EPIC Commercial’s Amir Aframian striking out on his own

Amir Aframian, an investment sales broker whose roster of deals includes the sale of a $130 million Soho development site to Michael Shvo, is striking out on his own with a new venture, Eframi Properties.

Aframian, who was most recently at EPIC Commercial Realty (formerly Itzhaki Properties), started Eframi in April and will focus on off-market deals in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. He described a “very aggressive, very optimistic” market as the primary motivation for the endeavor.

“I felt I had the experience and the expertise, and I think now’s the time,” Aframian said. “The main reason was the market, [which] gave me the confidence to go out on my own.”

He noted his preference for Manhattan, which he described as a “magical” market. His recent deals in the borough include Shvo’s 100 Varick Street and 377 Broadway, which was picked up by Ilan Bracha and Haim Binstock’s B+B Capital.

Aframian said he preferred doing business in Manhattan, where he said one can always “find a creative way to make sense of a deal and add value.”

“That doesn’t necessarily happen in Brooklyn and Queens, [where] it’s like the price of gold – set prices, little fluctuation, not as dynamic,” he added.

He also pointed to the increase of foreign wealth and influence in the city’s real estate market as further indication of the market’s strength moving forward.

“If a deal doesn’t make sense to a local group here, it doesn’t mean they’re not going to trade; they just need that foreign outside source, and that’s what you’re seeing,” he said.