Clockwise from left: actor Bruce Willis, his Trump Place condo, and brokers David Salvatore and Chris Sileo

Action star Bruce Willis has sold his three-bedroom, three-bathroom condominium unit at Trump Place at 220 Riverside Boulevard for $3.9 million, The Real Deal has learned. The sale of the unit, #20N, is expected to close tomorrow.

It is the only apartment in the 430-unit building with 11-foot ceilings and boasts en suite marble bathrooms and a jacuzzi.

David Salvatore and Chris Sileo of Town Residential had the listing. The buyers, a couple named Joe and Maria Luciania, were represented by Kristen Magnani of Rutenberg Realty in the sale.

Willis bought the apartment in early 2007, before the market crashed, for $4.2 million, Salvatore said. “It’s really just a change of life for him,” he said. “He’s married now. [more]

From the April issue: In the mid-2000s, residential real estate brokerages seemed to be sipping from the fountain of youth; that is, staffing their firms with freshly minted college graduates.

Today, though, firms appear to be going with the more fine-wine approach of “older is better” when it comes to bringing on agents, according to brokers, firm managers and teachers at real estate schools.

This brain drain of fresh-out-of-college talent in New York City’s residential real estate world, which has happened over the past few years, is the result of a perfect storm of forces, sources say.

In a still-tight market, many young brokers don’t have Rolodexes stuffed with established contacts, or the financial wherewithal to last through lean times. Comments

Kurland Realty’s founder, Kevin Kurland, has started a new firm, offering his take on the 100 percent commission model.

The new venture, known as Spire Group, launched this past Saturday, Jan. 1, said Kurland, who started the boutique firm Kurland Realty in 1997.

Rather than splitting their commission checks with the firm, Spire agents will keep all of their commissions, but pay “agent dues” of $495 per month, he said. In exchange, they get access to the firm’s listings, website (which operates as a virtual office website, or VOW) and other resources. [more]

Wei Min Tan of Charles Rutenberg Realty and Hotel Azure at 120 Lafayette Street

A Chinatown hotel is for sale, with a stretch of the area’s famed shopping district to boot.

The 28-room Hotel Azure at 120 Lafayette Street, along with 1,460 square feet of retail space, is listed for $29 million by Wei Min Tan and Susan Chan of Charles Rutenberg Realty.

The hotel has been in operation for about three years, Tan said, and is owned by an entity known as the Tai Fook Corporation. [more]

Scott Morrow (left) and Jesse Temple

Fast-growing brokerage [more]

Douglas Heddings

Douglas Heddings, a top real estate broker and founder of the popular blog True Gotham, has left Manhattan’s Charles Rutenberg Realty to start his own firm, with an unusual business model ba [more]

Douglas Heddings

Douglas Heddings, a top real estate broker and founder of the popular blog True Gotham, has left Manhattan’s Charles Rutenberg Realty to start his own firm, with an unusual business model ba [more]

The Financial District has seen a residential boom over the last decade, according to the Wall Street Journal, due in part to a perceived abundance of bargains, real estate insiders say. The number of permanent residents below Chambers Street has ballooned to 55,000, according to the community organization Alliance for Downtown New York, more than double the 24,400 residents in 2000. Even so, Charles Rutenberg Realty agent Danielle Lewis McLaurin said that the neighborhood has a long way to go before it can be considered a residential hot spot. “It’s still quiet, but it’s not as quiet as it used to be,” McLaurin said. “Before, it was just desolate.” [WSJ]

[more]

Charles Rutenberg Realty’s new office in Valley Stream

Charles Rutenberg Realty announced the opening of its third Long Island office today, this time at 515 Rockaway Avenue in Valley Stream. Louisa Borriello, an associate broker with the company, will be managing the office, which will be utilized by as many as 150 agents. [more]

From the May issue: A year ago this month, New York’s real estate community experienced one of the darker moments of the recession when Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy — one of the city’s largest and most established firms — announced it would close. However, CBHK turned out to be the only major firm that disappeared. Business, meanwhile, has steadily improved for months. “New York has had a very good rebound,” said Pamela Liebman, CEO of the Corcoran Group. [more]