Left to right, Barbara Fox of Fox Residential Group, Jed Garfield of Leslie J. Garfield & Co. and Michele Kleier of Gumley Haft Kleier.From the May issue: A precipitous drop in sales like Manhattan saw in the first quarter of 2009 can be particularly challenging for boutique real estate firms. That became painfully clear this year when a number of small firms went out of business, including several newer boutiques just starting to make their presence felt on the New York City real estate industry, like JC DeNiro & Associates, Homestead New York and New York City Dwellers. Other firms with longer track records, like venerable Edward Lee Cave, were absorbed by larger companies. But there are smaller firms that are still surviving, and even thriving, in the current market, most notably the three that ranked at the top of The Real Deal’s survey of boutique Manhattan firms — Leslie J. Garfield & Co., Gumley Haft Kleier and Fox Residential Group.
