The Observer's Jared Kushner, Joseph Meyer and CORE's Jack Cayre and Shaun Osher

To toast to the grand opening of CORE’s new Madison Avenue office and the launch of The New York Observer’s new lifestyle section, “NYO”, CORE partnered with the New York paper last night for an evening of celebrations at the Upper East Side’s Rouge Tomate.  Filled with Observer bigwigs including the paper’s owner, Jared Kushner, industry professionals, CORE agents and staff, developers, architects, members of the media and other invited guests, the night featured speeches from our CEO, Shaun Osher, and Joseph Meyer, CEO of The New York Observer, great food and outstanding conversation.  Check out the recap of last night’s event, courtesy of our friends at The Observer.

Check out scenes from last night’s party below:

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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.

Downtown Nudges Out Uptown as Priciest Destination for Luxury Buyers

The Real Deal

For the first time in a decade, the asking prices for luxury Downtown apartments have outpaced those in Midtown and Uptown. Walker Tower is highlighted as one of Chelsea’s most desirable developments.

Wallabout Refloats Next to the Navy Yard

The Wall Street Journal

The Wallabout neighborhood in Brooklyn is featured in last week’s Wall Street Journal. Doug Bowen gives insight into the revival of this area, spurred by bolstered activity in the nearby Navy yard, thriving businesses, and the development of a new mixed-use complex.

Go for Brooke

New York Post

Sofia Vergara visited Jeff Smith’s 301 East 52^nd Street penthouse listing.

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

Worth It! Innovative App Lures Buyers to Tribeca Luxury Condo
New York Daily News
93 Worth’s interactive app was featured on the cover of the Daily News’ real estate section.  With the use of Aurasma, the app showcases unique features that allow users to experience the history and amenities of the new development.  Shaun Osher sits with Daily News real estate Editor Jason Sheftell to discuss the innovative digital marketing campaign.

Living Large
CBS 2
Tony Sargent and Emily Beare take us on a tour of their $5.4 million exclusive, duplex penthouse at 39 Fifth Avenue.  CBS’ Emily Smith follows them throughout the home, complete with intricate finishes and features, including hand-painted wallpaper and walls.

Unique Homes
CNN
At 105 Chestnut Ridge Road, Michael Graves’ $17.5 million dollar listing is showcased in CNN Money’s “Unique Homes” feature.  A truly one-of-a-kind listing, this mansion is most noted for its grand entry and in-ground swimming pool in the home’s living room.

93 Worth, CORE’s new development project in Tribeca, made today’s cover of the Daily News’ real estate section for its unique marketing campaign which includes the use of Aurasma, an augmented reality app that brings images within 93 Worth’s marketing campaign to life. Watch CORE CEO, Shaun Osher and Daily News real estate Editor, Jason Sheftell discuss this innovative marketing campaign in the video below.

CORE marked a New York City real estate first by being the first real estate group to partner with Aurasma on the marketing of a luxury new development. 93 Worth’s augmented reality campaign can be seen by downloading the free ” 93 Worth” iTunes app and will instantly allow images to come to life when your smartphone or iPad’s viewfinder is placed over any one of six trigger images that can be found throughout 93 Worth’s advertisements, brochure and other marketing materials.

You can also experience one of the videos by follow the instructions on the image advertisement below or by visiting CORE’s Twitter, @CORE_RealEstate, or Facebook tab. (more…)

Last night’s The New York Observer’s 25^th Anniversary celebration at The Four Seasons Restaurant had no shortage of celebrities and other notable guests in attendance.  With names like Katie Holmes, Spike Lee, Rupert Murdoch and Donald Trump as guests, one could easily get lost in the crowd of New York’s most influential individuals.  This week’s “Photo of the Week” captures CORE’s very own Shaun Osher and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg having a meeting of the minds, taking a moment to chat as the event was underway.  Perhaps the two of them were discussing the real estate market in New York City or the latest episode of Selling New York!

CORE was a proud sponsor of last night’s event, along with several other real estate firms throughout the city.

In one of  Shaun Osher’s recent posts on architecture, he referenced that no matter one’s architectural preferences, fundamentally speaking, there is either good design or bad design. One of the most recent examples of “good design” (in our opinion) is The Shard, which officially opened to the public last month.

Located in London’s historic district, The Shard is a glass-clad, 95-story tower designed by Italian architect, Renzo Piano. The building has become the newest addition to the London skyline and although it received a fair amount of hesitation from critics, it has been embraced as an iconic building that will, in many respects, influence future large-scale projects in the city. In addition to its unique, spire-like design, The Shard hosts an interesting range of spaces including offices, residential units, a hotel, various restaurants, and five indoor and outdoor public viewing galleries.

Although visiting The Shard is worth the trip, New Yorkers will soon be treated with a new Renzo Piano project in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, where he will once again be responsible for shaping another city’s skyline. The new Whitney Museum, which is currently under construction, is set to be completed in 2015.

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.