New York’s Top 15 Real Estate Agents – The Hollywood Reporter

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City was hit first — and hardest. With the unfolding tragedy came a flood of residents suddenly looking for properties outside the city as well as anxious whispers that the city might never return to its former glory. The effect on NYC’s real estate market was severe: In the second quarter of 2020, Manhattan sales fell 54.1 percent, their steepest decline in 30 years, while prices dropped 17.7 percent, according to data from Douglas Elliman.

But by the last few months of 2020, there was an upsurge in activity, and demand has only grown through 2021. “It’s still the greatest city in the world, and everybody wants to be here,” says Core NYC broker Emily Beare. Homes priced over $10 million in Manhattan recently had their best sales week in eight years, and both sales volume and prices continue to spike. “New York City has a resiliency that a lot of other markets don’t have,” says Pamela D’Arc of Compass. “We’re seeing exactly what we saw after other tragic events that have happened in the city, which is that people paused, and then the rebound was extraordinary.” Here, The Hollywood Reporter highlights the city’s top agents who are inking marquee deals and helping A-list clients navigate the brisk, reinvigorated market. (Note: Client names that are included, unless otherwise noted, were all publicly reported transactions.)

OREN AND TAL ALEXANDER 

Douglas Elliman 

When it came time for hotelier André  Balazs to sell his $10.3  million SoHo apartment, he turned to Douglas Elliman’s Oren and Tal Alexander of The Alexander Team. The pair are known for breaking multiple SoHo price records and hold listings in trophy buildings from 432 Park Ave. to 111 West 57th St. In 2021, New York City’s market “has been wild,” says Tal, “and I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon.” They also are licensed in Florida, where they have handled sales for Tommy  Hilfiger and restaurateur Jeff  Zalaznick (Carbone). 

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EMILY BEARE 

Core NYC 

Core’s Emily Beare is consistently one of New York City’s top agents, with more than $4  billion in career sales. She also has become the broker of choice for designer Nate  Berkus, whom she represented in the off-market sale of a $13.5 million West Village townhouse in August. Beare previously has worked with Diane Kruger and sold a SoHo property once owned by Kanye West. She currently holds a $35  million listing at tony condo building 15 Central Park West. “There’s a lot of good buyers out there and not enough inventory,” says Beare. “Not a day goes by that I don’t get emails from brokers asking, ‘What do you have for $20 or $30  million in the West Village?’”

SERENA BOARDMAN 

Sotheby’s International Realty 

In her 20-year career at Sotheby’s International Realty, Serena Boardman has sold more than $4 billion worth of property. In 2021, Boardman listed a $21.5 million Central Park West mansion belonging to Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones as well as a $60 million Upper East Side townhouse owned by billionaire Ron Perelman. Boardman recently handled a $32 million penthouse listing for Broadway producer Terry Allen Kramer, as well as a $17 million mansion listed by former Simon & Schuster head honcho Dick Snyder.

JOHN BURGER 

Brown Harris Stevens 

When Bette Midler unloaded her Upper East Side penthouse for a cool $45  million and the Nasser family (who made their fortune in textile manufacturing) sold their Fifth Avenue co-op for $35  million this year, Brown Harris Stevens’ John Burger was behind both deals. Burger also has repped Jeff Bezos on numerous deals. His current listings include a $32.25 million Fifth Avenue apartment that was the longtime home of jeweler Harry Winston and a $60 million Upper East Side duplex said to be owned by Princess Firyal of Jordan. As for which areas of Manhattan are hot, Burger says, “I think there’s been a bit of a renaissance for the Upper East Side and Central Park West markets. Central Park is the crown jewel of New York, and people have started to embrace it more than ever. For many people it was their only opportunity to be outdoors and socially distanced during COVID.”

CARRIE CHIANG 

Corcoran 

Since starting her career in 1988, Corcoran’s Carrie Chiang has worked with bold-faced names including Barbra Streisand, Jim Carrey, Sean Combs and Derek Jeter. She currently represents the $28 million 6  Sutton Square townhouse being sold by Yue-Sai Kan, known as “the Oprah of China,” and is in contract for the $14.9 million sale of the China Institute building. Chiang also is no stranger to eye-popping Billionaire’s Row listings and currently reps a $79  million penthouse at 432 Park Ave, as well as $63.75 million spread at Central Park Tower. “I focus mostly on the Upper East Side, and a lot of the people I’m working with might have lived downtown or in New Jersey [before the pandemic], but now they want to be near their kids’ private schools,” says Chiang.

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PAMELA D’ARC 

Compass 

A 28-year industry veteran, Pamela D’Arc moved to Compass in 2019 when the firm acquired Stribling and Associates and hit the ground running. Over the course of the pandemic, D’Arc conducted deals for the likes of Jennifer Lawrence and the estate of the late Alan Rickman and in 2021 has seen a rush of activity from  Los Angeles-based clientele. “I have so many L.A. people who have decided to move to New York or move back to New York,” says D’Arc. This fall, she also helped former MTV Networks CEO and chairman Judy McGrath sell her Upper West Side brownstone for $7.8  million.

DANNY DAVIS 

Corcoran 

Like many of New York City’s top luxury brokers, Corcoran’s Danny Davis has fielded a higher-than-usual volume of off-market deals since the start of the pandemic (see sidebar at end of story), including the sale of WeWork co-founder and CEO Adam Neumann’s West Village townhouse for $13.65 million in August. Davis also led the listing team behind the June sale of a $15 million Tribeca penthouse owned by director-producer Shawn Levy (and formerly owned by Jon Stewart). Levy and his wife had purchased the property for $13 million just two months prior, per public records. Davis is nearing $300 million in total sales for 2021 and is currently repping a $12.5 million penthouse at the Clark Building in Tribeca. “I’m very optimistic and really looking forward to what’s going to happen with the foreign market,” says Davis. “I know a handful of people all just waiting to fly back to New York and buy property.”

PAULA DEL NUNZIO 

Brown Harris Stevens 

Over the course of her 25-year career, Brown Harris Stevens’ Paula Del Nunzio has developed a specialty for ultra-high-end townhouses, working with marquee names including Jessica Chastain. Currently, she holds the listing for a $52 million Upper East Side townhouse owned by the American Irish Historical Society as well as a $14.5 million townhouse that Gwyneth Paltrow lived in as a child that is now in contract. Earlier this year, she sold billionaire Vincent Viola’s 20,000-square-foot Upper East Side mansion for a whopping $60 million. “The interesting thing about the luxury market is that it seems to prevail no matter what else is happening because there are a certain number of people who will always want to be in New York,” says Del Nunzio. “They may have homes in many other places and countries, but they still always want something in New York.”

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FREDRIK EKLUND & JOHN GOMES 

Douglas Elliman

This Douglas Elliman duo not only has taken their Eklund Gomes sales team bicoastal in the past few years but expanded into Florida and Texas as well. “The biggest trend we see is wealthy…