The End of Rental Broker Commissions As You Know It. The Beginning of Even-Higher Rents.


In case you missed it, New York City’s City Council just passed a new rule that will impact the real estate market forever. They all but eliminated the dominant business model that has ruled the rental market for more than three decades: tenants paying brokerage commissions. I want to discuss all of the knock-on effects
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The Sometimes Secret to Dealmaking? Waiting. (Our Deal of the Month @ 52 Riverside Drive)


There’s a durable caricature of a real estate agent. Here’s the scene: you sit down and ask them if now is a good time to buy or sell, and you already can hear the answer: “Of course!” they say. All of the litany of plausible and less-plausible answers come pouring out. You’re not sure you
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(VIDEO) Don’t Take My Word For It. The NYC Housing Market is Better Than You’ve Heard.


Forget mortgage rates. Forget low inventory.Forget “prices need to adjust down further.” The data doesn’t show that any of that means as much as you think.And don’t take my word for it. The numbers show that buyers are active. Very much so. So if you’re thinking about selling, you may not want, or need, to
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How Much does Overcustomization Cost? (Our Deal of the Month)


So How’s the Market? There’s a lot that I can say about market trends, and this listing that just closed is indicative of a real estate market returning to health. This property at 200 Riverside Boulevard, a 26th-floor unit which was asking $2.25mm and sold for that level. It went into contract in 12 days
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A New Way To Save Real $$ on your Prewar Apartment Renovation—by Using Smart Home Systems (and Calling the Electrician)


I was touring the Penn Station renovation last month with a whole group of real estate professionals, and I struck up a conversation with MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing) consultant, David Reiter of Consulting Engineering Services. He asked what I do, and when I mentioned residential brokerage, he told me about some innovation in construction, innovation
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(VIDEO) The Win-Win Window is Closing


I’m not one to panic. But I’m seeing something in the NYC Market today that doesn’t happen very often. I mean, not like that once-in-82,000-years rare, not a hunter’s moon, and not once-in-a-lifetime, either. But a moment that is at least quite rare in real estate: The win-win situation. How often can you, as a
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What Happens when Your Agent Becomes an Advisor? Our Deal of the Month: 24 East 82nd


In the early weeks of a sea change in real estate, where all buyers must sign buyer representation agreements to work with agents (see our other post here), September’s Deal of the Month speaks directly to why, for most buyers, agents are so absolutely essential. How We Met We met these buyers not through some
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The Nothingburger of the Buyer Representation Scandal


Well, we’re six weeks into the biggest shift in real estate history. I’m talking, of course, about the requirement across most of the country (except in New York City) for buyers to sign “buyer representation agreements” before agents will show them properties. The Wall Street Journal was breathless about the billions of dollars that buyers
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The Non-Binary Housing Market


It’s not a buyer’s market. It’s not a seller’s market, either. Broker Frederick Peters called it a “broker’s market.” It’s a market that doesn’t want to be defined. Let’s call it a non-binary housing market. I’ll explain. When it was a Buyers’ Market Since mid-2022, buyers have had it pretty good—if they were carrying cash.
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(VIDEO) How Lower Rates Are Already Impacting the NYC Housing Market


Just a little enthusiasm about what the Fall real estate market is already seeing: Be in touch if you’ve been thinking about buying or selling. Now is the time! Have a great month! -Scott & The HRT
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Recent Blog Posts

The End of Rental Broker Commissions As You Know It. The Beginning of Even-Higher Rents.
The Sometimes Secret to Dealmaking? Waiting. (Our Deal of the Month @ 52 Riverside Drive)
(VIDEO) Don’t Take My Word For It. The NYC Housing Market is Better Than You’ve Heard.
How Much does Overcustomization Cost? (Our Deal of the Month)
A New Way To Save Real $$ on your Prewar Apartment Renovation—by Using Smart Home Systems (and Calling the Electrician)
(VIDEO) The Win-Win Window is Closing
What Happens when Your Agent Becomes an Advisor? Our Deal of the Month: 24 East 82nd
The Nothingburger of the Buyer Representation Scandal
The Non-Binary Housing Market
(VIDEO) How Lower Rates Are Already Impacting the NYC Housing Market

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