On Sunday, May 19, 2013, CORE CEO Shaun Osher was a keynote speaker at “AREC”, a real estate conference in Australia’s Gold Coast, produced by Total Real Estate Training (TRET). TRET is a full-service education company created to provide the real estate industry in Australia and New Zealand with access to the very best in international and local experts in real estate. Shaun Osher joined a lineup of notable speakers scheduled for the three-day conference including the inspirational Chris Gardner of “The Pursuit of Happyness” and real estate coach, David Knox.

In his presentation, Shaun shared secrets about agent branding to over 3,000 people. Discussion topics included the traits of superstar NYC agents and how to replicate them, how to use new media to build your personal brand and personal branding and marketing promotions that work.

Shaun’s presentation was clearly a hit; the Twitterverse exploded following his speech. Check out what AREC-goers had to say:

“@BradenWalters19 May: #osherarec great session. The best of the day. We got so much out about building our brand. Thank you. #arec13 @shaunosher”

“@EldersREVic 19 May: @ShaunOsher is on stage and is speaking magnificently. Shaun is making a lot of sense. #AREC13″

“@T_McGlynn 19th: Highlight of day one at #arec2013 was @ShaunOsher and his amazing journey in NYC. Day two is shaping up well. @TRETCOMAU”

Welcome to Ten, CORE founder and CEO Shaun Osher’s rapid-fire interview series with prominent CORE figures. Read on to find out how this week’s subject deals with being on the hot seat.

Brendon DeSimone returned to his East Coast roots just a few short years ago, but already has an impressive track record of deals for a broker who only recently entered the NYC market. Prior to joining CORE, Brendon was a very successful broker in San Francisco where real estate deal making is extremely different than it is here in New York City. Brendon’s perspective on the details of all aspects of a deal  is an invaluable asset to any client and has proven to be a real asset to his business. Here are Brendon’s answers to Ten questions:

1)     How long have you been selling real estate?

I started in 2002 in San Francisco. It was after the high tech dot.com boom, but during a little lull – right before the first big dip in interest rates in 2003.  We joked that if rates got any lower, purchasing would be nearly free. Now look at them!

2)     How did you get into the business?

I was one of the first members of a small Silicon Valley start-up and I loved it.  It was very entrepreneurial. We were small, nimble and creating a first-of-its-kind technology and service. We would hear customer feedback and within days, we’d have the product and development teams on board to make changes.  It was so exciting to be a part of that. Over time, the company grew and the excitement wore off.  In order to effectively grow, processes and procedures were put in place as were large company employees. As the company grew, the culture changed and it just didn’t feel the same. I left and wanted to do something similar, but was afraid of running into the same issue at another start-up. I took six months off and did some research, had informational interviews and tried to figure out what I was passionate about. I wanted to do something entrepreneurial and work for myself. I used to go to open houses with my mom when I was a kid. I once called a broker, acting like my mom, and spent an hour on the phone with her about a property. All roads led to real estate.

3)    How is NYC housing different from San Francisco housing?

The housing stock is completely different. I was mainly selling Victorian and Edwardian single family homes and two to four unit buildings.  There were/are very few high rise buildings or co-ops in San Francisco.

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The Real Deal recently named us the “Number One ‘Mid-Size’ Firm in New York.”

Last year, we were named the “Number One ‘Boutique’ Firm in New York!”

What’s interesting, is that we’ve consistently had around the same number of agents, so I’m a little perplexed by this current categorization. Either everyone else is shrinking, or our reach is growing. One statistic that has consistently reflected our brand, culture, and business model, is that we have the most productive agents amongst all firms. From the smallest ones, to the 8,000 pound gorillas. We are still David amongst Goliaths!

Our business model is to remain boutique in size and essence. Because by being boutique, we can continue to be:

Nimble.

Innovative.

Transparent.

Quick.

Consistent.

Experts.

Congratulations, and thank you, to my agents and staff who remain dedicated to achieving the same goal of delivering the highest level of innovative service to our clients. We pride ourselves on being the ambassadors of the evolution of real estate.

Shaun Osher is the CEO and Founder of CORE.

It seems appropriate that, as CORE embarks on opening our office on the Upper East Side, we debut our brand film. Our original vision for the company and brand remains the same as it was eight years ago…

Shaun Osher is the Founder and CEO of CORE

Five years ago, I told a reporter from The New York Times that Manhattan was essentially becoming one luxury neighborhood and we would start to see properties in “newer” residential areas meet the market in more established areas. With all of the residential development over the past ten years, this is now a reality, and, to the surprise of a few people, last month showed that the average price of a home was more expensive downtown than it was uptown.

Above: The Atalanta Building (one of the first TriBeCa conversions) was originally a refrigeration building with no windows.

Having sold downtown for almost 2 decades, I’ve pioneered sales and marketing in a number of these newer downtown areas. And it’s because of the pioneering developers that these neighborhoods have evolved into some of the most desirable residential neighborhoods in the City. Some of the more notable pioneers should be recognized for their vision, and for blazing a trail that benefited the adopters.

What these “downtown” developers created was a product to satisfy the demand of their generation of buyers. Conversions in loft buildings with great volumes of space that the uptown buildings couldn’t satisfy.  Homes that had the amenities, services, and finishes that uptown buyers expected, but in architecturally different and historically significant buildings. New residential neighborhoods like West Chelsea, SoHo, TriBeCa, and the Bowery have now become expensive zip codes and  it’s no surprise that we are currently selling a new development in Chelsea at higher prices than almost every new development in Manhattan.

-Shaun Osher is the CEO and Founder of CORE.

Welcome to Ten, CORE founder and CEO Shaun Osher’s rapid-fire interview series with prominent CORE figures. Read on to find out how this week’s subject deals with being on the hot seat.

CORE has set the standard for New York City real estate brokerage websites. Luna Vega has been working with CORE for the past two years and is responsible for the look and feel of our webpage. She started her own business in 2006 and has been a digital strategist for the past seven years with a range of clients including Unilever, Chase, Nissan, Nokia and Verizon Wireless. Here are Luna’s answers to Ten questions:

1) How long have you been a digital marketing strategist? 

My “digital birth”, as I like to call it, was in 2003 when I attended ITP, a NYU graduate program and immersed myself in the digital realm. I fell in love with the tech industry, so I decided to follow my passion and start my own business in 2006.

2) How did you get into the business?

While working at RGA, a digital advertising agency, I witnessed first hand the newly-found power of bloggers. The roles were shifting. Influential blogs like RocketBoom, Cool Hunting, etc. had more committed audiences than bigger publishers. Audiences were also becoming increasingly segmented, creating more opportunities for marketers to target desired demographics. I was exhilarated by all these novel opportunities and wanted to transfer this knowledge to small businesses. My goal was to empower and grow their business organically, strictly using the web.

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Gaudi - by Shaun Osher

I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but when it comes to architecture, I believe that there is a guideline of common sensibility that is universal. Beyond interpretation and individual artistic license,  there is fundamental good design and bad design. If you are a modernist and love the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, you

can still appreciate the integrity of the Pantheon. Much in the same way that scholars of Gaudi can appreciate the beauty of Phillip Johnson’s body of work.

But, over the past decade, in New York City, and from some of the pipeline of buildings being designed,  it seems to me that we have lost the barometer of common sense(ibility). We are witnessing some of the worlds ugliest buildings being built. Yes, there have been some gems, but in large part, our social artistic cultural conscience seems to have disappeared.

We have the landmarks preservation commission which oversees the design of new buildings being built, but this is reserved for the select neighborhoods that have historical significance. (There also seem to be some political loopholes when it comes to certain “situations”).  Where is the zoning board that oversees the design of the new skyscrapers (and low rise buildings)? Where is our social conscience? Where is the inspiration? The driving force behind most of these buildings seem to be driven by value engineering and one goal of achieving the highest dollar return on investment.

It is high time that we start to acknowledge that what we build today will become a reflection of our culture and create a fingerprint for future generations to be inspired by.

Shaun Osher is the CEO and Founder of CORE.

The success of a business depends primarily on the people who run it. And in the case of real estate sales, even more so, because it is such a service-oriented business with many intangibles. The culture of a company starts at the top and then works its way through the people who make up the fabric of the brand. One of the most important positions in any brokerage company is the person who mentors and guides the agents. This person has to be well-respected, have a high level of integrity synonymous with the brand, understand the business model with the ability to navigate the intricacies of any deal. Ryan Fitzpatrick is a person who exemplifies all of these attributes and is an ambassador of our CORE brand and culture. As mentioned in The Real Deal, today, he is stepping into his new role as Director of Sales for our Chelsea office and this will mark a significant step in our commitment to build our company as the leader in the industry.

Shaun Osher is the CEO and Founder of CORE. Learn more about Ryan in his “TEN” interview here.

The riskiest thing you can do is to play it safe.
Especially in a heated market.
But, for some reason many people seem to do this.
Brokers, developers, architects, designers…..

Playing it safe is mediocre
Playing it safe is lazy
Generic
A strong market disguises mediocrity with the illusion of innovation And blurs the core reason for success!

In 2008, I predicted that West Chelsea would be one of the hottest new neighborhoods in the city. With the development of The High Line and all the construction activity – this was a no brainer. I also felt that West 19th Street would eventually become one of the most architecturally significant streets in Manhattan. Lined with residential buildings by Frank Gehry, Jeanne Nouvelle, Suga Ruban and Annabelle Selldorf, this prediction has become a reality. There was very little residential housing in the area and when I first met Annabelle Selldorf, she was not well known to the public. She was introduced to me in 2006 by John Jacobson, who, with his brother Keith and the City Investment Fund, developed 520 West 19th Street. This was the first residential condo project in West Chelsea and it was a huge success. Today, Annabelle is one of the most prolific and successful architects in New York and a household name. She was my first interview, and I thought it appropriate to review her interview for #throwbackthurdsay. I hope you enjoy it the second time around.

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