A sampling of last week’s press coverage of CORE and CORE properties.

Introducing the Upper East Side’s New CORE
In celebration of CORE’s new Madison Avenue office, our good friends at The New York Observer hosted a night of mingling, good food, and outstanding conversation last Wednesday at Rouge Tomate.  The New York Observer was also celebrating the launch of their new lifestyle section “NYO”, with guests of the party getting a first look at the new publication.  Guests included CORE brokers and staff, industry professionals, developers, architects, members of the media, and other invited guests.

Living Large:  A Townhouse in the Sky
Adrian Noriega’s penthouse listing at 15 West 20^th Street was the highlight of last week’s “Living Large” segment with Emily Smith.  The Flatiron District home, equipped with over 2,000 square-feet of terrace space, private elevator access, and several other upgraded amenities, represents the best in luxury city living.

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With today being the first day of spring, having this week’s feature of “Three of a Kind” showcasing the Flatiron District seems pretty fitting.  Home to Madison Square Park, the renowned Flatiron Building, and a host of outdoor activities and nightlife, Flatiron is one of New York City’s most attractive destinations and the perfect location for taking in the sites on a beautiful spring day.  Here’s a snapshot of three properties located in the area:

Where: 15 Union Square West, 5DE
Asking: $9,170,000
Size: 3,100-square Feet
Listed by: Vickey Barron, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ralph Modica

This inviting, yet modern condo, perfectly situated in Union Square West, features all of the exquisite details that make luxury living in New York City unique.  With cast-iron arched windows reminiscent of the famous Tiffany building, you’re sure to get an unparalleled view of the Flatiron District and let in this season’s gorgeous natural sunlight.

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I was approached by my client, Amanda Timchak, about participating in a fundraising event for City Harvest, a nonprofit organization she serves by sitting on their Leadership Council. While I had a good idea about the organization’s mission, I didn’t realize the magnitude of their efforts. I learned that City Harvest works with all segments of the NYC food industry including local restaurants, manufacturers, farms, corporate cafeterias and grocers, in addition to its local food drives and drop-off points, which they do in order to collect millions of pounds of food for the City’s hungry men, women and children. They have been tirelessly serving New York City for three decades; delivering food to nearly 600 community food programs and helping feed millions of New Yorkers that face hunger each year.

Some interesting facts about giving:

• $36 will help feed 20 children for a whole week
• $56 will rescue 224 pounds of food
• $83 will help feed a senior for nearly a year
• $135 will help feed 17 New Yorkers for a full month

This particular event, A Mid-Winter Escape, which I was asked to participate, is now in its second year.After learning more about all the great work City Harvest did, I spoke to our CEO, Shaun Osher about a possible sponsorship. He, like me, recognizes the severity of this ongoing and important issue, especially given the alarmingly high number of New Yorkers who go hungry each year. The latest statistic reported that more than three million citizens struggle to afford food. It took little-to-no convincing to get Shaun on board and happily agree for CORE to participate as a corporate sponsor of this fantastic event.

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New York City is home to some of the world’s most expensive properties, but in a city where new-to-market apartments seem to creep into the high millions, it’s not impossible to find a deal. Here are three 1-bedrooms that all fall under one million dollars.

Where: 220 West 148th Street, 3D
Asking: $719,000
Size: 1,221-square feet
Listed by: Adiran Noriega

220 West 148th Street packs a serious punch when it comes to its unique history. PS 90 was built in 1906 as…you guessed it, a public school. This 1-bedroom in the recently converted luxury condominium offers an open living room, dining area and kitchen that is perfect for an entertainer. We also like this loft-like space’s high ceilings, herringbone hardwood floors and wireless LED lighting system. (more…)

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.

Adrian Noriega has been with CORE only two years, but has quickly become one of our top agents. He is known for his strong client referral business – time and time again, Adrian is able to forge such strong relationships that the majority of his business is from his clients telling their friends they should work with him which is a true formula for success in the real estate industry. Here are his answers to Ten questions:

1) How long have you been selling real estate?

I began my real estate career 13 years ago.

2) How did you get into the business?        

I moved to NYC right out of high school to attend college at Marymount Manhattan while attempting to pursue acting. I quickly realized acting wasn’t going to work for me and I was getting a lot out of the marketing courses in my college curriculum. An acquaintance at the time, now friend and former colleague at Elliman, approached me about getting into the real estate business. Given my love for NYC, my intrigue for the real estate industry and my passion for marketing, I thought I’d give it a go. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.

3) You’ve been incredibly successful in a short time, what do you attribute your success to?

I would attribute it to two things: my knowledge of the market, and equally as important, if not more so, my ability to listen to my clients. By fully understanding my clients’ needs – what they like and don’t like – I am able to successfully deliver. It is critical that my clients are always 100% satisfied, and that is the cornerstone for how I run my business. I believe this is largely the reason why my clients remain loyal and consistently refer new business to me.

4) What was your favorite or most challenging deal?

My most challenging deal was helping my client, a Russian investor, buy an entire floor at 15 Broad Street. Interestingly, this building was especially important to her because of a dream she had before even knowing about 15 Broad. She dreamt that she bought into JP Morgan and owned the whole floor. Ironically 15 Broad was the former JP Morgan Chase building, so upon learning this, she was intent on buying in this building.  There was only one floor that met all of her needs, but unfortunately one of the apartments on that floor already had a contract out. I knew how important this was to my client, so I had to strategically plan and negotiate with the developer so that she could buy the entire floor.  After several meetings, I helped the developer recognize the long-term value of winning my client’s business. Consequently, she purchased the entire floor consisting of multiple units. Since then, I have successfully rented out all of these units for the past seven years, which has resulted in a very happy client and a new stream of incoming business for me, ultimately translating to new clients.

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HGTV’s “Selling New York” follows CORE agents as they navigate the country’s most competitive—and compelling—real estate market. Here’s our behind-the-scenes look at Episode #609, which first aired on December 13, 2012. For more SNY recaps, click here.

In this week’s episode of “Selling New York,” CORE broker Adrian Noriega is tasked with selling a colorfully designed and meticulously clean apartment in the Flatiron District. Although the apartment is picture perfect, Adrian’s seller, Phoebe, requests that no open houses be held. Faced with the challenge of getting potential buyers in the door through different marketing strategies, Adrian is up for the task of trying to get his client’s property sold at a premium price.

After agreeing to no open houses, Adrian gets to work on showing the apartment and makes sure that all guests take off their shoes, put on surgical booties to keep the apartment looking pristine, and even takes guests’ coffee at the door to avoid any messes. Although some buyers weren’t interested in the apartment’s views or the color-saturated living room with mod furniture, others absolutely loved the design aesthetic.

Weeks later, Adrian takes a ride to Phoebe’s home in New Jersey for an update on his progress with showings and happily presents an all-cash offer for $3.1M. Phoebe is pleased about the offer; however, Adrian suggests that he can get an even higher offer if Phoebe agrees to an open house. With some hesitation, she agrees to one open house and trusts Adrian’s expertise.

The open house goes well – with booties and all – and Adrian happily presents a higher offer to Phoebe. After all is said and done, the apartment sells for $3.375M, well over its original asking of $3.295M. Keep on reading for some exclusive behind-the-scenes information on what didn’t make it into last night’s episode of “Selling New York” and what happened after the cameras stopped rolling! (more…)

This week’s question: What’s the most common distraction in a home that may turn off potential buyers?

The CORE agent verdict: Clutter!

It seems like a fairly standard and obvious answer, but agents across the board are always faced with the challenge of getting sellers to de-clutter. CORE agent Debbie Batres explains that “In New York City, space is hard to come by and walking into a space where most of the apartment is covered in ‘things’ lessens the appearance of usable square feet.”

Adrian Noriega's clutter-free exclusive at 15 Broad Street

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CORE Agents Adrian Noriega, Emily Beare, Tom Postilio and Mickey Conlon were out last night for an HGTV Selling New York event at Linen Hall. The drama and excitement continue this season so be sure to tune in to see how CORE agents manage the competitive landscape of  Manhattan luxury real estate. The new season will kick off next Thursday, December 6th at 6:30PM EST.

The Real Estate Board of New York’s annual “Deal of the Year” Awards was held last night, October 25, 2012, at the Metropolitan Pavilion. CORE’s Limor Nesher was honored for her work at 251 East 110th Street where she conducted a unique art tour of the neighborhood to attract potential buyers to her townhouse listing which offered a gallery space. Emily Beare, Shaun Osher, Brittley Jarrell and Adrian Noriega enjoy the evening’s festivities in the photo above.