By Kim Velsey 4/30 3:07pm

Titles and Honorifics

A title has to mean something or it can't go on a business card. (flickr, rthrelkeld)

Broker Babble: State Bans Fancy-Sounding, Phony Real Estate Titles

So much for all the senior vice presidents, vice presidents, executive vice presidents, managing directors and all the other clunky important-sounding titles that real estate brokerages love to parcel out to their top-sellers. For a long time, brokerages have crowned their best and brightest with meaningless titular appendages that brokers are only too happy to slap on their business cards. Now the satisfaction of a job well done, big fat commission checks and the money and power that come with selling millions of dollars in real estate will have to be reward enough.

As the Wall Street Journal reported, New York State is putting the kibosh on all the fake fancy titles because, as it happens, most people who sell real estate are actually prohibited from holding them. Read More

By Matt Chaban 5/14/12 10:14am

Broken Brokers

They won't go hungry! (Bracha Blog)

Keller Williams Getting Killed in New York?

Last year, Ilan Bracha told The Observer his new firm, Keller Williams NYC, would be No. 1 within five years.

It was a strong boast in a town already packed with real estate brokerages, where the business is a blood sport. But he was rolling out a franchise of the nation’s biggest brokerage, one that has a very popular system that an mean huge commissions for top producers, of which New York has many.

Still, a little over a year in, Keller Williams NYC has struggled to succeed in New York, according to Crain’s. Read More

By Elise Knutsen 1/03/12 7:39pm

Machers

Shlomi Reuveni

Shlomi the Money: How Shlomi Reuveni, International Man of Mystery, Became Manhattan’s Best Selling Broker

It was a clear fall day on the Upper West Side as Shlomi Reuveni walked briskly down Broadway. Rising on either side were the Art Deco and Gothic buildings with their enduring cornices and hand-laid bricks, the quintessence of Uptown living.

Mr. Reuveni was headed for the Laureate, a recently completed condo building that has been quietly commanding some of the top prices in the neighborhood, thanks largely to his efforts as the building’s broker. High profile notwithstanding, The Observer almost walked right past the place. It may have been Mr. Reuveni’s broad stride that distracted us from the entrance on 76th Street. Or perhaps it was the luxury building’s understated glory. The Laureate is camouflaged, almost theatrically so, to match its surroundings. The faux prewar detail is impressively comprehensive, from the painted iron balconies to the granite and limestone facade.

“Hey Shlomi!” the man at the front desk called out. “Hello!” Mr. Reuveni responded, beaming brighter than the lights of the lobby’s artificial Christmas tree. Read More

By Elise Knutsen 12/14/11 11:49am

Broken Brokers

new-york-500

The Recession Is Still Decimating Brokers' Lives

Over the past several months, The Observer has been checking in with New York’s brokerfolk. “I’m soooo busy,” we often hear.

“Good busy!” they quickly qualify.

Well aware that these days are a far cry from the pre-Lehman boom times, The Observer thought foreign investments were buoying the market, and that everything was moving along nicely. Not so, it would seem. Read More