Aiming to change its rentals-only reputation, Citi Habitats has renamed
its sales division, calling it “Citi Sales.”
The company has issued new marketing materials, business cards and
window displays, emblazoning them with a new Citi Sales logo. But the
division will remain under the Citi Habitats umbrella, operate out of
Citi Habitats’ offices, and see no major changes, explained Gary Malin,
the firm’s president. Founded as a rental agency in 1994, Citi Habitats is the third-largest
real estate company in the city and does more rentals than any other
firm. Its sales business has also grown steadily over the years: by
2008, sales transactions comprised around 40 percent of the company’s
revenue, Malin said. Still, the company — which rented nearly 13,000 apartments in 2009
— is known to many clients and brokers as a rental firm. “When you rent 13,000 apartments a year, it just overshadows everything
you do,” Malin said, adding that Citi Habitats has lost customers
because people don’t realize that the company also does sales. [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]

Century 21 hopes Ashanti’s singing can entice people into buying a home

Aiming to generate more brand recognition in New York City, Century 21
Real Estate will host a performance by “The Wiz” star Ashanti in Grand
Central Terminal Monday during the morning rush hour. The Grammy-winning R&B singer, who plays Dorothy in the Encores! Summer Stars
production of “The Wiz” at City Center, will sing the appropriately
themed song “Home” from the show, in Vanderbilt Hall at 11 a.m. Century 21 Real Estate President and CEO Tom Kunz will then
present a check for $221,000, to be used toward the purchase of a new
home, to the winner of Century 21′s recent “Path To Your Dreams”
sweepstakes. Century 21 Real Estate, a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, is the
franchisor of independently owned New York City sales and rental firm
Century 21 NY Metro. [more]

As industry leaders lamented the dissolution of Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy, a story The Real Deal broke Wednesday, the Corcoran Group’s CEO Pamela Liebman dismissed rumors that the mid-sized brokerage will be absorbed into Corcoran. “There is no formal incorporation of Coldwell Banker agents into Corcoran,” Liebman said. “This is not a purchase by [Corcoran parent company] NRT.” She said that in the coming weeks, some former CBHK agents may be encouraged to come to Corcoran because the two companies share ties to New Jersey-based Realogy Corporation. Industry sources have said that JoAnne Kennedy, the COO of CBHK, will
be relocated within Realogy, and in a memo released Wednesday, Kennedy
told CBHK brokers that if they “follow her,” they will be able to keep
their listings and data. When asked whether Kennedy would be hired by Corcoran and bring CBHK agents with her, Liebman said she had no comment. [more]

Longstanding New York City brokerage Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy is closing its doors, according to multiple sources familiar with the company. The 21-year-old, 214-agent company — Manhattan’s sixth largest, according to a recent survey by The Real Deal — will cease operations within 60 days, the sources said. What’s left of the company is believed to be on the auction block and priced at around $5 million. But because Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy — including its luxury marketing division Coldwell Banker Previews International — allegedly owes some $12 million, the price would presumably go towards its debt. It’s not the first Manhattan company to close its doors in a rocky market. Last month, boutique residential real estate brokerage JC DeNiro & Associates announced it would close its doors. But Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy is by far the largest Manhattan company to close thus far, with offices at 555 Madison Avenue, 329 Columbus Avenue, 64 West 21st Street, and 155 Seventh Avenue in Park Slope. [more]