Douglas Heddings of the Heddings Property Group at Charles Rutenberg Realty; Tamir Shemesh at Prudential Douglas Elliman; Michael Signet at Bond New York Real Estate; Fabienne Lecole at the Corcoran Group; Leigh Zaph at Manhattan Homes; Shebrelle Hunter-Green at the Corcoran Group; and Rena Goldstein at Halstead Property

The Real Deal asked a number of residential real estate agents what the strangest thing is that they’ve seen at an open house. The responses ran the gamut from breast feeding to naked people to a dog taking a house tour. Here is a sampling of what the agents have encountered:

Douglas Heddings, associate broker and founder of the Heddings Property Group at Charles Rutenberg Realty: How about a five-year old breast feeding? Here are some less shocking examples: A drying rack full of panties in a living room, a toilet seat that was taped closed so that open house attendees could not use the facilities, of course the [Upper West Side] robbery [of an open house Heddings was hosting] that was highly publicized and a spray painted wall saying “monkey nipple” on a teenager’s bedroom wall, which the seller refused to remove. Click here for more. Compiled by Lauren Elkies
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From left: REBNY award winners Alan Pfeifer, Rena Goldstein and Nancy Teague

The founders of the New York Residential Specialist committee, a post-graduate program aimed at educating existing brokers, received the Real Estate Board of New York’s Special Recognition Award for Outstanding Service during REBNY’s annual gala award ceremony. Meanwhile, the Moinian Group announced yesterday that it has donated one year of rent-free living to a silent auction hosted by lung cancer research foundation Joan’s Legacy: Uniting Against Lung Cancer and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has signed an agreement to sell the Bliss Spa and product company to Steiner Leisure Limited for $100 million. Click here for more. TRD [more]

Second Avenue subway renderings (Source: MTA)

The delay in the construction of the Second Avenue subway — long expected to be
a boon for the Upper East Side real estate market — will not derail
property values over the long-term, but could pose a threat in the
short-term, brokers say. As construction drags on, buyers may be
deterred and prices pushed downward because of worries over further
postponements, the closure of local businesses and the mess of living
near construction sites. Between now and whenever the subway is completed, said Halstead
Property Senior Vice President Rena Goldstein, it could be difficult to
interest buyers in Upper East Side properties east of Third Avenue.
Goldstein said she chose not to show one Second Avenue apartment in the
70s to buyers searching for a pied-à-terre because she knew they didn’t
want to live near construction for the next seven or eight years. “It’s going to be a lot harder to sell property [on the Upper
East Side]… it’s going to be like that for a long time.”

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