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New York City Land & Air Rights Intelligence
Detailed research analysis of development sites, transferable air rights in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens & the Bronx
DB Landxpert LLC
DB Landxpert LLC is a high level data provider with a proprietary database containing thousands of personally vetted and analyzed land and air rights transactions across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.
DB Landxpert LLC supports commercial real estate clients involved in valuation matters where the underlying data may be tested, challenged or relied upon in important decisions. These may include arbitrations, litigation, expert testimony, financing, loan underwriting, acquisitions, dispositions, negotiations, tax matters and internal investment analysis.
The purpose is to provide researched transaction data, zoning and development context, historical support and other relevant information that helps the client understand what the market evidence actually indicates. In many assignments, the issue is not simply finding a comparable sale, but determining whether the transaction is truly comparable, what rights or limitations affected it, what the buyer effectively paid and how the sale should be applied to the subject property.
DB Landxpert’s work is intended to help clients enter a valuation discussion with a better supported factual record and a clearer understanding of both the evidence they may rely upon and the evidence that may be presented from the other side.
The Story Behind the Data
Recorded deals are only part of the process. DB Landxpert follows the movement of development sites through, industry activity, conversations and transactions.
Why did one deal close while another fell apart? Was the issue something else entirely? We read and read more while also following the market around them. There are many “close but no cigar” deals that never made it to closing.
Gigabytes in size and 000's of sales "personally" analyzed.
Decades of historical data can be critical in valuing an asset, particularly when the assignment is specialized and current data alone do not tell the full story.
Understanding how land values, zoning, development rights, demolition costs, market conditions, and buyer behavior have changed over time provides context that cannot be recreated from a limited set of recent transactions.
Record Keeping
Record keeping is a critical part of valuation research.
We automate and file but personally filter through every recorded deal because it's part of the process. Maintaining organized transaction histories, source materials, supporting documents, and prior analyses allows current assignments to be evaluated against years of accumulated market evidence rather than starting from scratch each time.
For specialized real estate assignments, that historical record can help identify changes in development potential, related transactions, ownership patterns, and other factors that may materially affect how a property is understood and valued.
Air Rights / TDRs / Light & Air
With nearly 800 air rights deals "personally" analyzed, we come to ask questions.
What role, if any, did additional development rights or limitations play in determining the value of the land itself?
See Air Rights / TDR Analysis
Retained Rights
Retained rights can materially affect how a transaction is analyzed. A seller may transfer the fee interest while retaining development rights, easements, access rights, use rights, or other interests that reduce what the buyer actually acquires. Identifying and quantifying those retained rights is necessary to understand the true consideration paid for the land and to compare the transaction properly with other sales.
Assemblage
Was the property acquired as a stand-alone asset, or was it one piece of a larger assemblage or acquisition strategy? A buyer may pay substantially more for a parcel that completes an assemblage, provides access, unlocks additional development potential, or eliminates a holdout position. Conversely, a seemingly low price may reflect limitations that are not obvious from the deed alone, including retained rights, unusual contract terms, partial interests, physical constraints, zoning limitations, related-party considerations, or other transaction-specific circumstances.
Understanding why a buyer paid significantly more or less than surrounding market evidence is often as important as knowing the sale price itself. The transaction must be evaluated in the context of what the buyer was actually acquiring, what strategic value the property created, and what limitations or advantages were embedded in the deal.
Zoning Research
Zoning is an important part of the analysis. Two properties that appear similar can have very different values depending on their zoning, allowable density, permitted uses, available development rights and applicable restrictions.
Understanding those differences helps explain why one sale may be more relevant than another and why seemingly similar properties can trade at very different prices.
DB Landxpert LLC is not a zoning consulting firm. However, zoning research and analysis have been a regular part of Duane Burress Sr.’s work throughout his career in support of thousands of client assignments. This has included reviewing zoning districts, FAR, development potential, zoning lot issues, development rights, special district provisions and related land use matters as they affect a property or transaction.
For DB Landxpert, zoning is one component of the broader analysis used to understand what can be developed, what rights may be available or restricted, and how those factors affect value and the interpretation of a transaction.
Land Sales Analysis
DB Landxpert provides a comprehensive analysis of each land and development site sale. Compiling the property information, transaction dates, pricing, zoning, development potential and parties involved is the easy part. The value is in researching how those elements fit together and understanding the transaction behind the numbers.
We also track sites being marketed, properties under contract, deals approaching closing and other pre closing activity when that information becomes available to us. Confidential information may be part of that research, but it is not disclosed or discussed on the record. Where appropriate, the broader activity can still provide useful context before a transaction reaches the public record.
As transactions progress, the information is updated and reconciled.
By the time a sale is used as a comparable, it has been individually researched and analyzed, allowing us to discuss the transaction with our clients and save them the time required to assemble and investigate it themselves.
Transaction Research
Marketing and contract activity, contract and closing dates, parties involved, assemblage activity, related transfers and communication with transaction participants where possible.
Development Analysis
Land area, zoning, FAR, development potential, existing improvements, demolition considerations, proposed use and other property specific factors affecting the development opportunity.
Comparable Context
Purchase price, effective pricing, price per zoning square foot, transaction circumstances and other factors necessary to understand how the sale applies to the client’s objectives.
What an Analysis May Look Like
See a limited public sample of how DB Landxpert analyzes a New York City development site beyond the recorded sale price. The sample includes transaction chronology, zoning, development rights, demolition assumptions, effective pricing, site photographs and a tax map.
DB Landxpert analyses are typically delivered in Excel, where the transaction data, calculations and supporting information can be organized in a detailed working format. On occasion, an analysis may also be presented in a format similar to the public sample shown here. Certain proprietary research, data and conclusions are intentionally omitted from public view.
Transaction Chronology
Contract dates, closing dates and the sequence of the assemblage,
Markets change and pricing may not be similar across the entirety of the deal.
Zoning & Development Rights
As of right zoning floor area, expected seller contributed rights and additional TDRs.
Effective Pricing
Fee price, estimated demolition cost, buyout cost, demolition clauses, on-going income, additional development rights, etc. all contribute to an effective price per zoning square foot.
Air Rights Pricing
Air rights pricing is not determined by a formula alone. Leverage, knowledge, timing, negotiating position, the availability of alternative sources and the importance of the rights to the receiving site can all influence the final price.
Why does one transfer trade at roughly 50% of the underlying land value per zoning square foot while another approaches 100%?
Why would a seller accept a discounted price for transferred development rights that may ultimately be incorporated into some of the most valuable portions of the receiving project?
Pricing Analysis
What was paid for the additional development rights, and how did that pricing compare with the fee interest?
Were potential units, floor area or other development rights specifically allocated or reserved?
Did the transaction include additional consideration such as legal fees, payments tied to "quiet enjoyment" or possession rights, delay penalties, or timing and conditions associated with a certificate of occupancy?
DB Landxpert examines the circumstances behind the transaction, not just the recorded price.
Development Impact
How the additional rights affected total zoning floor area, site yield and building massing, including whether they enabled a cantilever, lot line configuration or other design condition that increased the site’s usable development potential and changed the economics of the proposed project.
DB Landxpert provides customized research for its clients.
Comparable Sales Research
Throughout my real estate career, great data has been essential to nearly every part of the business. Appraisers, brokers, developers, owners, lenders, attorneys and consultants may use the same underlying information for very different purposes. What matters is having reliable, detailed data available when a question needs to be answered.
DB Landxpert has spent decades collecting, organizing, reviewing and adding context to New York City real estate data.
The work shown throughout this website represents different ways that information can be used, from answering a straightforward market question to examining pricing, zoning, development rights, transaction history and the circumstances behind a deal.
Zoning & Development Research
After decades of analyzing New York City development sites, much of the zoning framework is familiar territory; zoning districts, permitted uses, FAR, development scale and the impact of newly adopted zoning changes.
But familiarity never replaces research. Every site is reviewed in detail for current zoning, overlays, special districts, recent amendments, assemblage issues, development rights and other land-use conditions that may affect what can actually be built.
With Offering Memorandums, we perform our own analysis
Custom Databases & Market Research
DB Landxpert organizes transaction data so that years of market activity can be reviewed consistently and efficiently. Each database is structured around the information most relevant to the assignment, with standardized fields for location, ownership, transaction dates, pricing, zoning, development potential and other key characteristics.
The value is in creating a system where individual transactions do not sit in isolation. Sales can be sorted, filtered, compared across time periods, grouped by submarket or transaction type, and revisited as new information becomes available. The result is an organized historical record that makes large amounts of market data easier to analyze and far more useful over time.
Who Uses Our Services
Commercial Real Estate professionals.
We offer White Glove Service.
Appraisers & Attorneys
Transaction analysis, development rights research and valuation support for appraisals, litigation, arbitration, expert analysis and related assignments.
Developers & Owners
Land, zoning and development rights research for acquisitions, dispositions and development planning.
Brokers & Advisory Firms
Comparable sales, historical transaction research and market intelligence for client assignments.
Who's Behind the Research
DB Landxpert LLC was founded by Duane Burress Sr., whose New York City real estate research experience spans nearly four decades. His work includes analysis across all asset classes, with a focus on land and air rights, comparable sales, zoning analysis, and the creation of transaction databases and historical market indexes.
From 2005 through 2017, he also appraised several dozen New York City properties.
Since the mid 1990s, Duane Burress Sr. has personally analyzed and visited every Manhattan development site identified in his career, along with hundreds of development sites across the other New York City markets covered by DB Landxpert LLC.
Market Experience
Nearly four decades of New York City real estate research and analysis across multiple asset classes.
Appraisal Experience
Appraised several dozen New York City properties from 2005 through 2017.
Database & Zoning Research
Creation of transaction databases, historical market indexes, comparable sales research and zoning analysis.