A class action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court yesterday, alleging that real estate firm "Brown Harris Stevens Brooklyn LLC (BHS) and its senior vice president and two real estate agents discriminate against families with children attempting to rent apartments in Brooklyn." Park Slope parents, and even soon-to-be stroller pushers, may be having a hard time finding the perfect brownstone. Seems Brown Harris Stevens, and other real estate agents (see: Craigslist), are discriminating......

Manhattan real estate sales set a record in the fourth quarter of 2007, with residential sales averaging out to be $1.4 million (according to data from Prudential Douglas Elliman), an increase of 17.6% over 2006's fourth quarter. However impressive that statistic is, the growth was primarily driven by super high-end sales of at least $10 million. Apparently sales for condos at The Plaza and 15 Central Park West helped drive the average condo sale......

Sure, there are worries about the credit market and subprime mortgage situation, but real estate brokerages around the city are basking in good news: Third-quarter Manhattan apartment closings were at the highest average price ever and home inventory tightened as well. The average price for a Manhattan apartment was $1.37 million and the average price for a condo is $1.6 million, with the different brokerage saying that it's anywhere from 16-38% higher than the previous......

If the Manhattan real estate market is still a bubble, then it's a bubble with unbelievable staying power. The Sun reports that second quarter real estate data reveals that the average Manhattan apartment sells for $1.3 million (a record-high according to three of four real estate firms). The median sales price of a Manhattan apartment is another record: $895,000. And the commercial side is also very strong, with foreign buyers opting to buy buildings and......

If it's April, it's time to get quarterly real estate data. The NY Times reports that the "prices and number of apartments selling in Manhattan rose" during the beginning of the year. Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead Property say sales were up 12% versus 2006's 4th quarter. And in an amusing example of how different data can be, BHS and HP say prices rose 6%, but Prudential Douglas Elliman says prices rose 5.4% and......

There's a long feature in the Times' City section about the Pierre Hotel's triplex penthouse. It's been on the market for $70 million since 2004 at Brown Harris Stevens, and if you had $70 million, you'd get 360-degree views of Manhattan from midtown, 16 rooms (including a huge ballroom with 23 foot high ceiling and 20 foot doors), 5 fireplaces and a housekeeper and houseman. But you'd need to pay the whole thing in cash......

Did you read the NY Times Real Estate article about smelling other apartments' goings on, like their cooking, their smoking, and letting their dogs pee and think, "Wow, that's totally my apartment"? There were a bunch of great quotes. Like:“Notwithstanding the fact that in New York everyone likes to complain about everything, as New Yorkers, we’re just not accustomed to having complete privacy in our ear-space, our sightline and our nose-space.” - lawyer Jacqueline A.......

The big real estate news of the day is that the Duke Semans Mansion, across the street from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and on the market for $50 million, was sold for $40 million (a 20% savings!), and but bigger human interest angle news is that the buyer is a Russian immigrant who used to drive a cab! Tamir Sapir has the most incredible American Dream story ever - or at least this week.......