One word is on the lips of every broker in NYC, and they’ve all got an opinion.
“The elections always bring uncertainty into the equation,” says Douglas Elliman star Fredrik Eklund. Agrees fellow Elliman broker Steven Cohen, “The real estate market is averse to volatility and historically slows down as we approach the elections.
“I think activity will remain low until at least later this year, after the election,” concurs Nobel Black, also of Elliman. But says Compass’ Matt Breitenbach, “The Hamptons real estate market will be fine despite macroeconomic pressure and presidential elections.”
But no matter what’s in the crystal ball for the remainder of 2024, one thing is clear: New York’s power sellers again made their marks over the past year. Despite high interest rates, inflation and competition with South Florida, Manhattan continued to see jaw-dropping sales at buildings the Central Park Tower, where Elliman’s Eklund | Gomes team just closed a condo for $115 million. The 220 Central Park tower, now perhaps the city’s most prestigious building, also lead the charge, with two $75 million deals and another for $80 million. Penthouses at 150 Charles, 111 W. 57th St. and 730 Fifth Ave. (aka the Aman) closed in separate sales for a collective $155.5 million. And a townhouse mansion at 138-140 West 11th St. sold for $72.5 million, setting the record for the most expensive townhouse in Downtown Manhattan.
Out in Southampton, an eight-acre waterfront mansion at 700 Meadow Lane sold for $112.5 million — the most anyone has spent since 2014, when hedge funder Barry Rosenstein dropped $147 million.
Behind each of those transactions is a team of agents working around the clock to find innovative solutions to bespoke problems for the world’s most demanding clients.
For 2024’s list of the top agents in NYC and the Hamptons — which includes THR’s New York Team of the Year, Compass’ Hudson Advisory Team — The Hollywood Reporter not only crunched total sales numbers but also scoured public records for celebrity listings and sales.
Emily Beare
CORE
Emily Beare
Peter Hurley
CORE’s Emily Beare, who’s worked with Rupert Murdoch, Nate Berkus and Diane Kruger, racked up over $246 million in sales in 2023 and is currently listing the home of the late artist Chuck Close in NoHo for $7.375 million. For her, one standout sale was at 150 Central Park South. “I represented the buyer, who happened to live in the building many years ago,” Beare says. “My client was not actively looking but when he saw the apartment come on the market, he knew this magnificent home would inspire his return back to the Hampshire House.”
CORE’s Emily Beare holds the $7.375 million listing on the former home of artist Chuck Close in NoHo.
Peter Hurley
Noble Black
DOUGLAS ELLIMAN
Noble Black
SARA FOX
Douglas Elliman’s Noble Black closed more than $345 million in deals over 12 months (from April 15, 2023, to April 15, 2024, the period that THR looked at for this list), including a $24.3 million penthouse at 500 West 18th St. He also handled the high-profile sales of writer Joan Didion’s 11-room home at 30 E. 71st St. for $5.4 million, as well as Little Mermaid director-producer duo Rob Marshall and John DeLuca’s home at 16 E. 11th St. for $4.8 million. Even so, he says he sees a deal slowdown “until at least later this year, after the election.” His recently expanded Noble Black & Partners team now includes 29 agents and now also operates in the Hamptons.
Douglas Elliman’s Noble Black sold the longtime home of the late Joan Didion in April for $5.4 million.
Evan Joseph Images/Courtesy of Douglas Elliman
Serena Boardman
SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY
Serena Boardman
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Sotheby’s International Realty’s ultra-connected Serena Boardman is known as the co-op board whisperer of the Upper East Side with a client list that’s included billionaire Len Blavatnik, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Paul McCartney. Her current listings include a 35-foot-wide six-bedroom Gilded Age mansion, built in 1899 at 4 E. 79th St., for sale at $65 million.
Erin Boisson Aries
DOUGLAS ELLIMAN
Erin Boisson Aries
Courtesy of Subject
“The unending demand for full-service, branded residences is redefining luxury across the country,” says Douglas Elliman’s Erin Boisson Aries. She and her team sold out the penthouse collection last year at The Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad and also handle bookings at private club Fasano Fifth Avenue’s hotel, which can run members up to $160,000 for month-long stays. In a year, she closed $250 million in deals. “In Manhattan the need for shorter-term, flexible luxury housing of the highest caliber is changing the very idea of a pied-a-terre,” she says.
Alexander Boriskin and Michael Lorber, The Michael Lorber Team
DOUGLAS ELLIMAN
Michael Lorber (left) and Alexander Boriskin
Courtesy of Subject
Douglas Elliman’s Michael Lorber and Alexander Boriskin of The Michael Lorber Team have the distinction of handling one of the biggest sales of the year — as co-listing agents of a $75 million penthouse at 220 Central Park South — and one of the smallest, sort of. “We sold the most expensive studio ever sold in New York City, which we sold for a record breaking $5,615 per square foot,” says Lorber of the $3.8 million unit at the Mandarin Oriental Residences. Meanwhile, they moved famed designer Thierry Despont’s townhouse at 182 Franklin Street in Tribeca for $19.5 million. Those deals helped the duo close $197.7 million in sales over 12 months and they expect the good times to keep on coming. “We are seeing a lot of large sales happening this year,” says Lorber. “In addition to that we are seeing a lack of inventory in the market overall. Demand is still strong and supply is not. We expect to see this pattern continue for the rest of the year.”
Matt Breitenbach
COMPASS
Matt Breitenbach
Courtesy of Subject
What does it take to sell a $24 million waterfront mansion in the Hamptons in just two weeks? A village, according to Compass’ Matt Breitenbach. “We put together a fantastic marketing deck focused on digital media with multiple short-form videos and other innovative marketing strategies,” he says of that five-bedroom home at 180 Pointe Mecox Lane in Bridgehampton. “We also did massive outreach to agents and buyers and had a huge launch party for the listing with over 100 people. I was proud of the team’s effort to get the house sold. A big part of what I pitch clients on is the ability for my team to work as a cohesive unit, not a bunch of individual agents going in different directions.” Breitenbach’s team has closed $117.4 million in sales over 12 months, setting two new records in Montauk in the process. He credits social media for some of that success, posting behind-the-hedges looks at the area’s most exclusive properties on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and his own podcast and video series BAT Disrupt. Breitenbach — whose clients have included Jason Kidd, Dave Portnoy, Meek Mill and DJ Khaled — says it’s no wonder why buyer demand is at an all-time high on the East End. “Prices have increased, and inventory has continued to stay low,” says Breitenbach. “The blessing and the curse of the Hamptons market is that buyer demand is at an all-time high — and higher than I have ever seen in my almost 20-year career selling homes in the Hamptons. The problem is everyone loves the Hamptons too much.”
John Burger
BROWN HARRIS STEVENS
John Burger
Courtesy of Subject
In the business for more than 30 years, Brown Harris Stevens’ John Burger is known as the king of discretion in Manhattan, with past clients who included, according to public records, Bette Midler and Jeff Bezos. He recently repped the seller of a three-bedroom at 920 Fifth Ave. reportedly bought by former Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes for $11 million.
Carrie Chiang
CORCORAN GROUP
Carrie Chiang
Courtesy of Subject
Corcoran Group’s Carrie Chiang notched $350 million in sales over 12 months and currently holds listings for a $75 million residence at Central Park Tower — the tallest residential building in the world — and a $24.8 million Upper East Side townhouse. With past clients including Barbra Streisand, Jim Carrey and Derek Jeter, Chiang jokes that of her recent work, she “can’t say which deal was the hardest, I sign too many NDAs.”
Carrie Chiang’s listings include this townhouse at 45 East 74th Street on the Upper East Side, on the market for $24.8 million.
Corcoran Group
Steven Cohen
DOUGLAS ELLIMAN
Steven Cohen
Courtesy of Subject
“Despite global tensions, high inflation, sticky interest rates and the upcoming presidential elections,” says Douglas Elliman’s Steven Cohen, “NYC has proved yet again just how resilient the real estate market is.” Case in point: 778 Park Ave., where he sold the 12th floor — which was owned by the estate of gossip columnist Claudia Cohen — to cosmetics billionaire William Lauder for $24.95 million. “After having the apartment on the market for over a year and fielding multiple offers, we negotiated and brought the deal to a close,” he says of the 2023 deal. That’s just a piece of the $185 million in sales he closed in 12 months. How does he get so many deals done? Going viral helps. “Our Central Park lamp post video accumulated 2.1M views on Instagram. A fun fact that most people didn’t know, even the most seasoned New Yorkers — if you’re lost in Central Park, lamp posts can help you find your way,” says Cohen, who hosts the podcast Real Talk With Steven Cohen and has a client list that’s included Kim Cattrall, UTA’s Jay Sures, ad exec Mary Wells Lawrence, and Don Lemon.
Repped by Elliman’s Steven Cohen, the former home of Claudia Cohen sold to cosmetics king William Lauder for $24.95 million.
Courtesy of Douglas Elliman
Tim Davis
CORCORAN GROUP
Tim Davis
Courtesy of Subject
Corcoran Group’s Tim Davis was part of the team that sold oceanfront Hamptons estate La Dune for $79 million in January, calling it “one of the most challenging transactions in which I have been involved in my 44-year career,” as it ended in an auction. A lifelong Hamptons resident, Davis is considered an expert on the East End; in the past year he sold the home of Vornado Realty Trust chairman Steven Roth and theater producer Daryl Roth for $14 million, and he holds a $52 million listing for the property of late Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun. One of his highlights of the past year was the sale of 446 First Neck Lane: “A beautiful and perfect gem of a house on an acre within walking distance to the ocean, [it] was at the time owned by clients to whom I sold an oceanfront property nearing completion of construction and furniture installation,” says Davis. “We identified a list of target buyers for the property and the first and only one to view hit the price and went to contract immediately and closed without a glitch a couple of months later for $16,950,000.”
Fredrik Eklund and John Gomes, Eklund | Gomes Team
DOUGLAS ELLIMAN
Fredrik Eklund and John Gomes
Courtesy of Subject (2)
Here’s a superlative: In January, star brokers Fredrik Eklund and John Gomes of Douglas Elliman found a buyer for a duplex penthouse at the supertall 1 Central Park Tower; the deal closed in June for a massive $115 million. “Few brokers in history have done a nine-figure deal, so we’re pretty proud of that one. It wasn’t an easy one, however,” says Eklund of the sale, which took nearly five months to close. Another challenging deal, he says, was one where “we worked with a buyer for several years. We kept working with them when others may have given up. In the end they bought a $25 million penthouse in one of downtown’s most prestigious buildings. They were looking for a unicorn and we finally found it, so we can now confirm that unicorns actually do exist.” But if anything Eklund — who has 1.4 million Instagram followers and is virtually a household name thanks to his years on Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing — proved once again this year that he’s the unicorn. After all, who else could say this: “I did a post about my new pink Rolls Royce that got more than 7,300 comments,” Eklund says. “I think it hit because I engaged the audience by asking that what I should name it.” The Eklund | Gomes Team, which works across New York, Florida, California and Texas, did a stunning $3.77 billion in sales across the U.S. last year.
TEAM OF THE YEAR: Stephen Ferrara and Clayton Orrigo, The Hudson Advisory Team
COMPASS
Stephen Ferrara and Clayton Orrigo
Courtesy of Subject; Brad Stein
This year, Compass’ Stephen Ferrara and Clayton Orrigo of the Hudson Advisory Team gave Manhattan the ultimate vote of confidence by buying their own office at 160 Leroy St. “We are the first brokerage team in Manhattan to purchase their own office space, which further illustrates to our clients, competition and team that we are planting long-term roots,” says Ferrara of the glass-and-concrete space with soaring 25-foot ceilings designed by Herzog & de Meuron. It’s those roots that have helped the team pull off feats such as repping the buyers of the most expensive townhouse sale ever recorded in downtown Manhattan: 138-140 West 11th St. At $72.5 million, it was just a slice of their $752 million 12-month sale total. They also worked on the $17 million sale of celeb chef Daniel Humm’s apartment at 40 Fifth Avenue as well as a $36 million off-market penthouse deal at 443 Greenwich in Tribeca. “The historic transaction not only set a new benchmark for the ultra-high-end market in New York City,” Orrigo says of the 138-140 West 11th St. deal, “but also illustrated the city’s enduring resilience and our consistent presence in the upper bounds of the market.”
Hudson Advisory Team sold this penthouse at 443 Greenwich Avenue in Tribeca for $36 million in an off-market deal.
Compass
Michael Franco
COMPASS
Michael Franco
Courtesy of Subject
A new name on THR’s New York list, Compass’ Michael Franco sold the late Stephen Sondheim’s townhouse in Turtle Bay for $7 million (to a “Sondheim fan” no less) as well as the childhood home on Central Park West of Mike D of the Beastie Boys for $13.5 million. A market trend he notes is: “We are seeing a lot of millennials and Gen Z buyers with a tremendous amount of wealth that has been gifted from their baby boomer parents.”
The terrace at the former home of Stephen Sondheim, which was listed with Compass’ Michael Franco. It sold for $7 million.
Courtesy of Compass
Cathy Franklin
CORCORAN GROUP
Cathy Franklin
Justin Aharoni
“It’s like asking which of my sons I’m most proud of — it’s simply impossible to choose,” Corcoran Group’s Cathy Franklin says of deciding on her most treasured deal among the $420 million in sales she did over 12 months. Among them were two Upper East Side penthouses (one for $25.2 million and the other for $35 million) and a $35 million apartment, a co-listing at 35 Hudson Yards, that served as the fictional home of Kendall Roy on Succession. When it comes to her most engaged most on social media, Franklin explains that, “video tours of my grand co-op, condo, and townhouse listings in prime neighborhoods — like those adjacent to 5th and Park Avenues — tend to receive a lot of views. The architecture and locations of these homes are just so iconic. In addition to real estate, my other passion is Hillrock, my family’s field-to-glass estate distillery in the Hudson Valley. When I announced that my special Cathy’s Cuvée bourbon won ‘Double Gold’ at the World Spirits Competition, the support on social media meant a lot to me. But most importantly, posts related my support of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation [BRCF] always perform well. Founder Evelyn Lauder’s legacy lives on and the clinical research BRCF has spearheaded in the fight against this disease is so important. It’s an honor to support our cause.”
Carl Gambino
COMPASS
Carl Gambino
Courtesy of Subject
Licensed in four states, Compass’ Carl Gambino is already rocking NYC, Long Island, New Jersey, Los Angeles and Miami. Now, he’s taking his business worldwide. “We have started to transact internationally. We did this to service our clients who have homes and acquire property across the country and globally,” he says. Back in NY, his team closed $164 million in the city (and $400 million nationally) over 12 months, including Joe Jonas’ $5.3 million apartment at 199 Mott St. He’s also listing Sherry Bronfman’s 35-foot-wide Upper West Side mansion at 337 Riverside Drive for $12.995 million. One deal he’s particularly proud of was for a townhouse in Brooklyn. “It was taken over by the lender mid-listing,” says Gambino, who has more than $1.5 billion in career sales. “It was a hard time in the market and the lender refused to sign a new listing agreement, but allowed us to show for a two-week period. We successfully found a buyer days before the expiration and closed the transaction.”
Compass’ Carl Gambino has the $12.995 million listing on this UWS mansion owned by Edgar Bronfman Jr.’s ex-wife Sherry Bronfman.
Tim Waltman/Evan Joseph
Nick Gavin
COMPASS
Nick Gavin
Courtesy of Subject
Compass’ Nick Gavin moved $254 million in NYC real estate over 12 months. But none of his deals compared to the emotional task of selling his own home, which went viral and sold in a bidding war in five days. “My apartment at 136 Baxter St. is where I lived with my wife and my daughters for nearly a decade,” he says. “It sold in a multiple bid situation. While the outcome was a quick, successful sale … I looked at it as an opportunity to reengage more intimately with what my clients are going through and as a reminder of how sensitive the process can be — as inspiration to make the process as smooth for our sellers and buyers as possible.” He’s recently closed sales for clients including Trevor Noah and Ashley Olsen as well as downtown tastemakers like photographer Theo Wenner and designer Athena Calderone. And now he’s focused on Brooklyn too: “We’ve quietly continued our expansion into the Brooklyn townhouse market,” he says, noting deals like 329 Vanderbilt Ave. for $7 million, 20 Remsen St. for $11.35 million and 44 Willow Place for $5.45 million. “We’re super optimistic about our presence there. In my view, there are very few high-level Manhattan brokers who operate at the same level in Brooklyn, too. Our team has that going for us. We know all the prime markets.”
Compass’ Nick Gavin sold Trevor Noah’s penthouse in Hell’s Kitchen last year for $9.5 million.
Compass
Rachel Glazer
COMPASS
Rachel Glazer
Courtesy of Subject
“No deal is easy, but there are some you lose sleep over,” says Compass’ Rachel Glazer. She’s referring to a co-op she recently closed on the Upper East Side. “There were a number of open permits, and it was a grueling process to get them closed. We lost a couple buyers over it, but ultimately we were able to find someone who loved the place enough to deal with it. After all that, the board turned the buyers down!” In the end she got the decision overturned and the buyers are happily settled into their apartment.” Glazer, who did more than $100 million in deals over 12 months, recently repped a buyer in an off-market purchase of a property in the West Village for nearly $30 million. “It took us almost an entire year to get this deal done. It nearly sold to another buyer in the meantime and there were many twists and turns.” Last year, she also put client Kendrick Lamar into an $8.6 million triplex penthouse in Brooklyn and is currently repping a $16.95 million West Village townhouse at 42 Barrow St. formerly owned by Gisele Bündchen.
Steve Gold
CORCORAN GROUP
Steve Gold
Courtesy of Subject
Former Million Dollar Listing star Steve Gold of Corcoran Group is currently setting his attention on ultra luxury building One High Line, designed by renowned architect Bjarke Ingels, where he co-leads sales. “We are selling an apartment every few days and have hit close to a billion sold or in contract,” he notes. Gold — who counts Anne Hathaway and Sam Worthington among former clients and is currently listing Baz Luhrmann’s $15.995 million townhouse — had a sales volume of $448 million over 12 months and says NYC’s high-end market continues to outperform: “Manhattan is seeing significant $10 million-plus transactions on a regular basis.” As for his approach to social media, Gold says that, “I recently announced on Instagram that my wife Luiza and I are expecting a new baby. That video has half a million views and counting which means a lot to me. Having a strong social media presence is not accomplished by posting only about listings and sales. Instead, it’s important that agents share their interests, personalities, and day-to-day lives from time-to-time. It’s a great way to connect with potential clients on a personal level.”
Inside Baz Luhrmann’s NYC townhouse, listed with Corcoran Group’s Steve Gold for $15.995 million.
Nina Poon
Deborah Grubman
CORCORAN GROUP
Deborah Grubman
Courtesy of Subject
In spring of 2023, Corcoran Group’s Deborah Grubman represented Rupert Murdoch in his $35.2 million purchase of a Central Park South co-op — which landed in a bidding war, driving the mogul up to nearly 20 percent above asking price — as she says, “he followed our advice and happily got the apartment.” She is currently co-listing Liam Neeson’s Upper West Side condo for $12.8 million, as well as representing two West Village townhouses, listed together for $37.5 million, that belong to Scott Rudin. Hugh Jackman, Harrison Ford and David Geffen are among her past clients. Grubman agrees that the presidential election will have an effect on NYC sales: “I believe the market will remain flat. During a presidential election cycle the market slows down because of uncertainty about the outcome. Once the election and the uncertainly is over, regardless of who wins, the market tends to pick right back up.”
A bath with a view inside Liam Neeson’s five-bedroom condo on the Upper West Side, listed with Corcoran Group’s Deborah Grubman for $12.75 million.
Corcoran Group
Alexandra Hedaya and Erin Lichy, The Erin + Alex Team
COMPASS
Alexandra Hedaya and Erin Lichy
Courtesy of Subject (2)
Introducing New York’s newest dynamic duo: In April, Real Housewives of New York City star Erin Lichy announced that she was joining Alexandra Hedaya at Compass. The team already has $51 million in active listings and half a billion in career deals, with a penchant for Billionaire’s Row. Social media is one of their trump cards. “By sharing our authentic selves, we aim to be relatable, offering glimpses into our lives as wives, mothers, entrepreneurs and entertainment figures,” says Hedaya. “By leveraging Erin’s platform on RHONY and substantial social media following, including notable celebrities, we can bring our story to a wide audience.”
Catherine Juracich
CORCORAN GROUP
Catherine Juracich
Courtesy of Subject
In an era of real estate exploding on social media, “one of the secrets to my success is that I rely more on old-school connections,” says Corcoran Group’s Catherine Juracich. It seems to be working, as she was involved in two of the biggest Hamptons home sales of 2023, including repping both sides of the deal for Peloton co-founder John Foley’s $51 million property. 442 Further Lane, which sold for $51M, was one of the more challenging deals. “We completed this deal entirely off market, and as such we had to navigate the needs of both the seller and the buyer each of whom had their own conflicting views of what the market clearing price of the property should be,” says Juracich of working on the sale. “In the end we were able to land on a price that both were comfortable with, while simultaneously satisfying each of their needs to obtain real value from the transaction.” Juracich is also currently listing James Gandolfini’s former home for $9 million and Starz founder John J. Sie’s Central Park South apartment for $10 million.
This West Village condo where James Gandolfini lived is listed with Corcoran’s Catherine Juracich for $8.995 million.
Oleg Davidoff
Frances Katzen
DOUGLAS ELLIMAN
Frances Katzen
Courtesy of Subject
Douglas Elliman’s Frances Katzen has handled plenty of special deals over her career for bold-faced names like Naomi Watts, beauty entrepreneur Trinny Woodall and Michael Strahan. But selling new condo building Jardim in Chelsea was a highlight. As the initial exclusive broker there, she sold 32 of the 36 sponsor units at the boutique tower designed by Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld. Then in March she brought a buyer for a $17.9 million penthouse there. “As someone who has birthed this building and having flown to Brazil to understand the aesthetic and methodology of Isay Weinfeld, I felt this was coming full circle,” says Katzen, who did $240 million in sales over 12 months and also hosts the podcast The World of Real Estate. One characteristic that Katzen points out of the NYC market is its unpredictability: “This market has been frothy to say the least,” she says. “It has performed when you didn’t think it would, and it has lagged when you thought it would perform.”
Deborah Kern
CORCORAN GROUP
Deborah Kern
Courtesy of Subject
One of Manhattan’s most tight-lipped agents, Corcoran Group’s Kern was involved in two of the biggest transactions in NYC in the past year, two condos that traded at 220 Central Park South, one for $80 million and another for $75 million. She also repped photographer Annie Leibovitz in the sale of an Upper West Side duplex for $10.625 million ($2 million over ask), bringing her total sales volume over 12 months to $631 million. She is also representing Leibovitz in the pending sale of a West Village loft listed for $8.6 million.
Corcoran Group’s Deborah Kern repped Annie Leibovitz in the sale of this Central Park West four-bedroom for $10.625 million.
Evan Joseph for Corcoran
Lisa Lippman
BROWN HARRIS STEVENS
Lisa Lippman
Courtesy of Subject
Former lawyer Lisa Lippman has been the top-producing agent for eight years in a row at Brown Harris Stevens, and brought in nearly $270 million in sales in 2023. Among her proudest achievement of the past year was selling a unit at 50 Central Park West for $17 million after it spent two years on the market. She added: “This was a marathon; in the end, I had two people who wanted the property, and it sold well, but it was a long process.” She’s currently listing a six-bedroom with a terrace overlooking Central Park at the prewar Beresford for $17.8 million. “The market is ok,” she says. “It is not the best, nor the worst that I have worked in. Buyers are armed with an incredible amount of data and are extremely price sensitive with no tolerance for overpaying.”
Brown Harris Stevens’ Lisa Lippman is listing this six-bedroom at The Beresford (built in 1929) for $17.8 million.
Courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens
Adam Modlin
MODLIN GROUP
Adam Modlin
Courtesy of Modlin Group
Modlin Group founder Adam Modlin continued his runs as NYC’s king of townhouse deals, repping both sides of the $47 million sale of David Rockefeller’s 40-foot-wide former home and selling the property that played the part of Miranda Priestley’s home in The Devil Wears Prada for $27 million. He also was dominant on Billionaire’s Row, where he co-repped the seller of a unit at 220 Central Park South. It traded for $80 million off market, making it the most expensive residential transaction in the city in 2023. He’s optimistic the market will stay strong: “There is a strong interest in high-quality, unique properties in the most desired locations by ultra-high-net-worth individuals.”
Lauren Muss
DOUGLAS ELLIMAN
Lauren Muss
Myrna Suarez
Agents don’t close deals, they nurture them, muses Douglas Elliman’s Lauren Muss: “Every deal needs TLC,” she says. “What makes me proud is learning how to do just that — thinking outside the box and being a problem solver for whatever comes your way.” A recent example was a 20-foot-wide townhouse at 14 East 81 St., just off Fifth Avenue. Last year, the home vacillated between a rental and a sale multiple times, each time at increasingly higher prices. “Within one month we had rented it off market for a number that was $20,000 more than it was probably worth. Then we had a sale offer for a number higher than I thought we would get,” says Muss, who then watched it flip between a rental and a for-sale listing several more times with the price growing by $1 million. Eventually, it went for $19.6 million. “You can imagine the hours of phone time, but I was able to negotiate each deal from start to finish and keep it all together and manage the tenants, the brokers and the buyers without everyone hating me — which is a huge deal in this market.” Muss, who did $181 million in deals over 12 months, is currently the co-listing agent for an East 81st Street townhouse being sold by the estate of Ahmet and Mica Ertegun.
Holly Parker
DOUGLAS ELLIMAN
Holly Parker
Courtesy of Subject
High interest rates and inflation weren’t the only challenges Parker overcame last year. “One of the most engaged social media posts last year was about the grief I experienced after losing my father,” says Douglas Elliman’s Holly Parker, who is a mental health advocate and the executive producer of Anxious Nation, a 2022 documentary about anxiety in children. Over 12 months, Parker closed $347 million in sales, including the $80 million condo trade at 220 Central Park South. She says the deal that she’s most proud of went down at 135 E. 79th St., where PH15W recently closed for $18.6 million. “Despite a challenging spring market, we achieved a record-breaking sale, securing the highest price ever recorded in the building’s resale history,” she says.
Douglas Elliman’s Holly Parker recently sold this penthouse with a landscaped terrace at 135 E. 79th St. for $18.6 million.
Douglas Elliman
Chris Pomeroy
BROWN HARRIS STEVENS
Chris Pomeroy
Courtesy of Subject
In the past year, according to public records, bicoastal agent Chris Pomeroy of Brown Harris Stevens repped Jennifer Lopez in the sale of the penthouse at The Whitman at 21 E. 26th St., which was listed at $25 million, and sold the Hudson Valley home (complete with writer’s cabin) of Willem Dafoe for $1.17 million. “Last year, I helped a buyer move into the only Frank Lloyd Wright home in New York west of the Hudson River. He was one of the true greats,” says Pomeroy (who’s also a meditation teacher) of his highlight of the past 12 months. He’s hopeful for the sales to remain strong through the rest of the year: “The real estate market, like almost all life is experiencing challenge and the growing pains of evolution. I believe evolution eventually leads to something new and powerful. Buyers are out there, but there is a lack of inventory. If that can shift a little and rates drop a little then we could have a fall market that might show more strength than in previous election cycles. I’m a practical optimist.”
Willem Dafoe’s home in upstate New York was sold by Brown Harris Stevens’ Chris Pomeroy for $1.17 million.
Brown Harris Stevens
Ryan Serhant
SERHANT
Ryan Serhant
Courtesy of Subject
The mediagenic former castmember of Million Dollar Listing returns to TV this month as the star of Netflix’s new show Owning Manhattan. The series, debuting June 28, spotlights the Serhant brokerage founder along with a bevy of agents at the firm. “Shooting this entire show was terrifying. It was unlike anything I’ve ever done. We shot the entire show in real time, and it’s the only real estate show where there are live firings. So I don’t know if I would call those scenes ‘fun,’ but they were the most real I’ve seen on a series [like this],” says Ryan Serhant, who did $752 million in sales over 12 months, including an off-market deal in SoHo for $50 million. Serhant, who has 7 million followers across social media platforms, also rented a condo in Chelsea at the Jardim tower to Bad Bunny for $150,000 a month. His hardest deal, he says, was an off-market sale of a townhouse in the West Village. “There was no asking price, which is always tricky when you have a motivated buyer and an unmotivated seller — you never really know what’s going to happen. The comparable sales were difficult to determine because it was such a unique property, so you don’t really have anything to compare it to, especially when you’re the only buyer since it’s not on the market. I worked with the buyer to discern the appropriate value, and ended up getting the deal done at $35 million.”
Last fall, Bad Bunny rented this penthouse at Chelsea’s Jardim tower, listed with Serhant for $150,000 a month.
Courtesy of Serhant
Jim St. André
COMPASS
Jim St. André
Courtesy of Subject
Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to keeping a leg up on the competition. That’s why Compass’ Jim St. André is taking an educated approach to expanding his business. This year he tapped Gillian Kemmerer, a London School of Economics graduate with experience in the areas of hedge funds and sports, to lead business development and economic analysis. “This move symbolizes our long-term strategy of providing a wider, deeper perspective on the macroeconomic environment and how it impacts the luxury markets, including real estate,” says St. André, who did $318 million in deals over 12 months and has worked with clients such as Julianne Moore, Jennifer Lawrence and Ellen Barkin. Currently, he has a $57.5 million penthouse at 125 Perry St. under contract and also has the $13.95 million listing on a neo-Gothic Gramercy townhouse once owned by designer Oleg Cassini. “Over the past several months, we have signed contracts for four of the seven apartments available at record-setting prices before construction on the property even began,” he says of 125 Perry St. “These transactions are the culmination of over a decade of work.”
Compass’ Jim St. Andre has a penthouse at 125 Perry Street in the West Village under contract for $57.5 million.
Compass
A version of this story first appeared in the June 19 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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