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New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Third Ave outlook brightening, CBRE says
A CBRE report on the East Side District — 44 office buildings between the FDR Drive and Lexington Avenue and between East 34th to 67th Street found a brightening outlook for the area, following years of decline that started when COVID-19 struck. CBRE identified a 'significant transformation' as it evolved from an 'office-centric' area to mixed use. The residential and office tower located at 731 Lexington Avenue. BLOOMBERG NEWS The ongoing or planned conversions to apartments of a half-dozen buildings, four of them on Third Avenue, drove office tenants to other locations. Advertisement Partly as a result, availability fell from 25.3% in October 2022 to 18.1% in the first quarter of 2025. Major renewals and expansions by firms such as Bloomberg LP and Kirkland & Ellis renewed confidence in the market. 'The district has seen some positive momentum due to increasing demand along with actions taken by owners to address oversupply,' CBRE found, and called it 'a market primed for future growth.'
Miami Herald
5 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway predicts major mortgage rate changes for 2026
The housing market has faced persistent headwinds over the past few years. When skyrocketing inflation and recession fears doubled mortgage rates from 3.5% to nearly 7% in 2022, it marked an end to the Covid-era housing boom. Years later, mortgage rates have remained stubbornly high while home prices surge, keeping the housing market gridlocked. Purchasing a home has become unattainable for many first-time homebuyers, while high rates and low demand have discouraged sellers from listing their homes. Don't miss the move: SIGN UP for TheStreet's FREE daily newsletter Although it may take longer than expected to recover, many housing experts now believe that mortgage rates will decline next year, leading to a modest market recovery in 2026. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices recently released its real estate market forecast for Q4 2025, and the firm expects the housing market to soften. However, the market will likely face the same changes through the remainder of 2025. Many homebuyers have stayed on the sidelines, waiting for housing market conditions to improve before buying a home. Elevated mortgage rates, the rising cost of living, and saving for a down payment have continued to delay homeownership for many potential buyers. As a result, housing sales have been muted this year - even during the typically busy spring and summer seasons. Although mortgage rates are unlikely to fall notably this year, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices expects overall market conditions to improve modestly next year. More on homebuying: The White House will take surprising approach to curb mortgage ratesHousing expert reveals surprising ways to reduce your mortgage rateDave Ramsey predicts major mortgage rate changes are coming soonWarren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sounds the alarm on the 2025 housing market "While forecasts suggest a softening housing market, most economists believe that home prices are unlikely to fall dramatically," the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices blog noted. "Instead, they expect prices to continue rising - just at a slower pace. Slightly lower rates might encourage buyers to act, especially if more sellers list homes to beat any potential price correction. That could increase inventory and put downward pressure on prices." Related: White House advisor clashes with Fed on mortgage rates, housing market Despite initial projections of mortgage rates inching toward 6% in 2025, rates will still hover between 6.5% and 7% by the end of this year. While there is hope for improvement in 2026, it will likely be moderate. "As for the forecast for Q4 2025, most housing experts agree that meaningful relief may not arrive until 2026 or later, as mortgage interest rates are unlikely to decline significantly." Lack of affordable housing inventory has plagued the market for years, feeding into the current market gridlock. Homebuyers are competing for a limited number of houses within an affordable range, pricing out many Americans in the process. However, conditions are improving, as Redfin recorded sustained inventory growth in May, with sellers outnumbering buyers by nearly 500,000. "Lack of supply was among the reasons why housing is so expensive, so with more homes for sale, will housing prices come down? There's a good chance they will, but not uniformly across the U.S.," the blog continued. While the projected slowed home price growth will likely stimulate the housing market, it may produce lopsided growth. "Still, a major issue remains: the lack of affordable homes, especially for first-time and lower-income buyers. According to NAR, in Q1 2025 only 1 in 5 listings were affordable to households earning $75,000 - compared to half of all listings before the pandemic. To restore affordability, the U.S. would need to add over 400,000 listings priced at $255,000 or below - and even that may fall short of what's needed." There is clear demand for mid-range, affordable homes, but tariff-fueled price hikes on building materials may make it difficult to achieve. Related: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway predicts major housing market shift soon The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
New York Post
6 hours ago
- New York Post
LI franchisees of Dickey's Barbecue Pit roast chain for money woes in scathing lawsuit: ‘Worst financial decision I ever made'
This place turned out to be a money pit. A national barbecue chain is being taken to court by numerous franchisees for allegedly misleading them with claims of sweet profits that turned out to be all smoke and mirrors — and several New York based investors say they are among those who got their nest eggs roasted. 'It was the worst financial decision I ever made,' said Scott Raifer, of his decision to buy a Dickey's Barbecue Pit franchise and open it in Freeport, Long Island. 3 National barbecue chain Dickey's Barbecue Pit is being taken to court by franchisees over misleading claims. Facebook/Dickey's Barbecue Pit – Freeport Raifer said he is now $500,000 in debt and facing foreclosure on his home after taking out a Small Business Administration loan to open the eatery in December 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. It closed in June 2022 — less than two years later. 'I was under the incorrect assumption that we were in business together — if I did well, they did well,' said Raifer, 58, of Plainview. 'I learned that if they did well, it was at the franchisee's expense.' Raifer said he felt pressured by the company to get the location 'up and running' quickly. An estimate from a Dickey's-preferred construction vendor, he said, was 'triple the price' of what he ultimately paid after hiring his own contractors. 'I spent half a million dollars building the place,' said Raifer, who is not part of the lawsuit and has not brought legal action against the company citing lack of resources. Raifer said the $16,000 smoker he bought from a Dickey's-approved vendor repeatedly malfunctioned. When he emailed the company for guidance in January 2021, he said he was reprimanded for including senior executives on the message. 'When I told them that I wanted to sell, they said most of their stores sell for $25,000,' Raifer said. 3 Long Island franchisee Scott Raifer sent an email about the $16,000 smoker he bought from a Dickey's-approved vendor repeatedly malfunctioning, and was reprimanded for including senior executives on the message. Facebook/Dickey's Barbecue Pit – Freeport He said he reached a breaking point when Dickey's headquarters took over his online menu and kept items listed after he had run out, creating confusion for delivery drivers and online customers — a claim the company denies. 'I ended up closing and walking away,' Raifer said. 'Now I owe all this money and I'm losing my house.' Jerry Stephan, another former franchisee, opened a 2,150-square-foot Dickey's location in Centereach, Long Island, in September 2020. A 2018 article on Dickey's corporate website announced that Stephan planned to 'bring 21 locations to New York state.' After paying approximately $20,000 to buy into the franchise, Stephan, a construction contractor, said Dickey's later backed out of the store development deal without explanation. 'They got amnesia and said they weren't allowed to set up the agreement we had legally, so they circumvented that,' Stephan said. 'I was going to build and get a piece of all the other stores. I was planning on that for retirement.' Stephan, who previously owned Long Island's first Quiznos sandwich shop, said the requirement to buy from Dickey's approved vendors and pay marketing fees — which he said yielded little actual promotion — cut into his bottom line. 'I bought stuff through their distributor that was much cheaper elsewhere,' he said. 'Their franchise agreement is ironclad. They've got you by the horns.' Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! Stephan considered legal action but instead sold his location for 'half' of what he believed it was worth. 'If franchisees budget $500,000 and it costs $800,000 to open, they rack up credit card debt, take second mortgages, and are destined to fail by the time they open,' said Keith Miller, a franchise advocacy consultant. Dozens of Dickey's franchisee's nationwide have filed lawsuits and complaints to the Federal Trade Commission stating the company made false or misleading statements or omitted facts in a prospectus and franchise registration application materials. Some 'pit owners' say they fell so far into debt they closed their shops in less than a year and others owe creditors as much as $1,000,000, according to the New York Times. 3 Dickey's CEO Laura Rea Dickey said Stephan was released from his development deal after failing to meet 'benchmarks' at his store that would have moved him 'beyond being an owner-operator of his own locations.' Instagram/@lauradickeyceo On July 24, the Securities Commissioner within the Maryland Attorney General's office ruled that Dickey's made an improper disclosure by not including contact information for past franchisees on Financial Disclosure Documents in 80 cases. The ruling was separate from the suit. Former franchisees said they were required to pay monthly royalties of 5% and marketing fees of 4% — amounts experts say are on the high end of industry standards. Dickey's said they charge a 'standard 6 percent for royalties and 3% for marketing.' 'Royalties and marketing fees take a nice chunk of your profit,' said Jason Kaplan, CEO of JK Consulting, which advises restaurant owners worldwide. 'The issue becomes making the numbers work without that money.' Raifer, Stephan, and other former operators said they hope speaking out will bring more transparency to the franchise industry. Dickey's CEO Laura Rea Dickey said Stephan was released from his development deal after failing to meet 'benchmarks' at his store that would have allowed him to 'move beyond being an owner-operator of his own locations.' She also mentioned that Raifer's store had received poor online customer feedback and low scores in company audits. Dickey's said it does not collect commissions from the sale of equipment or goods to franchisees. Not all franchisees are unhappy. Gary Mulligan, who owns a Dickey's location in Whiting, New Jersey, said he invested $700,000 in his store and is satisfied with the partnership. 'Dickey's is very responsive to me,' Mulligan said. 'I feel like they're family.'
