From left: Nest Seekers CEO Eddie Shapiro and new hire Caroline Grane

Boutique brokerage Nest Seekers International is planning a hiring spree on the heels of what it says was its “most profitable year ever” in 2010, CEO Eddie Shapiro announced today.

The New York City-based company — whose exclusive new development marketing contracts include the Residences at 36 Gramercy Park East, 99 John Deco Lofts and the View in Long Island City — has already hired some 15 new brokers over the past few months and is planning to take on 20 more in the months to come. TRD [more]

Nest Seeker’s agent Sabrina Seidner, who is marketing the condo at 314 West 100th Street

The last two available apartments at the 33-unit boutique condominium at 314 West 100th Street are now in contract. The building, located between Riverside Drive and West End Avenue, has been on the market since 2007, first being handled by the Corcoran Group, according to a spokesperson for Nest Seekers International, which began marketing the building in early 2010. The condo, built in 1936, recently underwent a complete renovation, while also retaining the original floors, doors and other fixtures. TRD [more]

From the February issue: Nothing says progress like Madoff. Late last month, The Real Deal broke the story that the Ponzi schemer’s Upper East Side penthouse finally appears close to a sale.
Listing brokers Anne Corey and Serena Boardman of Sotheby’s
International Realty have told interested agents that there is an
accepted offer on the 133 East 64th Street duplex. At press time, the
U.S. Marshals Service, which seized the property from the disgraced
financier, said the listing had not yet entered contract.
The sale (if it does clear the many obstacles of today’s market) may not be unqualified good news.
The penthouse’s asking price is $8.9 million, following a November
price chop of $1 million. It’s also been sitting on the market since
September.  [more]

From the November issue: A year after the financial crisis, Manhattan real estate brokers report that the market is finally returning to normal. But they don’t mean the lightning-fast sales and skyrocketing prices of the recent real estate boom. They’re talking about a more moderate, predictable real estate market, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in Manhattan for years. “The last three years have been very interesting,” said Jill Bane, an associate at Leslie J. Garfield & Co. Before the market cratered as a result of the subprime crisis, “prices were very high and there always seemed to be several competing bids,” she said. Now, however, “a sense of normalcy has returned to the market,” said Bane. Bane represented a townhouse at 17 Bank Street, on the market for $10.5 million, that recently went into contract. “People are buying; they are just not as irrational as the prior two to three seasons.”

The home to see the biggest price cut today is an eight-bedroom,
eight-bath condo at the Rushmore, according to Streeteasy.com. The price
of the 7,200-square-foot Upper West Side apartment, unit 32/33CD, was
cut by $1 million, and is now on the market for $13.25 million. The 80 Riverside Boulevard apartment
is listed for 7 percent less than its asking price of $14.2 million
when it first hit the market in January. The duplex condo has a Jacuzzi
in the master bathroom plus a wine cellar. Nest Seekers International’s
Alon Chadad, Andy Kim and Moshe Balalo have the listing. TRD
[more]