Brokerages implementing new strategies as layoffs and cutbacks increase

From the December issue: It’s no secret that every residential broker and firm in the city worth their commission check has been hunkering down and strategizing about how to deal with the new market conditions. But now brokerages throughout the city — from the large corporate Manhattan-based firms to the small independent firms in the far reaches of the outer boroughs — are actually beginning to put those new strategies into effect. Here’s what the experts had to say about strategies for surviving the downturn and on their predictions for what’s to come in 2009.