Bruno Ricciotti (l) and Noah Freedman, founders of Bond New York
From the May issue: This year, for the first time, scrappy upstarts ousted 138-year-old Brown Harris Stevens from its longtime berth among the city’s five largest firms. Since The Real Deal began its annual ranking of Manhattan residential firms in 2004, the same four sales firms — Prudential Douglas Elliman, the Corcoran Group, Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead Property — have dominated the top of the list. For years, these companies have reigned supreme as the largest firms in the city, with the most agents, the most listings and often the most exposure. In 2006, rental powerhouse Citi Habitats entered the top five with 774 agents, and has stayed there ever since. The top five slots, ranked by number of agents, have stayed exactly the same for years, with Elliman in the top spot, followed by Corcoran, Citi Habitats, Halstead Property and BHS. Now, that’s changed amid a major industry shakeup. [more]
