Signs of an uptick in the New York City office market created a buzz among industry professionals who braved subfreezing temperatures to attend the 129th REBNY Annual gala hosted by the industry trade group the Real Estate Board of New York.
More than 1,000 people, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, showed up for New York’s biggest real estate networking event of the year. The event took place Thursday at The Glasshouse at 660 12th Ave., a Midtown venue on the far west side of Manhattan overlooking the Hudson River.
“The real estate industry thinks things are heading in the right direction,” REBNY President James Whelan told CoStar News. “Trophy [office] space is doing better than pre-pandemic times in terms of occupancy. We expect B and C space to be doing better and better. We're going to be at a point soon where the city really needs to contemplate how to help create new office space.”
This is “the top real estate event of the year,” James Nelson, principal and head of tristate investment sales at Avison Young ,said in an interview. “It is really a who's who. It's great you get to go up and say hi to people who otherwise might be tough to get ahold of. It's really nice to have everybody in one place.”
With the industry closing last year with some positive scorecards — the office leasing volume reached a post-pandemic high as office visits saw continued pickup; and the City Council in December passing what’s billed as a “historic” citywide zoning reform aimed at boosting housing, to name a few — the sentiment on the floor also looked to be decidedly positive.
“We're a very optimistic industry,” said Nelson, who's been a REBNY member for over 25 years. “If you're not, you are probably in the wrong business. … But I think this time, we could definitely back it up with the stats. … In New York City, investment sales went up 70% by dollar volume [in 2024]. So we have really big momentum going into this year. We couldn't be more excited.”
To be sure, many positive signs aside, the industry isn’t heading into the new year without challenges.
"The big crisis" facing the industry in the city, according to Whelan, is on the residential side.
“Two-thirds of the housing in New York is rental, and the economics don't work,” he said. “In the rent regulated market … there needs to be an opportunity for owners to be able to invest in their units and improve their units over a long period of time. … If the math [to develop new housing] doesn't work, people aren't going to build, and they're going to build somewhere other than in New York. At some point, state leaders are going to have to get together and decide they want to focus more on math rather than ideology. ... We need to build more rental housing, and in order for people to want to do that, the math has to work. ... The biggest problem and challenge in New York City has to do with rental housing."
At the event, REBNY recognized seven industry executives and others, with the awards billed to be “among the top professional distinctions in the real estate industry.” These awards were:
- The Harry B. Helmsley Distinguished New Yorker Award: Presented to Scott Rechler, CEO and chairman, RXR.
- The Bernard H. Mendik Lifetime Leadership in Real Estate Award: Presented to Jonathan L. Mechanic, chairman of real estate department, Fried Frank.
- The Kenneth R. Gerrety Humanitarian Award: Presented to Michelle A. Adams, senior managing director, global external relations and business development, Tishman Speyer.
- The John E. Zuccotti Public Service Award: Presented to Rep. Ritchie Torres, United States congressman for New York’s 15th Congressional District.
- The George M. Brooker Management Executive of the Year Award: Presented to Tom Lloyd, senior managing director of investor services, CBRE.
- The Louis Smadbeck Memorial Broker Recognition Award: Presented to Nicola M. Heryet, principal, Avison Young.
- The Young Real Estate Professional of the Year Award: Presented to Craig Waggner, managing director, Cushman & Wakefield, for incredible professional achievements as a rising star of the industry and for civic leadership.