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Andrew Singer, Richard Bassule
& Scott Singer |
The best and the brightest of New York's closely knit commercial real estate market have long relied on
Richard Bassuk, president of
The Singer & Bassuk Organization, for his expertise and advice when putting together projects that have shaped New York for more than 30 years. And he is now at the forefront of a new golden age of New York's real estate market, where developments are opening up long-unused corridors of the city, rents are rising, vacancies are plunging and seemingly unlimited capital is flowing in.
New York in mid-2007 is very different from the market in the 1970s when Bassuk got his start in real estate at Starrett Housing Corp. It is also very different than the city following the Sept. 11 attacks when residents and businesses were uncertain what would happen to lower Manhattan. REFI met with Bassuk in mid-May at his offices in midtown. Many of the city's trophies are visible from Bassuk's office and the bright backdrop of buildings bathed in sunlight seemed to reflect the strength of New York's market. "The business today is very complex, interesting and exciting," Bassuk said.
The New York market place is seeing incredible increases in value as rents rise and cap rates fall, with new records set for prices paid and rents negotiated. "I've been in the real estate business since 1973 and this is the most significant increase in values that I've seen," Bassuk said. "The increases are being fueled by sound, basic economic fundamentals." A number of factors are driving this rise, including a city that has been re-energized by the rebuilding following the Sept. 11 attacks. The dollar has been slumping against other major currencies, which has led to a discount in excess of 30% for overseas investors. And New York, as always, is an exciting place to be, surpassing other capital cities in its art, science, and educational institutions, as well as places to shop and live," he said.
Bassuk, a native New Yorker, has spent all of his life in the city apart from breaks to attend The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Law School. While he was an undergraduate at Penn, he created his own broker-dealer firm specializing in mutual funds. "I wanted to supplement my income and start my own business," he said. The business took off and eventually grew to more than 300 employees.
Bassuk got his start in real estate at Starrett Housing Corp., where as president he oversaw the construction of more than 20,000 apartment units in New York. In the 1980s, there was a lot more rental units being built. Today, the reduced supply of new rental housing is a serious problem for the city, which has seen rental rates rise steeply over the past 12 months and vacancies fall to less than 1%. "When I was president of Starrett, there were about 15,000 rental units a year built in the city. Now there are about 1,500," Bassuk said.