Tuesday Morning Links & Comment

Sorry about the lack of content yesterday. No, I haven't run off for a July 4th vacation, rather I was out picking up a couple of new exclusives. In what is both a challenging market and a seasonally slow time of year, as a broker, you have to take extra care to be choosy about which listings to take on. Over the past few months I have turned down a few exclusives because I thought the owners were overreaching and inflexible- a deadly combination for a broker. Unfortunately there are plenty of brokers out there that will tell clients what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear. In any case, I have rounded up some good ones starting with a really nice 2 bedroom, 2 bath in LIC. The 1100+ sf apartment is at 5SL (in the front building with 24 hour concierge). Considering the savings in transfer taxes (it's a resale so there are none- saves $15k) and the fact that the owner is willing to sell the parking spot at $20k below market, I have the best value in the building at $849k ($899k w/ parking). I will be detailing the listing on the blog later in the day. Tomorrow, I will be revealing a new listing a 3 bedroom/3.5 bath listing atop the Corinthian. You can also look forward to my 2nd Q review and 3rd Q preview in the coming days.
In the meantime, here are this morning's links:
Purple Reign: NYU's Latest Expansion Plan Rendered (Curbed)
Subway Delays Up 44% (NY Post)
Marshall's To Join Target, Home Depot At Harlem's East River Plaza (The Real Deal)
Latest Trend: Sponsor Financing (NY Times)
Secret Trump Penthouses Go On Sale Only In UAE (Gulf News)
Where To See The July 4th Fireworks (AMNY)