{"id":415694,"date":"2014-10-22T16:57:01","date_gmt":"2014-10-22T20:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newwebdev.wordpress-developer.us\/hauteresidence\/?p=415694"},"modified":"2014-11-25T11:38:10","modified_gmt":"2014-11-25T16:38:10","slug":"haute-residence-launches-nyc-luxury-real-estate-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newwebdev.wordpress-developer.us\/hauteresidence\/haute-residence-launches-nyc-luxury-real-estate-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"HauteResidence.com Launches in New York City with Luxury Real Estate Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"

An elite\u00a0group of real estate professionals\u00a0flocked to the Core Club in midtown Manhattan for\u00a0HauteResidence.com<\/a>‘s New York real estate summit\u00a0on October 21st.<\/p>\n

\"Honoring<\/a>
Honoring Richard LeFrak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The exclusive\u00a0event continued\u00a0HauteResidence.com<\/span><\/a>\u2019s month-long global launch as an elite, membership-driven luxury real estate portal, featuring one leading real estate agent in each top market around the world. Offering clients a one-of-a-kind\u00a0convenience, the newly revamped\u00a0site offers\u00a0homebuyers the opportunity to find their dream havens with the guidance\u00a0of some of the world\u2019s most prominent\u00a0real estate professionals.<\/p>\n

Attendees\u00a0mingled with New York City\u00a0power firms and their top real estate producers as they joined\u00a0together to celebrate\u00a0Haute Living\u00a0Lifetime Achievement Award winner\u00a0Richard LeFrak<\/b>.<\/p>\n

\"Edgardo<\/a>
Edgardo Defortuna, Richard LeFrak, and Ugo Colombo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They also had\u00a0the rare opportunity to witness\u00a0industry titans engage in a captivating discussion over the past, present, and future of the Miami\u00a0real estate market with the Magic City’s\u00a0biggest developers.\u00a0Hosted by Haute Living<\/em> and Haute Time<\/em> publisher Kamal Hotchandani<\/strong>, the gathering featured\u00a0three riveting roundtables.<\/p>\n

The Real Estate Titans of Business panel\u00a0spotlighted\u00a0real estate bigwigs Ugo Colombo<\/strong> (CMC Group), Edgardo Defortuna<\/strong> (Fortune International Developers), Richard LeFrak (LeFrak Organization), Don Peebles<\/strong> (Peebles Corporation<\/span><\/span>), and Kevin Maloney<\/strong> (Property Markets Group).\u00a0“[Miami] is certainly the gateway to the United States,” said Defortuna.\u00a0“All Latin Americans love Miami\u2026 and we see investment from everywhere in Latin America, from the smaller countries in Central America, all the way to Brazil, which is a very powerful country today\u2014[one] that has invested millions and millions of dollars in Miami.”<\/p>\n

The distinguished quartet’s lively discussion was immediately followed by a cheerful Krug Champagne toast in honor of LeFrak, who was candid when asked why he decided to venture out of the Big Apple\u2014his\u00a0hometown, and a place practically synonymous with his company’s work\u2014and into the Magic City\u00a0for business. As put by the real estate mogul and event honoree, “New York is still the best market in the United States, bar none. But as I\u2019ve said before, for international capital, Miami has become one of the three or four places that\u2019s been very, very attractive\u2026 not only for investment purposes, but for going there, having a good time, living there,” remarked LeFrak. “It\u2019s really changed its appeal from a local to a global appeal.”<\/p>\n

\"Kamal<\/a>
Kamal Hotchandani, Wendy Maitland, Elizabeth Stribling, Leslie Wilson, and April Irene Donelson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Immediately after lunch, guests enjoyed a presentation by luxury service FlatRate Elite<\/a>, which sponsored the event.<\/p>\n

Three beautiful blondes\u2014Elizabeth Stribling<\/strong> (Stribling & Associates), Leslie Wilson<\/strong> (The Related Companies), and Wendy Maitland<\/strong> (Town Residential) commanded\u00a0the Power Firms panel, leading a conversation that touched upon topics including the increasingly segmented nature\u00a0of New York City’s real estate market, and\u00a0the strong, enduring demand for the\u00a0“Park Avenue penthouse,” which Stribling referred to as the “rarest of the [real estate] breeds.”<\/p>\n

The discussion also visited the new, growing\u00a0trend of millennials\u2014that is, individuals\u00a0in their 20’s and early 30’s\u2014moving down from cities such as New York to rent residences\u00a0in Miami, and the ever-growing popularity\u00a0of the Floridian city’s rentals. “I didn\u2019t realize that there was a hole that needed to be filled somehow,” revealed\u00a0Maitland.\u00a0“Those renters are out there, but there\u2019s no place for them to go in a place like Miami.” The panel also talk about\u00a0strategies for marketing domestic\u00a0listings to foreign buyers, and how developers have begun to create more “compact” apartments (e.g.\u00a0residences that tout average square footage but more bedrooms).\u00a0\u201cThey\u2019re shrinking their sizes to make them more affordable,\u201dsaid Leslie Wilson.<\/p>\n

Last but not least, Brett Forman\u00a0<\/strong>(Dolly Lenz Real Estate LLC), Tracie Golding<\/strong> (Stribling & Associates), Brian Lewis<\/strong> (Halstead Property),\u00a0Wendy Sarasohn<\/b> (Corcoran),\u00a0and Jason P. Karadus<\/strong> (Town Residential) provided a light yet highly insightful discussion that delved into the true nature of working in the real estate industry as members of\u00a0the esteemed Power Brokers panel. “So many people think [real estate is just] showing homes and emailing, and so much of our business has gone electronic…\u00a0and it is email, but this is really not an email business\u2014it\u2019s a people business,” said Lewis. “If you really aren\u2019t a people person, there\u2019s the door.”<\/p>\n

Maitland chimed in from the audience, “I\u2019m really glad we\u2019re hearing the substance of what [brokers] do today, because it\u2019s not<\/em> [just about] turning a key and getting your Balenciaga; it would be great if our younger generation of brokers understood more fully, and these kinds of summits were held for [them].”<\/p>\n

The group\u00a0also discussed\u00a0the\u00a0influence of media exposure on their listings, and their\u00a0experiences\u00a0dealing with downward pressure on commissions. “If it\u2019s a discounted listing, then you\u2019re getting a discounted service. If someone at another firm says they\u2019ll do it for X amount, I encourage [my clients] to go to the other firm, but they always go to me,” said Sarasohn.\u00a0“People think they need to [negotiate], but at the end of the day, they want full service, [which you have to pay for]. I believe you get what you pay for.” Golding agreed, adding,\u00a0“I always say\u2026 you get what you pay for, and you\u2019re paying for me\u2014you\u2019re paying for all that I\u2019m going to do for you. And if you want to pay for less, then I\u2019m not the right broker for you.”<\/p>\n

\"Cheryl<\/a>
Cheryl Casone interviewing Ugo Colombo of CMC Group.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

News anchor Cheryl Casone<\/strong> moderated all three panels, while her network\u2014Fox Business\u2014provided\u00a0additional coverage of the event.<\/p>\n