According to a recent poll from Ipsos MORI, which surveyed more than 18,000 in 24 countries, New York ranks as the world’s favorite city. London was number two followed by Paris at number three. Not only is the city the world’s favorite, but it is the fifth-best place to live. The second-best place to visit and the absolute best city in which to do business, the poll said.
The tourism industry in New York has never been healthier. Last year, …
by Riccardo Ravasini 
Neil Patrick Harris, Tony Awards host and “How I Met Your Mother” star, his fiance David Burtka, and the duo’s two-year-old twins are moving into a $3.6 million townhouse in Harlem.
Harris and family recently purchased the 8,000-square-foot, five-story, five-bedroom home, located at 2036 Fifth Avenue. The property includes two terraces, a backyard and a chef’s kitchen.
The duo’s previous home was in Harlem as well.
by Riccardo Ravasini 
In the past, open houses were sleepy, unhurried Sunday afternoon affairs, offering brokers and their clients plenty of time to explore for-sale apartments. Often, they’d have the place to themselves. During the course of the sales process, it was not uncommon for the listing broker to host three or four separate open houses.
But that’s changed dramatically in the face of the city’s inventory shortage. There were 4,795 available Manhattan homes on the market in the second …
by Riccardo Ravasini 
In recent months, New York City has surged ahead of its biggest global rivals, London and Tokyo, with more dollar volume in real estate investment than any other city in the world.
And it may soon get even easier for foreign investors to buy a piece of the Big Apple: the proposed Real Estate Investment and Jobs Act of 2013, which is currently being pushed by several members of Congress including Queens’ Congressman Joseph Crowley, would allow …
by Riccardo Ravasini 
A new breed of Chinese investors is making big bets on real estate in Queens, the New York Times reported.
The pool of Chinese investors has expanded from high-net-worth individuals with an eye for trophy Manhattan properties to upper-middle-class buyers more willing to diversify their bets. A favorite neighborhood is Flushing in Queens.
Indeed, buyers from mainland China can now account for as many as half of the buyers at new condominium buildings in “Falasheng,” (as the area is known …
by Riccardo Ravasini 
Low common charges have always been a factor of attraction for buyers on the hunt for a luxury condo.
Across the city, board members are looking for creative ways to reduce common charges and, at the same time, beef up amenities. The goal: to make their buildings as attractive as possible to home seekers as well as to current residents.
This month, The Real Deal magazine ranked condos in Manhattan below 100th Street with more than 50 units, then delved …
by Riccardo Ravasini