Todd Selby is one of our favorite portrait/interiors/fashion photographers and illustrators. His runaway 2010 bestselling book, The Selby is In Your Place, was hard to find, but fans can view his work on his website, TheSelby.com, which brings you inside the lives of the exceptionally cool. The home is the main protagonist in Todd Selby’s work – giving space the power of communication. Modern home design store, CB2, recently teamed up with the photographer for a contest that asks you to submit three photos of your creative space. The winner of “The Selby is in Your Place” contest will receive an editorial on TheSelby.com and $10,000.00 from CB2. Saltie, one of our favorite Williamsburg restaurants was recently featured on the website – check it out and learn more about the CB2 Contest!

We at CORE are excited that HGTV’s wildly popular “Selling New York” will be going international when the series will premier on Wednesday, September 8th at 9 PM EST in Canada. CORE recently hosted a few of our neighboring editor friends from Toronto and showed them some of our premier properties including the Cupola Penthouse at 141 5th Avenue and a gorgeous SoHo loft at 54 Thompson Street. All too often we take our beloved NYC for granted and we had a blast hosting them in our hometown and educating them about our city’s neighborhoods and history. You can read about the press tour and the debut of “Selling New York” on HGTV Canada online here.

CORE’s most recent press mentions below!

The Real Deal (September 2010)

Ryan Fitzpatrick comments on the nature of the residential market throughout the summer and the expectation for a continued uptick this autumn.

The Real Deal (September 2010)

The reduction of taxes by 17% of our property The Cammeyer was included in the “New Residential Development” roundup.

Brownstoner.com (August 17, 2010)

Agent Doug Newkirk’s 267 State Street listing was named “House of the Day”.

The monthly CORE Real Time Report is the first of its kind for the Manhattan residential market. It is an analysis of real-time information that tracks current contract pricing and absorption.

This report is different from other published reports in that it reflects existing contract data, not sold and closed data which often take months or years to be recorded.

We noticed…

• Sales inventory was at a low for 2010 with a 43.78% decline from July

• Contract signed prices remained strong with a low rate of decline

• New Development availability and contract signings dropped, but that is typical for August

• Smaller apartments continued to attract buyers during August

• There were no 5-bedroom apartments sold in July or August

In light of Shaun’s latest navigational post, we thought it would be interesting to have an update on the progress of the 2nd Avenue Subway Line expected to be completed in 2016. The line will be the culmination of 75 years of planning, over $17 billion in spending, and millions of tons of extracted earth.

There is a fascinating story uncovering the social and political events that halted and later jumpstarted the construction of the line, and an even more interesting projection as to what the creation of this line will mean for the relationship between Manhattan and Harlem. Wired Science goes down below to the construction site for an up close look.

The Real Estate Business in NYC is about consistently navigating the ever evolving landscape. The city streets tell this story well. Often the best way to see a city is by walking it. If it’s a larger city like NYC, seeing it on the saddle of a bike is the best way to go. New York is considered the eighth most bike friendly city in the US and has over 200 miles of bike lanes (thanks Mr. Mayor)!

Even though May is bike month in New York City, my favorite ride is coming up. September 12th is the New York Century. America’s only fully urban century ride. You can choose your distance and select from 100, 75, 55, 35, or 15-mile routes. I rode it last year with a few friends, and having lived here for more than 20 years, this experience was one of my most memorable. (I especially enjoyed wolfing down pizza from Rao’s in Harlem after clocking 100 miles)! In contrast to this ride, this past Sunday I rode the Northfork Century, (where we the cuisine on the ride consisted of home baked pies, and fresh grown local produce). It was a refreshing reminder of how spectacular and diverse this part of the world is – especially at this time of year. So – if you get the chance, dust off that old bike, put some air in the tires, and remember to wear a helmet.

Currently on display at the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library of Columbia University is an interesting collection of real estate brochures that reference how different developers approached sales and listings with in a 50 year span. This collection contains listings from the 1920’s to the 1970’s and currently includes 2,518 buildings in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

This unique literature of apartment building listing and advertising is chronicled among pages of brochures, photos, and copy. CORE Real estate understands the influence and impact that advertising has within the world of real estate. Incorporating the lifestyle possibilities a property may have into a sale is a fundamental resource to a sale and this collection at the Avery Library is a beautiful display of the growth and use of local real estate listings.

Monacle recently interviewed James Corner, the prominent Landscape Architect who created the Highline. He makes some very interesting points regarding the skill of a landscape architect, they are commonly thought of as gardeners, when in fact the job requires engineering skills, and an education in city planning.

Green, public outdoor space creates a healthy city environment- the balance of green is essential to neighborhood growth. Just look at how the Highline enlivened the entire meatpacking district. Check out his interview…

Temperatures may be cooling down, but rental activity levels in Manhattan continue to heat up. The Wall Street Journal covers the price increase up 4.6% from last year.

Join one of our star teams John Gomes and Fredrik Eklund as they take you through the first installment of their very entertaining and exciting newsletter series, “New York Now”. The duo discusses the beauty and dynamism of some of their super hot- NYC featured listings. There is a really organic professionalism and spark to the team; they keep you in the know with glimpses into the ultimate NYC lifestyle. We look forward to seeing monthly updates from the pair!