing boom took off in 2003.

    During the boom, lax lending and speculation pushed house-price inflation far beyond the modest rise in household income. Nationally, the ratio of home prices to annual household income reached a peak of 2.3 in late 2005. But by last September, it had fallen to 1.6, matching the lowest level in the 35 years the data have been collected and well below the historical average of 1.9 between 1989 and 2003.

    "Based on incomes, this is as affordable as it gets," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. "If you can get a loan, these are pretty good times to buy."

    But the bad news is that those price declines are leaving more borrowers underwater, or in homes worth less than the amount owed.

    Many economists and housing analysts expect an additional decline of 5% to 10% before prices reach bottom later this year or early next year. Housing demand remains weak because buyers are skittish about the economy and lending standards are tight.

    Markets that now appear to be undervalued include Detroit, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Phoenix. Even in such markets, high rates of foreclosure and underwater borrowers should keep downward pressure on prices. "They're undervalued, but they're going to get even more undervalued," said Mr. Zandi.

    Measuring home prices relative to income is not the only way economists calculate housing affordability. They also examine the relationship between house prices and rents. Measured by the price-to-rent ratio—the price of a typical home divided by the annual cost of renting that home—prices are fairly valued, or undervalued, in around 20 markets. Nationally, the price-to-rent ratio stood at 14.85 at the end of September, above the 1989-2003 average of 12. The data suggest pockets of the country have further to fall.

    Home prices still remain overvalued by both measures in several markets, including Seattle, Charlotte, New York and Portland, Ore.

    Based on rents, "it's still not a slam dunk to buy" in those markets, said Mr. Zandi. He said markets appeared most overvalued in the Pacific Northwest, which was among the last regions to enter the housing downturn. Historical measures also showed prices were still high along the Northeast corridor from Baltimore to Boston.

    The cost of owning a home looked less affordable based on rents than on incomes in part because rents also fell through 2009 and the first half of 2010. As rents rise, that could tip the scale back in favor of owning in some areas.

    Of the 74 housing markets, Baltimore appeared to be the most overvalued. By contrast, prices in Cleveland, the most undervalued market, have returned to 1991 levels based on the price-to-rent ratio.

    Historical measures comparing rents and incomes with home prices provide a useful gauge of affordability, but can be imperfect at measuring how close different markets are to recovering from a bubble. After a severe housing downturn, home prices rarely stop falling once they reach equilibrium.

    Some areas will stay undervalued for years as they deal with a glut of foreclosures and weak demand. Historical trends show housing could remain undervalued in many markets for six to seven years, seconomists at Capital Economics.

    "It's become cheaper to buy than to rent" in Phoenix, said Jon Mirmelli, a real-estate investor in Scottsdale, Ariz., who is renting out foreclosed homes. "But the question is: Can you qualify for a loan?"

    Meanwhile, some areas that appeared overvalued relative to historic norms, such as Washington, D.C., may not completely return to pre-crisis levels thanks to structural changes in the economy that support higher prices.

    Write to Nick Timiraos at nick.timiraos@wsj.com

    Friday, February 4, 2011

    Wednesday, February 2, 2011

    Historic Luxury House on the Hudson River

    For art dealer Graham Arader, it was love at first sight when he came across "Pretty Penny," a 19th-century home in New York's Rockland County. He paid about $6 million for the house, but the family has rarely spent time there. WSJ's Sushil Cheema reports.

    Playing to Hedge Funds, a Trophy Rises in Midtown

    Original Post: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/realestate/commercial/02rents.html?_r=1&ref=realestate

    By ALISON GREGOR New York Times. Published: February 1, 2011

    Tina Fineberg for The New York Times


    With leases above $100 a square foot, 510 Madison Avenue is starting to live up to its high-rent aspirations.
     
    When the developer Harry Macklowe contemplated building a boutique office tower with unparalleled amenities at 510 Madison Avenue in the late 2000s, he expected it would be filled with hedge funds and other financial sector tenants who would pay rents well above $100 per square foot.


    Tina Fineberg for The New York Times


    An interior view of the building.

    But the economy slumped in late 2008, and Mr. Macklowe found himself fighting to maintain ownership of 510 Madison, at 53rd Street, where just one company had signed a lease.


    He lost that ownership battle to Boston Properties last September. Now, a series of leases signed at 510 Madison late last year for well north of $100 a square foot signifies a turnaround for the building — and may presage a recovery of Manhattan’s overall high-end office market, brokers said.

    “Boston Properties had the vision to buy the building at a time in the market five months ago when even then people were very cautious about $100 rents,” said Paul Amrich, an executive vice president of the commercial brokerage CB Richard Ellis, which is representing 510 Madison. “But they knew the trophy status of the building and the location of the building would prove that we would get to those rents again.”

    While there were a total of 91 office leasing deals signed in dozens of Midtown buildings for $100 or more per square foot at the height of the office market in 2008, that number plummeted to just 18 deals in 2009, according to data from the commercial brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle.

    The tally for 2010 is about the same, with a total of 19 deals signed in eight buildings, including three at 510 Madison.

    But many of those deals took place late in the year, reducing the inventory of available space by 23 percent in buildings that Jones Lang LaSalle considers “trophy” properties — and potentially capable of capturing rents of $100 or more per square foot. Those 52 Midtown buildings tend to be located around the Plaza Hotel on Fifth Avenue, in what is known as the Plaza district, and many have views of Central Park.

    They may seem more like country clubs than workaday office buildings, with grand lobbies and elevators, tight security and amenities like upscale restaurants to attract financial companies for whom image and high profit margins go hand in hand.

    Those 52 buildings had a vacancy rate of 10.1 percent, compared with 13 percent in 2009, and are poised to outperform the office market in general this year, said Cynthia Wasserberger, a managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle.

    Much of that has to do with the recovery of the financial sector and its endless race to trade up into more prestigious office space, she said. With office rents still well below their 2008 peak, landlords are still offering concessions to offset the cost of moving. That may encourage financial tenants looking to upgrade, Ms. Wasserberger said.

    “It sounds kind of funny to say tenants would be taking advantage of a $100 rent,” she said, “But a lot of tenants with leases up for expiration may find it justifiable to say, ‘I’d rather lock in today at $100 a foot, knowing this building was leasing at $150 or $180 a foot in 2008, so it’s a relative bargain.’ ”

    Several towers were developed or rehabilitated in the market frenzy to achieve steep rents, but 510 Madison is the only new office building in the Plaza district.

    “It’s an extremely central and rare location to be able to build a brand-new building,” Mr. Amrich said. “That alone sets us apart.”

    While 510 Madison’s Central Park views are limited to the top floors on the northwest side, the tower, which was designed by Mr. Macklowe, SLCE Architects and Moed de Armas & Shannon Architects, has column-free interior space, which allows financial companies to create trading floors, as well as 10-foot ceilings with floor-to-ceiling windows in a glass facade.

    Newer buildings can be built with amenities that draw financial companies. For instance, 510 Madison will have a top-notch fitness club with a 50-foot pool, a large landscaped and furnished terrace, a private dining area for tenants and their clients and a generator that can provide power in a blackout.

    Boston Properties paid $287 million for the 350,000-square-foot office tower and acquired a junior loan on the property for $22.5 million. Besides the three leases signed in 2010 with Senator Investment Group, Chieftain Capital Management and Valinor Capital Partners, Boston Properties also managed to retain the Jay Goldman & Company hedge fund, which Mr. Macklowe signed in 2007 at $135 a foot, at the same rent but on a higher floor. Floors 25 through 28 have been leased, with the exception of 6,000 square feet still available on the 27th floor, Mr. Amrich said.

    The hedge funds, private equity groups and wealth management firms that typically seek expensive space tend to be smaller companies, requiring perhaps 5,000 to 25,000 square feet as opposed to 100,000 square feet or more, Ms. Wasserberger said. For that reason, if 510 Madison continues to lease as anticipated, it may account for many more leasing deals of $100 or more per square foot in 2011.

    “If the numbers were 19 deals in 2010, I bet we see closer to 40 in 2011,” she said. “The reason is 510 Madison is now open for business. It’s a 30-story building, and those are going to be some partial- and single- and double-floor tenants, so that could account for a sizable number of deals.”

    Of course, the higher the floor the higher the rent, brokers said.

    “There’s always that premium for the tower view,” said Alan Desino, an executive managing director of the commercial brokerage Colliers International. “Is there a building right now anywhere in Manhattan that on the base floor you’re going to pay $100 a foot? Probably not.”

    A large part of 510 Madison’s allure is its location in the Plaza district. Another banner office tower developed speculatively, 11 Times Square, was also hoping for $100-per-foot rents, but its location on Eighth Avenue near the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has been a detractor, Mr. Desino said. So far, the law firm Proskauer Rose is the building’s lone large tenant.

    Still, the right kind of building — for example One Bryant Park on Avenue of the Americas, known as the Bank of America tower — delivered at the right time can create a desirable submarket around it, even driving up rents in neighboring buildings, he said.

    “One Bryant Park is a phenomenal building,” Mr. Desino said. “Just due to the efficiency and space you have floor-to-ceiling and, let’s face it, the views are phenomenal. It’s been able to achieve $100 rents in an area that, three years ago, I would have said, not a chance.”

    One Bryant Park also happens to be certified by the United States Green Building Council, as does 11 Times Square, and 510 Madison is pursuing that certification. A recent study by the CoStar Group, a real estate information company in Washington, showed landlords could achieve an average premium on rents of 5 to 10 percent nationally if a building was certified as environmentally friendly.


    Even if it does not guarantee higher rents, that certification carries a certain cachet, said Christopher Macke, a senior real estate strategist at the CoStar Group. “Maybe you don’t get the premium rent, but you get the tenant, and the other guy doesn’t,” he said. “Put another way, in a green building, you have a higher absorption rate than one that’s not green.”

    A version of this article appeared in print on February 2, 2011, on page B6 of the New York edition.