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Pam Liebman: Broker reality shows bad for NYC real estate
Meanwhile, Bravo's Million Dollar Listing New York picked up for third season
Despite the popularity of real estate reality shows like “Million Dollar Listing New York” and “Selling New York,” several of New York City’s biggest brokerages discourage — or outright ban — brokers from appearing on the programs. And Corcoran Group CEO Pam Liebman said she considers the personality-driven shows a negative for the industry, the Wall Street Journal reported.
“My brokers are appalled by what happens on these shows,” Liebman told the Journal . “It’s way exaggerated,” she said, adding that agents who go on such shows risk overshadowing a company’s brand.
Corcoran, along with Town Residential and Brown Harris Stevens, either prohibit or discourage brokers from participating.
Mary Rutherfurd, a broker with Brown Harris Stevens, similarly told the Journal that she would never appear on such a show because a reputation for discretion is such an important part of her reputation as a high-end broker.
Meanwhile, hot on the heels of Wednesday night’s season two finale, Bravo TV ordered a third season of “MDLNY”, the Hollywood Reporter noted.
The series, centered on the careers and lives of real estate agents Fredrick Eklund of Douglas Elliman, Luis D. Ortiz of Keller Williams NYC and Ryan Serhant of Nest Seekers International, averaged 1.1 million viewers last season, pulling 920,000 total viewers on the season finale episode alone.
A spokeswoman for Bravo told the Journal that brokers who appear on its shows have all seen an upswing in business.
Serhant told the Journal that the show helped move him from selling midrange condominiums five years ago to more than $200 million in sales so far this year. “All exposure is good exposure,” he told the Journal. [Hollywood Reporter] and [WSJ] — Julie Strickland