With this ongoing series of interviews, I endeavor to expand our collective insight into the people, events, and trends that have a positive effect on the real estate industry. My guests are visionaries who are integral in shaping the way we live in the world today. I sincerely hope you enjoy learning from them as much as I have.

Woody Heller is a broker’s broker. He is one of the most successful and well respected commercial brokers in the industry. He is executive managing director and group head of the capital transactions group at Studley. I had the pleasure of speaking with him about the challenges in the market,  where we might be headed, and his insight as a broker.

…………and the July Realtime Report numbers have just come in. Read more here.

Shaun Osher was recently interviewed by Multi Housing News. He discussed The Realtime Report, the Manhattan housing market, green living and more…

ANSWER: I think it depends partly on YOUR agenda.

Going up or down?

It seems as if every time I open the paper or go online there’s a story about how terrible the real estate market is and how we’re all doomed! Well, the mass media has been waiting to cover this story for many years. Some even wrote about the crash 5 years before the market peaked. Could they have had that much foresight? (See the definition of sar-casm in Webster’s).

Just this week alone NY Magazine published a story about “The Bust of Williamsburg” and The Observer covered the “Condo Doom” of all the supposed stalled projects in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. I know of a few of these mentioned that are far from stalled! The line between news and entertainment seems more blurry than ever.

On the other side of the coin, I find it interesting that the talk amongst my peers seems to be of rebound and exciting opportunity. Some are even Twittering RT@Corcoran_Group CEO Pam Liebman: “In June, Manhattan had 11 deals over $5M. Brooklyn had numerous sales over $1M & several townhouse sales in Cobble Hill” and RT@Corcoran_Group Corcoran CEO Pam Liebman: “There has been a LOT of pent-up demand that couldn’t wait anymore to take advantage of lower (home) prices.” and RT@Halstead Get em’ while they’re hot! Brooklyn Brownstones are flying off the shelf!

I am most intrigued by those who have no agenda. Matthew Barron is one of those people and he releases a monthly newsletter called Perspectives. This month he contends that “the current environment is the perfect time to consider investing in NYC real estate”. Read more here… Perspectives July 09.

Simon Development Group, a valued CORE client, has released their inaugural Perspectives newsletter, discussing trends in New York metro region real estate with insight from their current portfolio and industry leaders.

This is traditionally the time of year when all the pundits come out and give us opinions, forecasts, analysis, and speculation.

Woody Heller and Will Silverman from Studley are two successful industry peers who I highly respect and regard as class acts. Will sent me a note today, and with his permission I am posting it here. It is insightful, smart, and refreshingly intuitive.

“The earth has thankfully cycled through the last of its 365.25 rotations of 2008. As we look ahead, we’d like to offer our view on the emerging themes in 2009. This letter is not meant to be a market overview referencing charts, economic data or historical metrics. Our view of specific predictions is that they are conjecture in good times and dangerous in bad. The only certainty about the future is that it will be governed by presently unforeseen events. Therefore, we focus on themes that appear relevant at present to the business climate in 2009. (more…)

In 1973, Barbara Corcoran created what was eventually to become New York City’s top real estate brokerage company. Her entrepreneurial mind, common sense approach to building a business, creativity and tenacity set her apart from the field. She sold the company seven years ago and started applying her creativity and knowledge into other endeavors. She has written two books and is widely considered a pre-eminent expert in the real estate and business world. I had the pleasure of speaking with her about the company she created and eventually sold and the general market.

THE INTERVIEW

Shaun: What was the most challenging part of starting your real estate brokerage company?

Barbara: Coming up with the cash, absolutely, because I was working as a waitress at the time and I lived off of what I earned in tips. Coming up with the cash to start any business was a major obstacle. But fortunately, my (what was soon to be boyfriend), came into the diner. I met him and he gave me the cash to start a brokerage firm. A thousand dollars.

Shaun: That’s a great story.

Barbara: That was a stroke of good luck.

Shaun: So you never became a real estate agent? You started your own company immediately and you never went to work for a firm?

Barbara: I started my brokerage firm in New Jersey immediately because my boyfriend had a friend who was an attorney, and as an attorney he was able to license me. So I just went and took the test. In those days, you have to appreciate 35 years ago, there were no barrier entries at all. If you could walk and talk you could pass the test. And I could do both, so I sailed through it.

Shaun: Is it any different now?

Barbara: Of course. It’s a pain in the neck now. In New Jersey, in New York, any state. Top of the list of course is California where fifteen years after I went to California five times to attend the courses I failed my brokers license five times in a row. I never got to move to California because I already had the Corcoran Group. I wanted to just move to California to just start all over again, but I couldn’t because I couldn’t pass the damn exam. In answer to your question; “Is it more difficult today?” It’s more difficult in terms of education, because you have to take courses and pass the exam, which is a pain in the neck. (more…)

The New York Times recently published an article written by Nicolai Ouroussof titled “New York City, Tear Down These Walls”. In the article, he contends that there are some buildings, so ugly in nature, they should be torn down. He goes as far as naming the top contenders. (I personally think he missed a few). I am not as bold as he, to name them here, but I do support his overall position and additionally contend that we are seeing some of the wrong  buildings built in the wrong neighborhoods. If we look to the successes of the past, we will find a commonality in the architecture being intuitive in a way that it adds, not detracts to the landscape. History will soon show us that buildings out of context with their surroundings will not resonate as well, if at all, with the people they are attempting to attract. Would you be comfortable living in a sixty story building in an historic neighborhood surrounded by six story pre war loft buildings?

New York Magazine published a similar themed piece about Starchitects and their possible added value (or not).  I am all for architecture representing progress and being an expression of our society. Hopefully it pays respect to the past and takes us a direction in the future that we can be proud of in the years that follow.

Welcome to Core Talks. Get ready for some interesting dialogue about the fascinating world of real estate and everything connected to it. This will be an open forum to share our ideas, thoughts, opinions, happenings, and expertise. We welcome your input and comments. Let’s start talking……….

As marketing and selling evolves and campaigns to sell real estate become more sophisticated, there are some projects that miss the mark and detract from the value of the project, and there are others that over reach and help a project exceed its intrinsic market value.

Walking into Pandiscio Co. gives credence to the old saying “if you want to get something done, ask a busy man.” With 14 real estate projects under their belt in only four years, Pandiscio Co. is in the business of turning properties into valuable new brands (or reinvigorating old ones).

I sat down with founder Richard Pandiscio at his headquarters in the Meatpacking District to discuss his pioneering work in real estate branding.

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