From left: Shelley O’Keefe of the Corcoran Group, Soho Mews at 311 West Broadway, Corcoran Sunshine’s Joanie Achumacher and Kirk Henckels of Stribling & Associates

Two years ago the holiday season was a dark time for New York City’s residential real estate brokers. This holiday season is quite a departure. Appointments are up, housing supply is down and brokers are planning to work through the holidays, making sure to be available for international buyers who will be in town and may just want to pick up a multi-million dollar Manhattan apartment as part of a holiday shopping spree.

The bleak days of 2009 have not yet fully faded from memory. “Nothing compares to that,” said Shelley O’Keefe, a senior vice president at the Corcoran Group and head of on-site sales for Soho Mews condominium, at 311 West Broadway, of the 2009 holiday season, shortly after Soho Mews premiered. But things are more than looking up this year.
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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]

From left: Robert Morgenstern and Sabrina Kleier-Morgenstern
From the September issue: Long-time friends Robert Morgenstern and Jeffrey Kaye had often thought about
leaving their respective jobs and going into business together. Morgenstern, a real estate
broker, and Kaye, a vice president at the Gotham Organization, dreamed of starting a real
estate investment firm, and as 2010 drew to a close, they felt the time was right.
“Nothing had been trading for months prior, and suddenly things started to
move,” said Morgenstern, who is married to broker and “Selling New York” star Sabrina
Kleier-Morgenstern. “We had access to some off-market deals. We could get them done
where no one else could.”
In January, they launched Stone Street Properties. Named after historic Stone
Street in the Financial District, the new company will own, operate and manage multi-
family buildings. [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.

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]

From left to right: Sabrina Kleier Morgenstern, Michele Kleier and (a pregnant) Samantha Kleier Forbes.

From the May issue: In the current landscape of Manhattan’s boutique real estate firms, it’s all about the haves and the have-nots: those who have reality TV shows, and those who have not.

As real estate junkies know, boutique brokerages Core and Gumley Haft Kleier last year began starring in HGTV’s “Selling New York.” The hit reality show follows brokers as they shepherd wide-eyed clients through cavernous lofts, and badger obstinate sellers into dropping their prices.

Both firms, which were relatively unknown outside of New York before the show, say the exposure has paid off financially. The impact of the hit show seems particularly dramatic for Gumley Haft Kleier, a family-run firm headed by Uptown superbroker Michele Kleier and her husband, Ian, along with their daughters, Samantha Kleier Forbes and Sabrina Kleier Morgenstern. This year, it shot up to No. 3 on The Real Deal’s ranking of top boutique firms, from No. 6 last year. Core took the No. 2 spot and Leslie J. Garfield & Co. ranked No. 1, a spot it’s held since The Real Deal began ranking boutiques in 2009. [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]

In the video above about the country’s richest celebrities, HLN Showbiz Tonight looked at one of the places those bigwigs spend their money — New York City real estate. Sabrina Kleier Morgenstern, an executive vice president at Gumley Haft Kleier, said there are at least three celebs who are interested in New York City real estate — Nicole Kidman (who recently bought a fourth-floor unit at 200 11th Avenue for $9.6M), newly-hitched Kelsey Grammer (who along with his new wife, Kayte Walsh, checked out a $9.9 million Plaza condo) and Jennifer Aniston (who is close to a deal on a West Village penthouse).

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]

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]