From left: Rapid Realty's Anthony Lolli, Adrian Cardona, Gabriela Falquez and Carlos Angelucci

From the February issue: Rapid Realty’s Brooklyn headquarters was buzzing on a Thursday afternoon last month, as agents jostled for space at computers lining the exposed-brick wall. For an office housing 30 agents, the sleekly designed space is tiny — only around 500 square feet.

But that’s the point, explained Rapid founder Anthony Lolli; the young rental brokerage prides itself on being efficient. The black-and-metal bar stools that serve as the only seating, for example, are “not supposed to be comfortable,” he said, since agents are encouraged to be out doing deals rather than sitting in them. [more]

A ribbon-cutting in Jersey City

From the January issue: Over the past three years, Rapid Realty has undergone an expansion befitting its name. Founder Anthony Lolli started franchising his Brooklyn-based rental brokerage in 2009, and the company has since mushroomed to several dozen franchise locations throughout New York City. Now, he’s plotting a national takeover, starting with an expansion into New Jersey.

The first Rapid Realty outside the city opened this fall at 479 Palisades Avenue in Jersey City. The owner of that franchise, Nina Morrow, is opening another Jersey City location this month at 183 Montgomery Street. [more]

From the November issue: It can help find everything from restaurants to auto mechanics. And now users of Yelp.com, the fast-growing consumer-review website, have turned their attention to real estate brokers.

Yelp, which launched in San Francisco in 2004, allows users to rate businesses by giving them one to five stars, accompanied by detailed descriptions of their likes and dislikes. The site now has more than 63 million users in 12 countries, the company said, and New York City is among the most heavily trafficked cities on Yelp.

An increasing number of New York City real estate brokers and firms are now being listed on Yelp, according to industry insiders. And the number of stars on a broker’s Yelp review can mean big dollars for agents — or can redirect those dollars to a competitor. [more]

From the March issue: In the mid-2000s, Manhattan real estate prices roared upward, luring a plethora of small investors aiming to double or triple their money in a few short years. When prices fell after the financial crisis, however, those buyers largely vanished from the market.
Now, after two years of sitting on the sidelines, would-be investors are showing a renewed interest in Manhattan condos. Industry experts attribute their reentry to several factors: Prices have stabilized while rents are ticking up, mortgages are easier to obtain, and interest rates are low. [more]

Brooklyn-based Rapid Realty is living up to its name. The
rental brokerage is expanding quickly and will open at least two new
offices in the next several months, according to Carlos Angelucci, the
company’s COO, who said the firm is also in the process of franchising
its business. The company, which currently has offices in Crown
Heights and Park Slope, is opening small branches in Bay Ridge and on
Northern Boulevard in Queens. The company is also planning to open a
Williamsburg office, he said. In addition, the company, founded in
1998 by CEO Anthony Lolli, is working on franchising, Angelucci said,
noting that some of the new locations may become franchisees. [more]