Brokers know a good deal when they see one, and when they can get one, they often take it.
Whether they are eligible for discounts or get to preview new residential real estate, real estate brokers make out better than regular folks when buying into a project their company is marketing.
At Bellmarc Companies, agents that buy a new or existing Bellmarc-marketed home get 15 to 75 percent knocked off the company’s portion of the commission, depending on their tenure at the firm, said Neil Binder, principal and co-founder of Bellmarc.
“We love to have salespeople buy,” Binder said. “The more in debt they are, the more they will work.” Also, he noted, “It means they’re committed to what they’re doing, because they’re voting with their dollars.”
When Bellmarc’s agents want to buy a company-marketed property — although the company seldom does on-site assignments — they have to get a green light from Binder. Under most circumstances, he gives his blessing.
Bellmarc only cuts its brokers a break for primary residences, and only once every five years. Outside buyers trump Bellmarc agents when they put in the same offer.
The company does not give agents at other real estate companies any deals.
But a professional affiliation gives brokers a leg up even if they aren’t getting their commissions knocked down. Real estate professionals generally have more knowledge about what projects are in the pipeline and feel more confident than the average buyer about making a purchase in a new development.
“They’re a little more educated because they’re in the marketplace every day,” said Kathy Braddock, co-founder of real estate consulting firm Braddock + Purcell and the New York City real estate company Charles Rutenberg Realty. “And they have to see a lot less than the average buyer, and I bet they pull the trigger faster. They’re much less risk-adverse.”
Agents marketing new developments have the benefit of seeing the project in the beginning stages.
Elizabeth Stribling, president of Stribling & Associates, knew instantly that she wanted to move to One Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn Heights, a project marketed by Stribling Marketing Associates and the Developers Group.
“Since I was part of the design of the building, when I walked into it two years ago, I turned to Robert Levine [president of RAL Companies & Affiliates and project developer] and said, you made your first sale,” Stribling explained. She said she had been “in the lucky position to see something that was going to be offered in the future.”
She signed a contract for two penthouse units comprising 3,600 square feet, plus a 2,000-square-foot garden and parking spot, for more than $6.6 million.
Stribling plans to move from her Upper East Side townhouse to the Furman Street building in about a year, when it’s finished.
An agent’s purchase generally does not bolster a buyer’s confidence in a property, said Braddock. But some real estate experts say that it makes sense to follow a broker’s lead.
That’s because a broker has a good perspective on value, said Daren Hornig, managing partner at Saxa, a real estate investment and development company.
“The same way a good chef is not going to eat in a poor restaurant,” he said, “I think there is a mentality if a smart successful broker is buying there, there is good value and it’s a good place to live.”