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 #512, which first aired on June 28, 2012. For more SNY recaps, click here.
In the latest episode of “Selling New York,” CORE’s Tom Postilio is given a duplex penthouse listing at 211 East 51st Street by CORE’s CEO himself, Shaun Osher. With all the responsibilities that come from being the boss, Shaun’s extremely busy schedule doesn’t allow him all the time he needs when given an exclusive penthouse listing by developer Henry Justin, who specifically wants him to sell it. In order to make sure that the penthouse is put on the market in the best possible light, Shaun enlists the help of Tom, a founding CORE agent and now a Managing Director at the firm.
With the penthouse just a few weeks away from going on the market, Tom has the difficult task of pulling a launch event together and making sure that Shaun crosses all of his to-dos off of the pre-event checklist. After some minor hiccups, including construction and staging delays, Tom and Shaun host a successful launch event in a fully furnished (and finished) property. 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!
1) Shaun and Tom go back–way back. Shaun and Tom have been friends and co-workers for the past decade, so although it may be a little surprising to see a CEO hand over a multimillion-dollar listing to another person, it’s not surprising that he entrusted Tom with this assignment. Tom even said that their relationship has its own language, and thankfully it’s one they both understand.
2) Construction delays are even worse than airport delays. Delays in the real estate business are common, and the duplex penthouse at 211 East 51st Street was no exception. The project was behind by at least three months because of construction delays, but that wasn’t the penthouse’s only missing puzzle piece. After a furniture company back-ordered just about every piece needed to make the apartment complete, Tom had to enlist the help of a professional stager to fully furnish each room in the duplex.
3) The invisible outdoor spaces. Since this episode was shot in the dead of winter, the penthouse’s four (yes, four!) beautiful terraces were not open or shot for the party. But, in case you were wondering, the entry level floor has a full wraparound terrace and the upper level features terraces in both bedrooms, as well as one of off the living space, totaling 1,641-square feet!
4) The episode had a penthouse premiere. While the penthouse has received various offers, a deal has yet to be struck, and Tom had the rare opportunity to hold a special screening of tonight’s episode in the actual penthouse. This was a first for Tom, a “Selling New York regular, and he couldn’t have chosen a more perfect space since the property features five large flat screen TVs and two different living rooms.
5) A party in Manhattan, with MANHATTAN. To make the penthouse’s launch party truly special, Tom and Shaun partnered with MANHATTAN magazine to join in the celebration. It was a perfect match and a successful event. To top it off, the penthouse and party were featured on MANHATTAN’s website shortly after.