According to Philip Scheinfeld, New York City is on its way back stronger than ever. The New York City based Real Estate Broker—who is one Compass’ top Brokers in Manhattan & Miami, has brokered in excess of $250m in sales to date including over $56m in sales this first quarter. Today we had the opportunity to talk about his New York City Real Estate predictions, how he utilizes Instagram and more.
When, how and why did you get into Real Estate?
I started working in Real Estate in 2013 at a small brokerage that no longer exists called Miron Properties. It was acquired by NRT about 5 years ago. I was still in college working on developing a social networking app. I was going to quit college and work on the app full time when my parents urged me to remain in college and focus on graduating. I decided if I was going to stop the app I needed to find something else to do to keep me busy. A good friend of mine was going to be on a real estate show so I decided to watch it. After the first episode I was hooked. With a little convincing from my mom, I decided to get licensed. I took the three-week course at NYREI in NYC and never looked back.
What challenges has the pandemic brought to the real estate broker market in New York?
In March of 2020 in person showings were stopped which caused a lot of problems for the real estate market. This lasted for over 3 months and made it nearly impossible for buyers and sellers to transact. On top of that, any deals that were inked we’re starting to go sideways as many buyers thought the world was ending. The market in NYC has since turned with the past 11 weeks seeing over 30 contracts signed on apartments priced over $4,000,000. This data points to NYC coming back stronger than ever.
What opportunities has the pandemic brought to the real estate broker market in Miami?
The Miami market has been on fire for nearly a year as you have many HNWI coming down here. The mix of taxes, weather, school system and the lifestyle has been a catalyst in the move to miami. The mayor of Miami has been very vocal with trying to get companies to come down to the sunshine state which has allowed many people to completely move down here full time. More states are starting to open up but Florida has been open for many months making it the go to place during the pandemic.
Have New York brokers been forced to give concessions the past year in order to close deals?
During the first few months of COVID sellers were certainly giving a lot of concessions to help get deals done. Some of my buyers in the higher end of the spectrum, $20mm plus were seeing 30-40% discounts on trophy properties however that soon changed with the news of the vaccine coming to market within the year. Even recently deal volume has spiked because of sellers wanting to leave the city but for the most part the market in NY is really starting to stabilize and some even say that it is the strongest market we’ve seen in over a decade.
Do you believe virtual viewings will be a reoccurring normality in the future?
Virtual viewings pretty much came and went. They lasted for a few months but once people started getting vaccinated and were able to come to NY to tour in person they have pretty much disappeared. During the pandemic I did sell a few apartments through virtual tours from buyers that were unable to come to the city.
You have a large following on Instagram, how do you utilize Instagram for your business?
I am constantly adding content to my social channels that my followers like to see. People want to see authenticity and what a day in the life of someone is. I post my listings, members of my team and I also post the places I visit and even my dog Sur. My followers love Sur.
What Real Estate predictions do you have for 2021 in New York City?
I think the market is going to continue to move in the way that it has been for the last two or so months. As more people get vaccinated more buyers will begin to come back to the city to buy to prepare for the fall when schools go back to normal.
Follow Philip On Instagram @philipscheinfeld