Spring is upon us! Here are the Top 5 new and exciting happenings in NYC & the development site asset class:

1. The NY private sector workforce jumped to a record 8.35 million jobs. This marks the states full recovery from the pandemic.
2. Real Estate & Labor Unions reach a labor agreement in a major step towards bringing back a 421a replacement. (Min wage of $35/hour on 100-unit+ job construction jobs)
3. The NY One-House Budget was just released and has signaled its support to create a new developer tax break to replace the expired 421-a program. Now on to negotiations, which should be finalized by April 1 2024.
4. The City of Yes zoning initiatives are on the right track with the City Planning Commission voting to APPROVE the Economic Opportunity portion of the text amendments.
5. City Planning released a draft zoning plan to build 4,000 new apartments in Midtown South!

All this to say: Build baby Build!

I also want to point out the sheer strength of the land sales market. We are seeing land prices higher than ever before in certain markets. Let’s look at a sampling of 11 recent transactions:

1. 252-258 3rd Avenue, Gramercy, MN - $72.4 Million - 80,812.75 ZFA - $897/ZFA!
2. 548-550 Union Street, Gowanus, BK - $4 Million - 10,800 ZFA - $370/ZFA
3. 11-08 & 11-10 154th Street, Whitestone , QN - $3 Million - 12,559 ZFA - $239/ZFA
4. 34 Garfield Place, Park Slope, BK - $2.6 Million - 6,400 ZFA - $406/ZFA
5. 51-09 2nd Street, Hunters Point, QN - $3.6 Million - 12,000 ZFA - $300/ZFA
6. 665a 5th Avenue, Greenwood Heights BK - $11.4 Million - 30,600 ZFA - $372/ZFA
7. 175 Spring Street, Soho, MN - $21 Million - 35,796 ZFA - $586/ZFA
8. 23-01 31st Street, Astoria QN - $4.25 Million - 15,303 ZFA - $278/ZFA
9. 250 W 30th Street, Chelsea, MN - $15.875 Million - 49,375 ZFA - $322/ZFA
10. 137-31 45th Avenue, Flushing, QN - $81.85 Million - 334,834 ZFA ! - $244/ZFA
11. 92 Prospect Park SW, Windsor Terrace, BK - $3.5 Million - 14,579 ZFA - $240/ZFA

The land market is moving! Kudos to these optimistic developers. I commend them for believing in our great city.

Look out for my next month special 421-a issue!!!

Financial Market Snapshot:

• Federal Prime Rate: 8.5%
• Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR): 5.31%
• United States Federal Funds Rate: 5.5%
• United States Annual Inflation Rate: 3.2% (up from 3.1% last month)
• US 1-Year Treasury Rate: 5.09%
• US 10-Year Treasury Rate: 4.15%
• Treasury Bill Auction Rates:4-Week Term: 5.28%26-Week Term: 5.10%
• US Bonds:20-Year Bond: 4.595%
• Mortgage Rates:30-Year Fixed Rate: 6.92%15-Year Fixed Rate: 6.44%5-Year Commercial Rate: 6.6%
• Ground Up Construction Rates: 8.25%+
• Hard Money Lending Rates: 10%+