Month: March 2021

U.S. District Judge Philip Calabrese (Porter Wright, Google Maps, iStock) An Ohio judge has ruled that the federal eviction ban is unlawful, but stopped short of issuing an injunction to halt the moratorium across the country. In a March 10 ruling, U.S. District Judge Philip Calabrese said that the Centers for Disease Control lacked the…

President Biden signing the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill on March 11. (Getty) President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion stimulus package on Thursday, aggressively expanding federal aid to renters, homeowners, small businesses and more. “This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country,” Biden said before signing the bill, “and giving the…

The Allure Realty team (Allure Realty, iStock) Another real estate reality TV show is coming. This one will be filmed in Tampa and will follow Allure Realty, a Black, female-run real estate brokerage, according to Deadline. So far untitled, it will appear on Netflix, from the executive producer of “Selling Sunset.” Allure’s owner and broker,…

Howard Lorber and Steve Witkoff (Getty, iStock) Frequent business partners Howard Lorber and Steve Witkoff have a new project, but it’s not a condo or hotel. It’s a SPAC. The developers’ Ocean Drive Acquisition Corp. is looking to raise $250 million from investors to take a proptech startup public, according to a regulatory filing. In…

Zillow CEO Richard Barton (iStock, Getty) Zillow is staffing up to take on the white-hot housing market. The listing giant and iBuyer said it plans to hire 2,000 employees this year — increasing its remote and in-person workforce of around 5,500 by 40 percent. Despite volatility in 2020, the company said the hiring was sparked…

Mortimer Fleishhacker Sr. and the Gren Gables estate (Fleishhacker Foundation, Redfin) A 74-acre, 32-bedroom estate in Silicon Valley known as Green Gables now has a price tag to match its size: $135 million. The Fleishhacker family first put the massive property on the market in 2018 but didn’t publicly disclose an asking price. That has…

eXp Realty founder Glenn Sanford. (eXp) UPDATED, March 11, 2021, 6:58 p.m.: As traditional brokerage firms scrambled to go virtual last spring, eXp Realty didn’t miss a beat. The cloud-based brokerage maintained “continuous operations,” said CEO Glenn Sanford. The result was eXp’s most profitable year ever, with $31 million in net income, compared to a…

12090-12144 East Carson Street in Hawaiian Gardens and JH Real Estate Partners CEO Hugo Aviles (Google Maps, JHREP) JH Real Estate Partners has signed EōS Fitness to a big lease in Hawaiian Gardens, in a space that the now bankrupt chain 24 Hour Fitness once occupied. The deal for 43,000 square feet included contingencies that…

Jana and Trevor Bezdek with their Malibu Road home (Getty, Zillow) The Malibu market is still on a hot streak. The latest example: Co-founder of healthcare company GoodRX paid $39.4 million for a beach house in the exclusive community, according to Dirt.com. Trevor Bezdek and his wife, Jana, bought the 5,000-square-foot home at 23808 Malibu…

Rendering of Figueroa Centre (right) with an aerial view of the vacant site at 911-927 South Figueroa Street (Google Maps, CallisonRTKL/Illustration by Kevin Rebong for The Real Deal) At 975 feet, the Figueroa Centre in Downtown Los Angeles would be the city’s third-tallest tower and include a hotel, condos and retail space in a glimmering…