Barbara Fox, president and founder of Fox Residential Group, threw open the doors to her East 79th Street co-op last night (or, rather, the elevator that opened onto the apartment), welcoming 200 colleagues, friends and industry players to celebrate the holiday season. With barely room to move between a book-lined den (which housed the bar) and the living room (where a three-piece band played Christmas carols), some guests took refuge on a balcony that wrapped nearly all the way around Fox’s penthouse. Others sampled h’ors d’oeuvres like pigs in a blanket. Noted revelers included Robert Knakal, chairman of Massey Knakal Realty Services, and Michele Kleier, president of Gumley Haft Kleier and a star of “Selling New York.” -- Leigh Kamping-Carder

From left: Samantha Kleier-Forbes, Michele Kleier and Sabrina Kleier-Morgenstern at their book launch event and the book cover

From the October issue: Late last month, real estate pros came out in force to support brokers Michele Kleier, Samantha Kleier Forbes and Sabrina Kleier Morgenstern as they signed copies of their first novel, “Hot Property.”
In the penthouse suite at the London Hotel NYC, the Kleier women — brokers at family business Gumley Haft Kleier and stars of the HGTV reality show “Selling New York”– chatted with industry big shots like Halstead Property president Diane Ramirez.
As waitstaff passed out Gordon Ramsay-catered appetizers, it wasn’t difficult to picture the glitzy world described in the book, released last month by Harper Collins. The story of fictional real estate broker Elizabeth Chase and her daughters, Kate and Isabel, “Hot Property” is largely based on the Kleiers’ real-life adventures as top brokers for the Manhattan elite.
Real estate is “the ultimate status symbol,” the Kleiers write. “Everyone in Manhattan wants to know what people are spending for their homes and where. In a crisis, people will sooner sell family diamonds, art or furniture than give up their ‘address.’” [more]

The Kleier klan dropped in on “Live with Regis and Kelly” this morning to teach departing host Regis Philbin the tricks of the real estate trade. Where to start? Your typical New York City apartment, of course: Michele Kleier’s $27.5 million listing on the 16th floor of the former Stanhope hotel. Watch the clip above as the matriarch of the self-described “First Family of Real Estate” shows him the ropes of New York City showings. Among her tips: don’t say “entryway,” say “gallery;” “den” is a dirty word — it’s a library here; and we never, ever say “his and hers” anymore (this is New York, after all). Regis flubbed the “his and hers” bit on his first-ever showing, but Kleier said she thinks he’s “trainable” — good news in case he ever needs any cash post-retirement.

Karen Heyman and Alan Heyman, Sotheby’s International Realty

From the July issue: The business of selling Brooklyn real estate has changed drastically in recent years. When Brooklyn native Karen Heyman first started selling Dumbo lofts in the 1990s, Manhattan residents refused to take the subway there. “I used to have to send my driver over the bridge to pick people up,” recalled Heyman, now a senior vice president at Sotheby’s International Realty. Today, “those same people are now on their third or fourth Dumbo apartment.” Brooklyn brokers have seen their business (and wallets) expand exponentially over the past decade, as a trickle, and then a flood, of resettling Manhattanites ventured across the East River. In particular, agents have benefited hugely from the condo boom of the mid-2000s, which greatly upped Brooklyn sales prices (downturn notwithstanding). [more]

The penthouse triplex at 1 Main Street in Dumbo

David Walentas’ famous Clock Tower triplex in Dumbo has been pulled from the rental market less than a week after making headlines as the priciest apartment up for lease in Brooklyn.

The 7,000-square-foot spread, which is still listed for sale for $23.5 million, had been asking $50,000 per month. The Post reported yesterday that listing broker and “Selling New York” star Michele Kleier, of Gumley Haft Kleier, was seeking a renter to sign a two-year lease with an option to buy, but she confirmed to The Real Deal this morning that time has already run out for that opportunity. She declined to comment further on her reasoning, but once again, if you want views of the New York Harbor and Brooklyn Bridge through those 14-foot glass-faced clocks, you’re going to have to buy them. [more]

Stuart Elliott

From the May issue: The Real Deal is firing up the klieg lights and rolling out the red carpet.
This month will see the premiere of our first full-length documentary feature film. Called “Building Stories,” it’s a look at the most prolific architect in New York City, Costas Kondylis, who has added an incredible 86 towers to the skyline here but is a relative unknown to the average man on the street.
The film, which features interviews with real estate bigwigs like Donald Trump, Larry Silverstein, Richard Meier, Aby Rosen and many others, will be screened as part of an invite-only event May 11 at the Morgan Library in Midtown. Later this month, check out our website for more information about the film’s public release date. [more]

The Clocktower triplex at 1 Main Street in Dumbo

After a nine-month hiatus from the market, David Walentas’ Clocktower building triplex in Dumbo is coming back online with a slashed asking price and a new set of brokers. According to the Post, Walentas has tapped the Kleier klan, of “Selling New York” fame, to market the 7,000-square-foot pad for $23.5 million. Sabrina Kleier Morgenstern, one-third of the Gumley Haft Kleier trio that also includes her mother, Michele Kleier, and sister, Samantha Kleier Forbes, confirmed to the The Real Deal that her family is putting the listing on the market later today and plans to hold a launch party next month to spread the word. The 1 Main Street condominium, which originally hit the market for $25 million in 2009, is still potentially Brooklyn’s priciest ever by a landslide, even after the price chop. [more]

The Real Deal dropped by the London NYC Hotel’s penthouse last night for a soiree thrown in honor of Boca Raton’s One Thousand Ocean condominium, the ultra-luxe 52-unit property that debuted last year to an uncharacteristic flurry of sales activity.

After years of uncertainty due to ownership change-ups and battles with neighbors, and in spite of South Florida’s weak condo sales market, developer LXR Luxury Resort & Hotels saw more than $45 million in closings within three weeks of the oceanfront building’s February 2010 launch. Now, with 18 units left to market for between $2.6 million and $15 million apiece, the developer has turned to New York City’s Gumley Haft Kleier for help reaching the crowd up north.

It’s the first official foray into South Florida for the Kleier clan, executive vice president Sabrina Kleier Morgenstern told us at last night’s event, which she hosted with her mother, president Michele Kleier, and sister, executive vice president Samantha Kleier Forbes, and which was filmed for HGTV’s “Selling New York.” It also comes at a time when the boutique firm is making an effort to branch out into the new development arena. [more]

The Real Deal has had an action-packed schedule. We hit up the Charity: Water event at 123 East 10th Street, the largest and priciest home available in the East Village, hosted by Rubicon Property. We stopped by Core’s cocktail party on the 17th floor of 812 Fifth Avenue, which was recently redesigned by architect Joseph Dirand. We also dropped by the Griffin Court condominium in Hell’s Kitchen, where Gumley Haft Kleier was hosting a viewing party of this week’s HGTV’s realty reality show “Selling New York.” Meanwhile, back at the office we were letting our fingers do the walking and got some fun nuggets. Click here for more. [more]

From left: Dean Spanos and Trump Park Avenue

Dean Spanos — president of the San Diego Chargers football team and son of Greek-born real estate developer Alexander Spanos — has sold his two-bedroom condominium unit at the Trump Park Avenue for $5.3 million, the Observer reported. The 1,813-square-foot unit, located on the 18th floor of the tower at 502 Park Avenue, sold for just under its $5.5 million asking price posted in April, close to $1 million more than Spanos paid for the unit in 2007. [more]