Halstead Property named Richard Orenstein its 2012 broker of the year in New York and New Jersey, as well as broker of the year for Soho, at its annual meeting held Monday, the brokerage said today. Orenstein, who works out of the firm’s Soho office, was named top broker for 2011 as well. Other award winners include Christopher Halstead, an executive vice president and nephew of the firm’s co-founder Clark Halstead, who took home an honor for brokering the priciest sale of the year for a $40.5 million deal that closed in December. (The firm declined to reveal further details, and the sale has not yet hit public records.)
The Boland team, headed by Julia Boland, was named top new development marketing broker for 2012 and also picked up an award for amassing the most Twitter followers of the firm’s agents, with 7,346 followers. As The Real Deal previously reported, Boland launched an iPad application called One212 that doubles as an interactive tablet magazine on New York real estate.
Halstead also inducted a number of brokers into its so-called Diamond Club, which includes agents who have closed transactions worth $10 million or more. Members in 2012 include Orenstein, Christopher Halstead and Laurie Silverman, who last month listed a three-bedroom home at the former Stanhope hotel for $12.5 million. —Zachary Kussin