Brokers
May 5, 2009
StreetEasy Snags All Brooklyn MLS Listings
StreetEasy just scored a major coup in its bid to be the dominant aggregator of listings in the city: As of this week, the Brooklyn MLS (Multiple Listings Service) is giving StreetEasy access to all of its listings, which include properties from roughly 200 (mostly smaller) agencies in the borough. That comes out to about 2,500 new listings in neighborhoods like Sheepshead Bay, Gravesend and Canarsie that have previously been under-represented on the site. Most importantly, from our standpoint at least, is that StreetEasy will get the complete address data all these places, information which MLS and most mom-and-pop brokers have guarded closely. A giant step for transparency!
March 13, 2009
Word Ban at Corco
It's going to be a lot harder for Corcoran brokers to let their creative juices flow from now on. Bowing to fears about anti-discrimination laws, the real estate brokerage giant has banned a couple of hundred words from the listing lexicon, reports The Post. Such potentially-offensive terms include "bachelor pad," "family-friendly" and "exclusive." Seems a little much, no?
November 7, 2008
Minsky Lands at Elliman
That didn't take long!
Minsky Out At Corcoran? [Brownstoner]
October 31, 2008
Minsky Out At Corcoran?
We received word last night that Corcoran and powerbroker Jerry Minsky parted ways yesterday. A visit to Corcoran's website confirms that Minsky's profile has been expunged. While not everyone cared for his style (he was very nice to us the couple of times we spoke), no one can argue with his success: Minsky, who joined Corcoran in 1995 when his firm was acquired, went on to consistently be one of the highest producers for Corcoran in Brooklyn; in 2007, he was named Corcoran's Fort Greene Salesperson of the Year. More specifically, Minsky was the dominant broker for townhouses in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill over the last decade. (From his cached profile on Corcoran: "There is truly no one more knowledgeable of brownstone Brooklyn’s history and neighborhood nuances.") No word on the cause of the split, but we hear that they've changed the locks at Corcoran's Fort Greene office. Update: Here's the Daily News article that a commenter cites as a possible reason for Minsky's departure.
August 6, 2008
Spiking Broker Fees in Williamsburg
One unforeseen outcome of the Manhattanization of Brooklyn: rising broker fees. The Real Deal reports that renters looking to cross the river for the luxury high rise lifestyle of Williamsburg are willing to pay a hefty sum to do so, and not just in rent. "Brokers at some of the higher-end rentals have realized that they no longer need to settle for a paltry commission of one month's rent (around 8.3 percent of an apartment's annual rent)," they say—now they may ask for 10, 12 or even 15 percent of the annual rent to help folks find a slot in a new building. Anybody had to shoulder such fees?
In Williamsburg, Upping Fees to Match Expectations [TRD]
Toll Bros., Williamsburg. Photo by zombotic.
April 25, 2008
Oh, Baby! Class Action Suit Alleges Broker Discrimination
This morning there are articles in the Times, the Sun, and the Post about a class-action lawsuit alleging that agents from Brown Harris Stevens' Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights offices discriminated against a couple because they had a kid. The couple, Jamie Katz and Lisa Nocera, started looking to move from Manhattan to Brooklyn in 2006, when Nocera was pregnant. They found an apartment they wanted to rent in Brooklyn Heights but a broker from Brown Harris Stevens told them they couldn't rent it because the landlord didn't want kids in the unit. A year later the couple, who now had a baby, was once again trying to uproot to Brooklyn but were denied a Park Slope rental they wanted because the owner told another Brown Harris Stevens agent that the apartment had lead paint and therefore wasn't safe for kids. Katz and Nocera are claiming that the refusal to rent to them violated federal, state, and city anti-discrimination laws, which specify that a landlord can't say he won't rent to prospective tenants based on "family status." As the Times article points out, many brokers are unaware—or choose to ignore—the laws. The broker for the Park Slope apartment, for example, allegedly left a voice mail message for the couple saying the following: “There was a child there before and ... it was just a big, big, big problem and they’re just, they just absolutely are not going to go through that again...They just don’t want to have to deal with it.” The suit seeks to ensure that Brown Harris Stevens agents comply with the law, and, if successful, it'll probably influence the way brokers around the city behave towards would-be renters with children. "The brokers are enabling the discriminatory goals of the landlord," the lawyer representing the couple told the Post.
Couple’s Suit Accuses Real Estate Firm of Bias Against Children [NY Times]
Real Estate Firm Sued Over Child Discrimination [NY Sun]
Apt. Suit: It's Bias Vs. Kids [NY Post]
Photo by Lab2112.
February 20, 2008
Corco Sets Up Shop in Williamsburg
The real estate market is alive and well in Williamsburg. Or not. Sandwiched between bagels and hardware, Corcoran's latest office—their fourth in the borough, first in the Burg—opened yesterday in a L-shaped space that runs through from a storefront at 241 Bedford Avenue to an entrance on North 3rd Street (above). Under the watch of broker Eric McFarland, the office has room for 42 brokers and is currently about 2/3 full. The office launches with a couple of big projects already under its belt, 349 Metropolitan and 100 North 3rd Street. Whether this is a prescient call that will position the Big C to cash in on the thousands of units slated to come online in the area in the next few years or a case of being the last one to board a sinking ship remains to be seen. Either way, it can't be good news for the likes of Apartments & Lofts. GMAP
November 26, 2007
Brokerage Switcheroo Frustrating Sellers?
We missed news of this when it was first announced, but last month Brooklyn-based Fillmore Real Estate bought 1,400 New York City-area listings from bankrupt discount brokerage Foxtons. Fillmore said the $110,000 buyout would increase the brokerage’s listings by almost 50 percent and help it expand beyond Brooklyn. But we’ve been getting reports that the deal may not be great news for some sellers. Apparently, Fillmore hasn't been completely cooperative about letting some people out of the contracts they had with Foxtons. We got in touch with Fillmore president John Reinhardt, who told us that only about a dozen ex-Foxtons sellers have tried to get out of their contracts with Fillmore, in most cases because they're dealing with another broker who wants to get a full commission for the property. And Reinhardt says that most of the sellers who had been using Foxtons have been "thrilled" with Fillmore's services. "We've hired a number of new agents and publicized the homes better than Foxtons," says Reinhardt. "We've been selling those homes left and right." Anyone who's personally experienced the Foxtons-Fillmore changeup care to differ?
Fillmore Rises, As Foxtons Sinks [NY Sun]
November 7, 2007
Prices Too Lofty on Warren Street?
It’s looking like a Cobble Hill condo’s having a tough time finding takers. We got word from the fine folks at StreetEasy that Two Trees had been yanked as the exclusive brokers for 335 Warren (aka the Warren Lofts)—a job they’d been on since late spring—and that Brown Harris Stevens has started marketing the Scarano-designed building just off Smith Street. The eight units, which range from 1,000 to 2,500 square feet, are running between $585,000 and $975,000—prices that don’t seem too far-fetched for this neck of the woods (though they’re pretty near the Gowanus Houses). We’re hearing buzz that sub-optimal layouts may be to blame for the lackluster sales here. Can anyone corroborate?
335 Warren Listings [StreetEasy] GMAP
335 Warren Listing [Brown Harris Stevens]
October 15, 2007
Brooklyn Sales Market: Let's Make a Deal
The Times examines what a Brooklyn homebuyer’s gotta do to catch a break in a market that’s “a bundle of contradictions.” On the one hand, tony nabes like the Slope and the Heights are pricier than ever before. On the other hand, developers in areas where a lot of new construction’s recently been completed, like Williamsburg, are cutting prices so that units don’t languish on the market. For example, the developer of 149 Conselyea Street recently decided to sell units for $425,000 to $799,000; a year ago, the condo’s projected asking prices were running between $599,000 and $995,000. Across the board, brokers say sellers are now more open to negotiations than they have been in quite some time. “We’re definitely negotiating,” said Christine Blackburn, a Prudential Douglas Elliman broker. “It’s not a market in which anyone wants to lose deals. Every deal is precious because there’s a lot of uncertainty.” Can house hunters out there vouch for an uptick in give-and-take?
Brooklyn: A Bargain Hunter’s Guide [NY Times]
October 12, 2007
Brokerage Switcheroo at PLG Condo Project
The 15-unit condo at 2233 Caton Avenue, Lefferts South, has been taken out of the Developers Group's marketing hands and passed along to a team at Prudential Douglas Elliman. Three of the building's units went into contract c/o TDG, according to Hakim Edwards, one of the Elliman agents who's now marketing the building's remaining nine units (the sponsor sold the other three). Prices haven't dropped at the condo since March, and are running between $399,000 and $499,000 for two-bedrooms ranging from 831 to 979 square feet. To drum up interest, Elliman is planning on staging units and is co-broking between 5 and 6.5 percent, as opposed to TDG's 4 percent. Any drama, scandal or intrigue behind the brokerage switch? Not really. "We have more of a network of brokers than the Developers Group does," says Edwards. "And the Developers Group had the misfortune of not working with a finished project."
2233 Caton Avenue Listing [Prudential Douglas Elliman]
New Development: The Oddly-Named Lefferts South [Brownstoner]
October 4, 2007
The Argyle: Using 5th Avenue to Sell 4th
A new 4th Avenue condo is temporarily taking up prime 5th Avenue space. The marketing team for 4th Avenue’s Argyle, a 12-story development on 7th Street, is opening a sales center on foot-traffic heavy 5th Avenue, between 1st and 2nd streets. The sales center’s construction crew said the space would probably be completed within the next few days, and that it would include a model bathroom and kitchen (see photo on jump). Corcoran is handling sales for the Argyle, an L-shaped building designed by Meltzer/Mandl. And how much sense does it make to market a 4th Avenue condo on 5th? A lot, according to one of the crewmembers sprucing up the sales center. “So many people have come in here and asked what we’re doing,” he said, “that I think these apartments are going to sell in a flash.”
Is it a pattern? [Bklynking] GMAP
Development Watch: 410 Fourth Avenue [Brownstoner]
October 2, 2007
Not Much Brooklyn Love on REBNY Site
The Brooklyn Eagle gives the Real Estate Board of New York's new website a whirl and finds its Kings County listings a bit lacking. As of Friday, there were 501 Brooklyn listings from six firms (as search we did yesterday only came up with 490, while a search for Manhattan listings yielded more than 2,300 results). Corcoran and Elliman have already received a lot of press for opting out of the REBNY portal, but it turns out a number of heavy-hitting Brooklyn brokerages—including RE/MAX, Fillmore and Brooklyn Properties—have also decided not to participate. And that’s left REBNY’s site with a dearth of Brooklyn listings, especially in some prime areas: As of yesterday, there were a scant 36 listings in Brooklyn Heights and 25 in Park Slope. (Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, Kensington and Sunset Park each had fewer than 10 listings.) It remains to be seen whether more brokerages will decide to participate in the site and swell the number of Brooklyn listings. For the time being, it looks like it’s going to be of limited utility for Brooklyn house hunters.
New Real Estate Web Site Lists Relatively Few Brooklyn Properties [Brooklyn Eagle]
21st Century, Ahoy: REBNY Rolling Out Web Listings [Brownstoner]
September 25, 2007
21st Century, Ahoy: REBNY Rolling Out Web Listings
The Real Estate Board of New York announced it would launch its long-in-the-works web portal this Friday. The site, ResidentialNYC.com, will be free and feature sales and rental listings from participating REBNY brokerages. The idea is to offer a centralized, one-stop shop for prospective renters and buyers so they don't have to jump from one brokerage's website to another. The portal's not necessarily going to fulfill the one-stop goal, though: The city's two biggest residential brokerages, Corcoran and Elliman, reportedly decided against participating in the public listings service. Think this'll fly if the big C and E aren’t joining the party? Would you use it?
REBNY Readies Web Portal--Where's Corcoran & Elliman? [NY Observer]
REBNY to Launch Free Web Portal [Real Deal]
December 22, 2006
Does Size Matter?
New York Magazine this week discusses the pros and cons of large and small brokerage firms. The boutiques tout their level of personal attention and special knowledge of particular neighborhoods while the biggies point to their marketing reach and resources. “If anyone wants to put their record up of how many $10 million [plus] deals they’ve made, we’re happy to do so,” says Corcoran president Pam Liebman. How about in Brooklyn? Have you had better experiences with large or small? And does it matter whether you're buying or selling?
Small Wonders [New York]
Photo from funnyjunk.com
October 11, 2006
Corcoran's Brooklyn Heights Office Accused of Bias
The National Fair Housing Alliance has released a rather damning report of the sales practices of Corcoran's Brooklyn Heights office. The anti-housing discrimination group set up a sting operation in which more qualified blacks and less qualified whites went to the office posing as home buyers. The report alleges that agents in the office engaged in two sorts of unsavory practices: Steering, by which prospective buyers were urged to look at neighborhoods based on the color of their skin, and selective disclosure of information. It's unclear from the article how widespread this alleged activity was or how conscious or subconcious it was (though the anecdote given is fairly blatant). Have any readers had experiences that would support any of these allegations?
Report Alleges Bias by a Real Estate Giant [NY Times]
September 27, 2006
Flattery or Laziness? Plagiarism on Craigslist
This one's good for a chuckle...We know most brokers aren't known for being wordsmiths, but evidently some are lazier than others. On Sunday, Chris Pepe of N.C. Pepe wrote a help-wanted ad on Craigslist. In his original message (which has now been edited but we've got a screen shot of the original), he tells potential applicants to send a cover letter and resume to sperez@aptsandlofts.com! Seems strange to send potential hires to a competitor until you realize that much of the text of the ad, including the list of qualifications, had been lifted verbatim from an earlier Aptsandlofts ad. Nice.
Leading W'burg RE Firm Looking for Agents [Craigslist]
September 25, 2006
A Note To Readers
We've been growing increasingly suspicious about the authenticity of a series of negative comments in last Friday's Open House Picks thread. So earlier this evening, we went back and examined the IP addresses associated with these comments. Turns out they were all from the same address. It also turns out that, viewed in their totality, the large majority of this commenter's other contributions were clearly written with the intent to do nothing but disturb the peace. We have no problem with dissenting opinions (actually, they're generally good for business) and are willing to live with the occasional sharp elbow and rude remark that comes with the anonymity of the medium, but, as we've said before, we're not going to tolerate someone who's purposefully trying to stir the pot, especially when his/her actions involve personal attacks. As a result, this commenter's IP address has now been banned from the site. What's interesting to note, now that we have deleted all of the comments by this person, is the number of positive comments in defense of Mary Kay Gallagher, the broker who was attacked in this case.
G'night.
Mr. B
August 18, 2006
Aguayo & Huebener Gets a Web Makeover
Out with the old...
In with the new...
With little fanfare (we just happened upon it via a link from one of their NYT listings), Aguayo & Huebener appears to transitioning to a new url with a new look and, more importantly, vastly better functionality for house hunters.
Old Aguayo Website [ahrlty.com]
New Aguayo Website [ahbrooklyn.com]
June 2, 2006
Is There Any Way to Make Brokerate.com Work?
The Real Deal has an article on Brokerate.com in its new June issue that a pretty fair critique of both our intentions in creating the site and the results in practice. (They run a pretty misleading picture of the Homethinking CEO given that he's not mentioned until three-quarters of the way through the article. Just to be clear: That ain't the 'Stoner!) Gary Malin, chief operating officer at Citi Habitats, summed up what we expect a lot of people's reaction is: "In theory it sounds like a good thing, but in practice I don't see how it can work." As most of you know, we pulled the comments from the site within a few days of launch because they were just too nasty; more importantly, we had no way to verify if any of the things people were saying were true. Were brokers just writing raves of themselves? Were they making up negative reviews of their competitors? Ah, yeah. We had made a big effort to get a bunch of Brownstoner readers rating and commenting on the site pre-launch in an effort to set a constructive tone but things quickly slid. So now we have a few options: 1) Spend time and money trying to create a registration system; 2) Restore comments but only allow positive comments; 3) Allow all comments but just edit with a heavy hand and use our best judgment; 4) do not restore comments; 5) just bag the whole thing. Or maybe there's something we haven't considered that involves more of a community-based wikipedia-type approach. Frankly, we're not sure what to do and are curious to hear everyone's advice.
Broker Web Ratings Get Nasty [The Real Deal]
April 28, 2006
Broker Marketing 101
In addition to providing some nice sales data for Windsor Terrace ($1.25 million for 26 Sherman Street, for example), this friendly marketing postcard from a Corcoran broker is a lesson in optimism and self-promotion. For those of you who can't make out the blurry scan, we transcribe herewith:
How do we do it? Fifteen years of experience...a good feel for the market...the best technical support in the industry.
And I still don't see any bubble bursting! Do you?
Don't let anyone tell you it's getting harder to get top dollar.
March 17, 2006
Luring Brooklynites to Jackson Heights
Queens-based blogger OuterB gets a chuckle out of Jackson Heights broker Michael Carfagna's latest marketing campaign: More Park, Less Slope. The targeted appeal to aspirational Park Slopers makes a whole lotta sense when you learn that 80% of Carfagna's new clients come from Brooklyn. OuterB parses the ad: "More Park refers to the many classic Jackson Heights co-ops that have large, private gardens," he writes. "Less Slope (I’m guessing) is a shot at Brooklyn real estate prices, which have risen much faster than the rate in Jackson Heights."
More Park, Less Slope [OuterB]
About Michael Carfagna [MPC Properties]
Latest Restaurant Additions
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Carroll Gardens Classic Diner
added July 2, 2009 12:00 PM in Boerum Hill -
Tripoli
added July 1, 2009 12:00 PM in Cobble Hill -
Williamsburger
added June 30, 2009 12:00 PM in Williamsburg -
Brooklyn Bread Cafe
added June 29, 2009 12:00 PM in Carroll Gardens, Park Slope -
Naidre's
added June 26, 2009 12:00 PM in Carroll Gardens, Park Slope -
Amorina
added June 25, 2009 12:00 PM in Prospect Heights -
Caracas Arepa Bar: Brooklyn
added June 24, 2009 12:00 PM in Williamsburg -
Dawg Shack
added June 23, 2009 12:00 PM in Gowanus -
Mitchell's
added June 22, 2009 12:00 PM in Prospect Heights -
City Sub
added June 19, 2009 12:00 PM in Park Slope