Boroughs & Burbs, the National Real Estate Conversation

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Welcome back to New York for episode #66 of Boroughs & Burbs. This week is a very special show. We have the NYC-based Presidents of two real estate brokerages that are in some ways similar, and yet couldn't be more different.

     We have Richard Ferrari, the President of Douglas Elliman, which has been in existence since 1911 and has over 7,000 agents in 113 offices across the country. The most significant recent change for Elliman is that this famous New York firm went public with a mandate to expand from its New York roots into luxury markets across the U.S. After spending 15 years at Elliman earlier in his career Richard Ferrari is back at the firm in charge of New York and New England with the mandate to grow, grow, grow.

     We have Richard Grossman, the President of Avenue 8. I met Richard Grossman when he was President of Halstead, Manhattan and he appeared on Boroughs & Burbs on Episode 11, "High Style" where we talked design. But, Richard knows the business of big brokerage in the Big Apple. In his new role, as President of Brokerage for a California-based, technology-savvy, venture-backed new brokerage called Avenue 8, Richard is also charged with growing the business, but with a different emphasis and for a firm with different skills and assets. Inman writes, "Avenue 8 is the rising star among modern brokerages. Their easy-to-use, mobile-first technology platform for agents is designed to help agents focus on what they really need to focus on — their clients." We want to hear more about this approach to the business.

     But, its not enough to grow a brokerage. I want to know how to grow my personal business and so do most of us out there. We have much to learn from the experience of these two men. This business is changing, consolidating and evolving. Every day we are told that if we don't change with it we'll be left behind. How does it make you feel that Forbes is still asking "In the Future of Real Estate, Will Agents Still Play a Role?"  And yet Zillow Offers blew up last year. Redfin shut down iBuying. And more recently Opendoor lost much more money than Zillow Offers ever did.  Is this redemption? Is relationship-selling and trust making a comeback. Or, are we marching inevitably to a future where the agent plays a diminishing role?  I want to ask these men to share their experiences and their wisdom about where the business is going and how to succeed in it.