July1,2015

Manhattan’sTopAgentsBenefitfromFame,RisingPricesandPersonalBranding

PersonalBrandingis‘in’andfirmsare‘out’forManhattan’stopagentswhenitcomestolandingthepriciestlistings

From left to right: (Top row) John Burger, Alexa Lambert, Paula Del Nunzio, Deborah Grubman, Fredrik Eklund and John Gomes 

(Bottom row) Carrie Chiang, Leonard Steinberg, Serena Boardman, Dolly Lenz and Raphael De Niro  

Inthehigh‐stakesworldofManhattanrealestate,agentstendtofallintotwocamps—thosebrokeringsalesinglitzynewcondobuildingsandthosedealinginresaleunits,includingthetrophypadsthattradefortopdollar.Asinthepastfewyears,agentswho’veassociatedthemselveswithnewdevelopmentsmadecleargainsonTheRealDeal’sannualrankingofManhattan’sTop75residentiallistingagents.Butintheever‐competitiveresidentialmarket,theupperechelonoftherankingsawaconsiderablereshuffling.Ofcourse,theemphasisonnewdevelopmentisnotnew,norisitasurprisegiventherecentcondoboom—2015hasbeencalledtheyearofthecondo,afterall.Andthereisstillplentyofmoneytobemadesellingnewcondosfortheforeseeablefuture,withsome6,500newcondosexpectedtohitthemarketinManhattanthisyearalone,comparedwithabout2,500lastyear.Forthesecondyearinarow,DouglasElliman’sFredrikEklundandJohnGomesdominatedtheranking,buoyedbytheirnewdevelopmentprowessandEklund’sstarpower,courtesyofhisroleonBravo’srealityrealestateTVshow“MillionDollarListingNewYork.”Theirteam,whichmovedtoEllimanfromCOREin2010,rackedupanimpressive$542millioninlistingsthisyear,upfrom$535.5millionlastyearand$92millionin2013.Andtheirdominanceillustratesalargertrend.

 

“Multi‐agentteamsagaindominatedthelistofthetop‐producingagentsinManhattan,”saidJonathanGreenspan,presidentofOLR.“Mostoftheseteamsgrossthebulkoftheirincomefromnewdevelopments.”NotMissingaBeatIntheNo.2spot,powerbrokerDollyLenz,wholeftEllimanin2013tostartherownfirm,hadmorethan$491millioninlistings,upfromlastyear’s$476million,accordingtoOLR.Shedidnotrespondtoarequestforcomment,butinthepastshe’scontentedthathernumbersarelowbecauseshedoesnotinputdataintoOLR.Therestofthetop10ontherankingare:Elliman’sRaphaelDeNiro;Sotheby’sInternationalRealty’sSerenaBoardmanandBrownHarrisStevens’JohnBurger.TheywerefollowedbyCompassPresidentLeonardSteinbergandbusinesspartnerHervéSenequieratNo.6;BHS’PaulaDelNunzioatNo.7;Stribling’sAlexaLambertatNo.8,andCorcoranGroupagentsCarrieChiangandDeborahGrubmanatNo.9,andNo.10,respectively.Overall,thenumberoflistingsrepresentedbytheTop75agentsinchedupmarginallythisyear,thoughthedollarvalueofthelistingsmadebiggergains.Collectively,thetopagentshad1,386listings,up4.8percentfrom1,322lastyear.Thevalueofthoselistings,however,was$12.26billion—a13percentincreasefromlastyear.RisingFortunesForagentslandingnewdevelopmentdeals,it’snotjusttheastronomicalpricetagsfornewcondosthatareboostingtheirfortunes;it’salsotheircachet.EklundandGomesapparentlyhavealotofthatcachet.TheyarecurrentlymarketingHFZCapital’s11BeachStreet,a27‐unitbuildingwithasellouttotalof$228.5million,andtheyhavemorethan1,000newunitsinthedevelopmentpipeline,Eklundsaid.Meanwhile,Elliman’sDeNirojumpedtoNo.3(fromNo.8)with$474.2millioninlistings.He’scurrentlymarketingtheRalphWalkerTribeca,acondoconversionbyMagnumRealEstateandCIMGroupat100BarclayStreet,wherehehasmorethan$116millioninlistings.NestSeekersInternational’sRyanSerhant,Eklund’sco‐staronMDLNY,alsoshotupontheranking,catapultingtoNo.12fromNo.36with$246.7millioninlistings,includingtheJustin,afive‐unitcondoat225East81stStreetthathasa$22millionsellout.“Itdoesn’tmatterwhatfirmyou’rewith,”hesaid.“Therearetoomanyrealestatebrokersinthecity,itallcomesdowntoyourpersonalbrand.”Steinbergagreed.Agentstoday,hesaid,createtheirownbrandsandthenaffiliatewithafirmthatcanprovidetheresourcesandtoolstheyneed.Sotheby’sNikkiField,forexample,soaredtoNo.14(fromNo.68)withnearly$231millioninlistings,upfrom$82millionlastyear.Thatjumpwaslargelydrivenbyonenewdevelopmentprojectthatshe’smarketing:JaredKushner’sPuckPenthouses,whichaccountedfor$123millionofherlistings.ThesixpenthousesatopthefamedSohobuildingincorporateoriginaldetailslikebarrel‐vaultedceilingswithultra‐high‐endfinishes,andpricesrangefrom$22millionto$66million.

 

Meanwhile,Elliman’sMichaelGraves,whodidhisfirstrealestatedealin2010,clockedinatNo.31,upfromNo.71lastyear.Graves,whoworkedforhisfamily’sMinnesota‐basedhospitalitybusinessbeforeturningtoNewYorkrealestate,hadmorethan$150millioninlistings,accordingtoOLR.ResaleReduxTopagentswithalong‐termviewaren’tjustfocusingonnewdevelopment,however.Forexample,Sotheby’sBoardman—No.4onthisyear’slistwithnearly$443millioninproperties—ismostlylistingtrophyresales,includingthe$80millionDukeSemansMansionat1009Fifth.Theseller,MexicanbillionaireCarlosSlim,boughttheBeauxArtsmansionfor$44millionfiveyearsago.Meanwhile,BHS’BurgerclockedinatNo.5with$363millioninlistings,includinga$42millionneo‐Federaltownhouseat684ParkthatiscurrentlybeingusedbytheQueenSofíaSpanishInstitute,butiscategorizedasasingle‐familyhomebyOLR.He’salsomarketingapairofco‐opunitsattheBeresford,at211CentralParkWest,foracombined$32.5million.LatelastmonthBurgerplacedNo.2amongthetop1,000agentsnationwideonarankingbyresearchfirmREALTrendsandtheWallStreetJournalwithcloseddealstotaling$638millionin2014.Therankingisbasedonsurveyswithbrokersandbackedupbydatafrommultiplelistingservicesandothersources.AdamModlin,presidentandfounderoftheModlinGroup,jumpedtoNo.15withlistingsthattopped$225million,includingtheactressDemiMoore’s$75millionpenthouseattheSanRemo.Inthehighestendofthemarket,whichModlindescribedasproperties$25millionandup,hesaidthereislittleproduct.However,atthesametime,he’swarythattoomuchisbeingbuiltalongBillionaire’sRow.“Inevitably,it’sgoingtobeaverycompetitivespacetofightforthosecustomers,”hesaid.KeepingitQuietWhisperlistingshavealwaysplayedabigroleinthetopreachesofManhattan’sluxurymarket.Butseveraltopagentssaidtheyarequietlyrepresentingmoreoftheseoff‐marketlistingsassellersincreasinglyseekamodicumofprivacy.BHS’DelNunzio—whohad$322.5millioninlistingsthisyear,comparedto$503millionlastyear—hasseveralmegalistingsinherofficialtally.Theyincludea$60millionpenthouseattheTimeWarnerCenterandthe$48millionCharlesOgdenmansionat12East79thStreet.Meanwhile,ModlinisalsoquietlymarketingatownhouseoffofFifthAvenue.Hesaidoff‐marketsellersaretypicallymotivatedmorebythedesiretostayanonymousthanbyfetchingthehighestprice.“Ifyou’redoingsomethingquietly,youmaynotattractthebiggestnetofbuyers,youmaynotgetthehighestbidder,”hesaid.“Butyoupreserveyourprivacy.”

 

ForeignConnectionWhileTRDdoesnottallybuy‐sidedealsintoitstotalsforthisranking,theyareanincreasinglyimportantpartofmanybrokers’businessmodels.That’sespeciallytruegiventheforcethatforeignbuyershavebecome.Sotheby’sField,forone,hasbeenridingthewaveofChinesebuyers.Fieldsaidherbusinessis“consultant‐centric,”meaningsheisspendingtimeadvisingclientsontheirglobalresidentialportfolios.“Asmorehigh‐net‐worthandultra‐high‐net‐worthindividualscontinuetodiversifytheirliquidassets,Iamadvisingmyclientsonfocusedandtargetedworldwideresidentialpurchases,”shesaid.FieldsaidteammateKevinBrownhaslockedin13contractsattheBaccaratandtheFourSeasons—allfromforeignbuyers.“Thebrand,NewYorkCity,isnumberoneoneveryinternationalbuyer’swishlist,”Fieldsaid.JanetWang,whoworkswithCorcoran’sCarrieChiang,isalsoago‐tobrokerforChinesebuyers.Chiang’steamrankedNo.9onTRD’slistthisyear,withnearly$277millioninlistings,includingalimestonemansionat54East81stStreetthathitthemarketat$36million,buthassincebeenreducedto$32million.Meanwhile,Elliman’sGravessaidhe’straveledtoShanghai,HongKong,Taiwan,BarcelonaandLondoninthelastfivemonthsalone.Overall,heclosedupwardsof$85millioninbuy‐sidebusinesslastyear,hesaid.“It’sveryimportantforsomeonesellingluxurypropertiestohaveconnectionsthatareinternational,”hesaid.HesaidinternationalbuyersseeNewYorkasabargaincomparedtoLondonandHongKong.Sotheby’sElizabethSampleandBrendaPowers,whoseteamrankedNo.34with$144.5millioninlistings,saidtheyarealsocontinuingtoseeinterestfromoverseas.“ThereisatremendousamountofwealthintheworldthatisseekingasolidinvestmentlikeNewYorkCity,”theytoldTRDinanemail.