New commercial brokerage launches
Bob Savitt, former president of the Kaufman Organization’s brokerage arm, is launching Savitt Partners, the real estate firm he began assembling late last year. He has brought in 15 people from such firms as SL Green Realty Corp. and Murray Hill Properties. Michael Dubin, formerly an executive managing director at Murray Hill Properties, will lead Savitt Partners’ brokerage services division. Savitt said that even as other brokerages close and commercial activity slows, his firm will be able to succeed because landlords and tenants are eager for good advice, Crain’s reported. The Savitt Partners office is at 530 Seventh Avenue, at 39th Street, according to the firm’s Web site.
Small brokerage takes Citi Habitats space
Downtown residential real estate brokerage New York Living Solutions announced last month that it would take over the Financial District storefront recently vacated by Citi Habitats and would set up its flagship office there. New York Living Solutions, a sales and rental brokerage with just over 100 agents, signed a lease for the space at 100 John Street in December and planned to move in late last month, said Mizan Ayers, the company’s CEO. The office is down the block from the company’s small quarters at 90 John Street at Gold Street, which the company will keep open, Ayers said. The company’s other office is at 34 East 20th Street, between Broadway and Park Avenue.
Former Elliman agent launches FSBO site
Tom Demsker, a former agent at Prudential Douglas Elliman, recently started up a new For Sale By Owner service called No Brokers Please! The Web site enables sellers to enlist Demsker’s services for a flat monthly fee, in lieu of the standard 6 percent commission charged by brokers. According to the No Brokers Please! Web site, at www.nbpny.com, sellers can access the company’s FSBO multiple listing service, purchase New York Times ads at discounted rates and receive “professional coaching from top selling brokers.” Fees are set at $199.95 for one month, with savings available for clients who sign up for multiple months.
C & W signs first real estate environmental agreement
Cushman & Wakefield last month announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding regarding environmental commitments with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, becoming the first real estate services firm in the U.S. to do so. The memo sets out practices designed to improve energy efficiency and water conservation and to minimize waste and the carbon footprint in Cushman & Wakefield offices and managed properties.
Compiled by Linden Lim