Bad behavior amid the bust

From the July issue: In New York City real estate, unethical behavior is the elephant in the
room: a subject brokers generally avoid. And with the average apartment
selling for more than $1 million even in this down market, it’s hard to
reconcile Manhattan’s power brokers, who have armies of assistants and
star-studded clienteles, with the historically unsavory image of the
stereotypical real estate salesman.
In part, that’s due to the work of organizations like the Real
Estate Board of New York and the Manhattan Association of Realtors,
which have focused intently on training and ethics as the industry has
grown, said Peter Marra, an executive vice president at Brown Harris
Stevens and chairman of the residential ethics committee at REBNY.