Deconstruct

A disgraced New York real estate attorney is getting a second chance after one of the industry's most notorious fraud scandals. Mitch Kossoff, who pleaded guilty to stealing more than $14.6 million from clients' escrow accounts, has been released on parole after serving more than four years behind bars. But what drove a successful attorney to steal from some of New York's biggest landlords? And wh...

After two and a half years of reporting, The Real Deal's investigation into the Alexander brothers has reached a major milestone: Tal, Oren and Alon Alexander have each been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. But the story isn't over. Senior reporter and South Florida bureau chief Katherine Kallergis, who broke the original story, joins Deconstruct to take listeners inside the sentencing hea...

With the 2026 midterm elections approaching, real estate has a lot on the line. But which races will actually make a difference for developers, landlords and investors? The Real Deal's national managing editor Jerry Sullivan joins Hannah Kramer and Lilah Burke to break down the elections worth watching, from the mayoral showdown between Karen Bass and Nithya Raman in Los Angeles to key races in Te...

New York City's retail market is making a comeback, but not everyone is benefiting. As restaurants, Pilates studios, coffee shops and wellness businesses expand across Manhattan, traditional retailers and mom-and-pop stores are facing an increasingly difficult environment. This week on Deconstruct , hosts Hannah Kramer and Lilah Burke sit down with Michael Miller, a retail broker at TSCG, to discu...

Wynwood was once best known for warehouses, murals and street art. Today, it’s attracting billions of dollars from some of the wealthiest investors in Miami. The Real Deal’s Iman Elshahawi joins Hannah Kramer and Lilah Burke to unpack the neighborhood’s rapid evolution following Ken Griffin’s $1.1 billion purchase of part of the Mana Wynwood portfolio. They discuss the arrival of major office, res...

Could Sunnyside Yard finally become one of New York City’s next great mega-developments? This week on Deconstruct, The Real Deal’s Lilah Burke and guest co-host Jake Indursky speak with New York Building Congress President and CEO Carlo Scissura about the decades-old dream of building a new neighborhood over the Sunnyside rail yard in Queens. The proposal could create roughly 12,000 homes, but fir...

The multifamily syndicator boom promised everyday investors a piece of the real estate gold rush. Then interest rates rose — and some of the biggest players began to unravel. This week on Deconstruct , The Real Deal’s Texas Bureau Chief Jess Hardin joins Hannah Kramer and Lilah Burke to explain the rise and fall of S2 Capital and its founder, Scott Everett. Once one of the fastest-growing private...

This week on Deconstruct , The Real Deal columnist Erik Engquist joins Hannah Kramer and Lilah Burke to explain why renovating New York City’s aging apartment buildings has become increasingly difficult. Engquist breaks down the complicated web of rules surrounding substantial rehabilitation, rent stabilization, good cause eviction and demolition — and why he argues that current housing policy can...

New York’s luxury rental market is reaching astonishing new heights. SERHANT broker Peter Zaitzeff joins Deconstruct to explain who is paying as much as $150,000 a month for homes in Brooklyn and Manhattan, why tech and finance wealth is fueling demand, and how the city’s severe inventory shortage could push rents even higher. Zaitzeff also argues that the luxury market does not exist in isolation...

Data centers have quickly become one of commercial real estate’s hottest — and most capital-intensive — asset classes. This week, Hannah Kramer and Lilah Burke talk with Colliers data center expert Raul Saavedra about what’s driving the boom, how AI has accelerated demand and why the scale of new projects is creating major challenges around power, financing and community opposition. Saavedra takes...

A massive fraud case at one of Florida’s largest homeowners associations exposed just how vulnerable HOAs can be to bad actors. On this episode of Deconstruct , The Real Deal’s Hannah Kramer and Lilah Burke talk with South Florida reporter Lidia Dinkova about the scandal at the Hammocks, a sprawling Miami-Dade community with more than 18,000 residents. Prosecutors accused former board members of d...

Consumers need to trust their real estate agents — but as more agents work the market than ever before, stories of bad behavior ranging from unfair dealmaking to sexual harrasment abound. In this episode of Deconstruct, Compass agent and American Real Estate Association (ARA) founder Jason Haber joins Lilah Burke and Hannah Kramer of The Real Deal to break down what’s broken in residential brokera...

A summer camp empire that owns roughly 30 camps across the U.S. raised nearly $200 million from Israeli bondholders—and then spiraled into bankruptcy just months later. Reporter Keith Larsen joins Deconstruct to unpack one of the strangest real estate-adjacent stories of the year, including a controversial $34 million transfer, aggressive lenders, and what happens next for camp operators, investor...

Artificial intelligence is already reshaping real estate — from buyers using ChatGPT to challenge brokers, to AI startups transforming the office market. On this episode of Deconstruct, Hannah Kramer and Lilah Burke break down The Real Deal's latest reporting on AI's impact on residential and commercial real estate. They discuss how buyers and sellers are using AI during negotiations, why office l...

On this week's episode of Deconstruct, Hannah Kramer and Lilah Burke break down one of the strangest real estate stories of the year: Floyd Mayweather's lawsuit against former advisor Jona Rechnitz, alleging the theft of $175 million in cash, jewelry and real estate investments. The hosts trace Mayweather's rapid expansion into New York real estate, including deals involving multifamily properties...

On this episode of Deconstruct, hosts Lilah Burke and Hannah Kramer break down how New York City’s latest budget, tax proposals, and one high-profile Upper East Side building are reshaping the city’s real estate market — from rent-stabilized apartments to ultra-luxury rentals. First, they unpack Mayor Zoran Mamdani’s executive budget, including: Why City Hall says it closed the budget gap without...

On this week’s episode of Deconstruct, hosts Hannah Kramer and Lilah Burke dive into the increasingly political world of New York City real estate. They break down the latest developments surrounding New York’s proposed Pied-à-Terre tax, including new details about how the state may determine which luxury second homes are taxed — and why the logistics could still derail the plan. The episode also...

On this episode of Deconstruct, hosts Lilah Burke and Hannah Kramer unpack the growing challenges for the Chetrit Group, longtime players in New York City real estate now dealing with lawsuits, alleged mismanagement, and mounting lender pressure. The episode takes listeners inside a tense courtroom auction tied to a $132 million judgment, offering a rare glimpse into how distress is playing out in...

This week on Deconstruct, hosts Lilah Burke and Hannah Kramer break down Governor Kathy Hochul’s controversial pied-à-terre tax proposal on luxury second homes, what it could mean for the NYC housing market, and why brokers and developers are worried. They also unpack the guilty verdict against former Vornado executive Jared Solomon in a years-long fraud scheme involving fake brokerages and stolen...

This week on Deconstruct, top luxury broker Frances Katzen joins the podcast to discuss the New York City luxury real estate market as spring selling season begins. She shares insight on inventory shortages, buyer behavior, new developments, international demand, and what both buyers and sellers should expect in the months ahead. The episode also covers major real estate headlines, including guilt...

Deconstruct breaks down the latest news on the Flatiron Building, a record lease at 9 West 57th, and a foreclosure at a car-branded condo in Miami. Plus, politics reporter Kathryn Brenzel joins the podcast to cover how new NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani has fared in his first 100 days in office.

In this week’s episode of Deconstruct, a podcast from The Real Deal, hosts Lilah Burke and Hannah Kramer examine how record Wall Street bonuses could influence New York City’s luxury real estate market, preview the upcoming trial of a former Vornado executive accused of fraud, discusss foreclosure risks at Kaufman Astoria Studios, and why Palantir’s Miami headquarters announcement may not be what...

Compass and Zillow have been battling it out over real estate listings. The outcome could reshape how homes are marketed across the U.S. In this episode of Deconstruct, hosts Lilah Burke and Hannah Kramer talk to reporter Sheridan Wall to break down Compass’ lawsuit, which accused Zillow of anticompetitive behavior after the portal introduced a ban on privately marketed listings. At the heart of t...

In the latest episode of Deconstruct, a podcast by The Real Deal, hosts Lilah Burke and Hannah Kramer talk about proposals for increased property taxes, rent control, and a rezoning that could open a floodgate for New York City development. In an interview with TRD Policy Pro reporter Caroline Spivack, they dive into a debate over Section 8 vouchers, which some landlords say are unconstitutional.

In the latest episode of Deconstruct, hosts Lilah Burke and Hannah Kramer explain the battle to demolish a landmark church on the Upper West Side, close the loop on the verdict in the sex trafficking case against the Alexander brothers, and explain why development in Gowanus has boomed. Then, the hosts interview multifamily broker Lev Mavashev to find out who's buying New York City's devalued rent...