Real estate, long perceived as a profession chock full of adrenaline, glamour and high-stakes deals, may just not be that sexy, a new survey finds.
The survey — commissioned by the Society of American Professional Fellows — asked working professionals in New York City between the ages of 21 and 39 to rate 24 different professions based on factors such as sexual attractiveness, perceived power and financial stability.
Real estate brokers came in at No. 17, just above welders, but were three notches below public relations professionals and a ways away from the top ranked professions of hedge fund managers and high-speed stock traders. Developers fared a little better, but could only clinch the 11th spot.
Only 27 percent of respondents marked real estate “attractive” or “very attractive.”
“Clearly, when it comes down to it, real estate professionals don’t quite command the cachet they credit themselves with,” said Jonathan Rocksmith, lead designer of the survey.
Several prominent brokers who spoke with The Real Deal expressed surprise at the results. “I’m a little flabbergasted, to be honest,” said Steve Cohen, a West Village specialist who has closed about $125 million in business since 2012. “I have family money; I got into this for the pizazz. Now there’s none apparently.”
“You wake up one feeling one way about yourself, you go to bed feeling another,” said Paulie Giancarluzzi, an independent broker who admitted he would now consider other careers.
Some, such as Martha Smolenska of national brokerage Smith Saunderson, said that the findings would serve to separate the wheat from the chaff. “Those in it for the wrong reasons will be out,” she said approvingly. “It’s a good thing.”
A spokeswoman for one of the city’s biggest development firms said that “management was cognizant of the impending change in status.”
(Happy April Fools’ Day! The above story is entirely fictional and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.)