Peters “miraculously” made money upon buying Warburg

Frederick Peters, president and CEO of Warburg Realty, appeared on CUNY TV’s “Building New York” with host, and former columnist for The Real Deal, Michael Stoler (see video above), to discuss his career and his family’s history in New York, which dates back to the first half of the 19th century. Peters had wanted to be a pianist up until the time he bought his first apartment, a co-op on Central Park West, in 1977. In fact, in a 2008 interview with The Real Deal, Peters said he would be running an orchestra if it weren’t for real estate.

“I was bitten by the real estate bug,” he said. “It was when everyone thought New York was dying and real estate was cheap.” Peters went on to be a broker at LPK for five years before taking a managing position at Albert Ashforth’s brokerage. When the company decided to vacate the New York market, it sold the division to Peters, who renamed it Ashforth-Warburg, eventually dropping Ashforth altogether. Peters took the reins in 1990 during the depths of a recession, but “miraculously, we made money,” he said, and quickly expanded the firm from 25 agents to 150. Though president of the firm, Peters says he continues to sell apartments for two reasons: because he wants to keep his finger on the pulse of the market and because he enjoys it.