Art dealer's death reveals Trump Tower price swoon

[webfact]

Art dealer's death reveals Trump Tower price swoon

By Andrew Hay

 

FILE PHOTO: People gather outside the 5th Avenue entrance to Trump Tower in New York City, U.S., April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - For Todd Brassner, an art dealer who died in a fire that ripped through his Trump Tower apartment last weekend, the New York high-rise he lived in for two decades became unbearable after Donald Trump announced he was running for president.

 

Brassner's experience trying to sell his 50th-floor condominium in the building that is both President Donald Trump's gilded New York home and headquarters of his business empire is emblematic of how a high-rise that once defined luxury has lost its lustre.

 

In an overwhelmingly Democratic city, the Fifth Avenue building that blares the name of the Republican president has fallen from favour with many New Yorkers and been eclipsed in the super luxury market by nearby new entrants.

 

Real estate agents paint a picture of a decline in condo prices that outstrips declines in similar properties.

 

Brassner, who died on Saturday in a fire that torched his collection of vintage guitars and Andy Warhol artwork, decided to sell his 1,137-square-foot apartment after being ground down by the constant presence of armed guards and Secret Service agents, friends told newspapers.

 

But Brassner, who paid $525,000 for the home in 1996, according to property deeds, failed to find a buyer willing to come close to the $2.5 million value put on the condo in his 2015 personal bankruptcy filing.

 

A Trump Tower condo similar in size to Brassner's sold for $1.8 million in December, after being advertised as "PRICED TO SELL," according to real estate website StreetEasy.

 

Many older luxury buildings on New York's East Side have lost value after a surge in new developments that tower above them in height and price. Even so, discounts at Trump Tower, opened in 1983, have been deeper than the market average, according to real estate brokers and market analysts.

 

"Clearly the Trump candidacy and presidency have had a negative impact on the real estate values" at Trump Tower, said Wendy Maitland, a broker with Brown Harris Stevens, who last year listed a fashion industry client's three-bedroom, $7.5 million condo, 39CD, at the tower that failed to sell.

 

To be sure, brokers pointed out that there are many foreign buyers who covet an apartment in the same building as the U.S. president's condo. And the Trump Organization, which manages Trump Tower units, said the building remained one of the most prestigious properties in the world.

 

"It has the most discerning residents and continues to be a global icon," spokeswoman Amanda Miller said in an emailed statement.

 

Still, prices at Trump Tower have dropped 30 percent per square foot compared with an 8 percent fall in comparable properties on Manhattan's Midtown East Side, according to New York real estate site CityRealty.com.

 

By comparison, prices at Olympic Tower, a 1975 Midtown building likened to Trump Tower that is a few blocks south on Fifth Avenue, dropped 21 percent since 2015. That contrasts with a 29 percent rise in prices in the area, including new developments, over the same period.

 

At Trump Tower, "there’s currently 22 units on the market, which is a statement in and of itself," said Maitland, adding that only half that number were on offer in 2015.

 

AIRPORT-STYLE SECURITY

 

Guests arriving at Trump Tower now face airport-style security screening by the Secret Service. Brassner complained of waiting for hours to get into the building when Trump was in town.

 

The protests that engulfed the tower in the first months after Trump's election victory have died down. But animosity toward the president remains strong among some residents, in a city where Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton won 87 percent of the vote in 2016.

 

Richard Tayar, a salesman with real estate firm Keller Williams NYC, said several owners wanted to disassociate themselves from Trump after the election and put their homes on the market.

 

"There are people who want to disengage from it because of the name," said Tayar, who is listing a two-bedroom Trump Tower unit for $3.8 million.

 

"Obviously they have different political views and want nothing to do with it."

 

On the other hand, many international buyers still see Trump Tower as prime real estate, and want its Fifth Avenue address, he said.

"There are people who are making offers; they are low-balling the offers," said Tayar.

 

Not all Trump-branded properties in New York face headwinds. Newer developments such as Trump Place, completed in the late 1990s and early 2000s on the West Side near Lincoln Center, have showed price gains.

 

Maitland is advising her Trump Tower client to sit tight until prices improve and enjoy the condo when in town for fashion shows. She describes the tower's current security arrangements as "not a lot of fun," but does see an advantage.

 

"People who live there can be rest assured they are probably in the most secure apartment building in the city, if not in the world," she said.

 

(Reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; editing by Frank McGurty, Leslie Adler and Diane Craft)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-04-13

[zaphod reborn]

Another problem "fixed" by Michael Cohen.

[mikebike]

2 hours ago, janclaes47 said:

 

How pity that he didn't manage a 500% price gain on his apartment, sure a reason to start another Trump slag off article.

 

Oh and his 2015 bankruptcy filling should tell you already that there is much more to this story.

1. Do you have no understanding of the NYC real estate market in the last 20-odd years?

2. Tells me he was a crappy businessman, much like 45.

[Jingthing]

As Bloomberg wisely said during the election, someone that knows "trump" very, very well, if "trump" runs the country like he runs his business -- GOD HELP US. 

 

Some more background about Mr. Brassner and his dealings with "trump."

 

QUOTE:

Trump Called Him A ‘Crazy Jew.’ He Died In A Trump Tower Condo He Couldn’t Escape.

After a fire in Trump Tower killed one resident on Saturday, President Trump praised the local fire department for quelling the blaze – but had nothing to say about the death of the tenant, Todd Brassner, whom he reportedly once called a “crazy Jew.”

Brassner, 67, had been a prominent dealer of art and musical instruments who’d hobnobbed with celebrities like Andy Warhol. Yet in recent years, he’d battled health and financial challenges — some directly related to Trump. Brassner hated his apartment and despaired over the Trump presidency.

 

 

https://forward.com/news/national/398419/trump-called-him-a-crazy-jew-he-died-in-a-trump-tower-condo-he-couldnt/

[Dap]

14 minutes ago, mikebike said:

1. Do you have no understanding of the NYC real estate market in the last 20-odd years?

2. Tells me he was a crappy businessman, much like 45.

How many "stellar" life decisions have you made when it really mattered? It's a rhetorical question 

[Srikcir]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

"Clearly the Trump candidacy and presidency have had a negative impact on the real estate values" at Trump Tower,

Considering the lawsuit against Trump over the violation of the Emoluments Clause,

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/28/us/trump-emoluments-lawsuit.html

a substantial loss of market value in Trump Tower will make it easier for the plaintiffs to prove that Trump as President is benefiting from purchases and rents of Tower apartments made at higher than market values (ie., by foreign lobbyists and governments, state officials) than otherwise.

[metisdead]

An inflammatory bickering session about a miscalculation has been removed.  

[Thaidream]

Trump may have made money in real estate deals but he is one of the most unethical businessperson ever.  He has used the eminent domain law to push people out of their homes so he can expand his business interests. While this borders on legality he knows people cannot challenge him in court as they do nt the money to hire lawyers.

 

Trump also has a habit of contracting with vendors and construction companies and reneging on payment claiming the work is shoddy and inviting them to sue him.

 

He has used the bankruptcy laws 4 times to avoid paying all of his debts and has  allegedly financed many of his 'deals' with Russian money- something Mr Mueller is close to confirming.

 

Trump admits he loves debt- and has plenty of it in his private business. Unfortunately , he is running the US in the same way.  His tax bill and budget for the US is running a 1 Trillion Dollar deficit.  However, he will get his good friend  Putin and Xi to purchase the debt and hold American interests hostage.    Well done, Comrade Trump!!!

[janclaes47]

15 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

However, he will get his good friend  Putin and Xi to purchase the debt and hold American interests hostage.    Well done, Comrade Trump!!!

 

China has been buying the majority of US debt long time before Trump even was a presidential candidate.

 

Good try, but try harder next time

[Thaidream]

I don't have to try hard- the World knows what and who Trump is.  His ethics are poor; he is a serial liar; he cavorts with prostitutes and cheats on his wife; he is a racist; a misogynist; a homophobe; and just generally a  very bad person.  No one really likes him and that includes his wife.  Oh, sorry, he has a few supports on this board and the Russians and Chinese leaders get along fine with their Comrade.

 

He will go down in History as the worst President ever!!

[Expatthailover]

She should take a leaf from trumps book.

Shame, shame???

No such thing. 

Call it fake news and issue presidential pardons or executive orders

[lannarebirth]

4 hours ago, janclaes47 said:

 

China has been buying the majority of US debt long time before Trump even was a presidential candidate.

 

Good try, but try harder next time

 

China doesn't even buy the majority of foreign held US debt which is much much less than domestically held US debt.

[janclaes47]

1 minute ago, lannarebirth said:

 

China doesn't even buy the majority of foreign held US debt which is much much less than domestically held US debt.

https://www.thebalance.com/who-owns-the-u-s-national-debt-3306124

Foreign Ownership of U.S. Debt

In December 2017, China owned $1.2 trillion of U.S. debt. It's the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury securities. The second largest holder is Japan at $1.1 trillion.

[lannarebirth]

17 minutes ago, janclaes47 said:

https://www.thebalance.com/who-owns-the-u-s-national-debt-3306124

Foreign Ownership of U.S. Debt

In December 2017, China owned $1.2 trillion of U.S. debt. It's the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury securities. The second largest holder is Japan at $1.1 trillion.

 

Yes, I know. Now, you know.

[gk10002000]

Many people don't understand what the price of a place means.  The price of an apartment, or a stock, regardless of what you think it is worth, is worth the current bid!  You may think your house is worth 2.5 Million, but if the only bid from a buyer is 1.8 Million, well.  good luck.  You may argue intrinsic values, location, view, how much you put into the place, or how much you paid, but if nobody is buying, it is all moot.  Many car hobbyists routinely get disgruntled when things like the 40,000 USD they put into their 1965 Chevy Impala only gets a $25,000 bid at auction

[F4UCorsair]

Buy badly.....sell badly!

 

He wasn't the first to lose on real estate, Trump Tower or otherwise, and he won't be the last.

[geriatrickid]

Such nonsense. He didn't get the price he was seeking. Boo hoo. I don't think he was  concerned when he bought the place. It's not as if if actually lost. He had a home that he lived in for 22 years. During that time I doubt he had renovated his  unit fixtures and it probably looked 22 years old.

[korkenzieher]

So people don't want to live in Sanctuary City New York, and the frothiest units have slid back to earth.

 

This kind of junk 'I hate Trump' reporting is garbage. If there is genuinely a problem at Trump Towers, then there will be a long list of sellers. That doesn't seem to be the case - so the article is little more than click bait.