The boom in new condominium construction has been kind to marketers.
New development marketing giant Corcoran Sunshine, headed by Kelly Kennedy Mack, inked $5.6 billion in contracts on behalf of its developer clients in 2015, its best year ever and nearly double its 2014 volume, the company announced Friday.
The firm estimates that it represented 54 percent of all new development sales in Manhattan in 2015, with a borough-wide average sales price of $3,027 per square foot, a record average for the company.
By contrast, the firm sold just $3 billion worth of property in 2014, for a blended price per square foot of $2,387.
Corcoran Group President and CEO Pamela Liebman, speaking at the firm’s annual award ceremony at Lavo Thursday, said the numbers were evidence of Corcoran Sunshine’s status as the “market leader” in new development.
Corcoran Sunshine’s growth comes in the face of increased competition from rival Douglas Elliman, which has been beefing up its new development division in recent years under the leadership of Susan De França. Elliman declined to break down its new development numbers for 2015 but reported $22 billion in total sales company wide, up from $18 billion last year.
As The Real Deal reported in April, for all of Corcoran Sunshine’s new development success, the model has alienated some top-producing resale agents. Unlike Douglas Elliman — Corcoran Sunshine does not use big-name agents to court buyers, and it’s caused some defections.
“We’re never happy to lose somebody, but we’re also not in a bidding war for agents,” Liebman said in April. “We feel that we have a great company, but you have to buy into the vision with us.”
There’s also some evidence to suggest Corcoran Sunshine is increasingly inserting top brokers into the transaction, though Liebman in April denied any large strategy overhaul was afoot.
The Corcoran Sunshine sales team of the year award for 2015 went to the group behind Vornado Realty Trust’s 220 Central Park South, which comprises Kristin Black, Norma-Jean Callahan, Isabelle Hull-Fossas, and Deborah Kern. 220 Central Park South has a projected sellout of $3.1 billion.
The deal of the year award went to the sales team at Manhattan House for the sale of two of the building’s penthouses, which were on the market for $11.3 million and $12.5 million, respectively. That team is made up of Chris Manfredonia, Tim Rizzo, Katie Sachsenmaier and Blake Weissberg.