Hedge funds leave hole in real estate market

Anyway to short the cost of high-end real estate leases in Manhattan. Until now, the long bet was the smart bet, and hedge funds were paying up to $200 a square foot--more than double the average--for offices in "midtown's trophy towers," reports Crain's New York Business. That blew lease prices into the stratosphere, but all that is changing. At least 300,000 square feet of platinum-plated space is already up for grabs, as hedge funds downsize or exit the market. For example, Citigroup killed off its Old Lane hedge fund and put 20,000 square feet at 500 Park Ave. up for lease. The end of The Carlyle Group's Blue Wave fund unleashed 24,000 square feet at 1177 Sixth Ave, Crain's reports.

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