Former Time Equities director launches commercial condo brokerage

The former head of commercial condominium sales and leasing at Francis Greenburger’s development firm Time Equities, Michael Rudder, launched a new brokerage and advisory firm this month focused exclusively on the commercial condo market in New York.

Rudder, who was with Time Equities for eight years, left with colleague Michael Heller to open Rudder Property Group Oct. 1. The company, based in Soho, will market and sell commercial condos.

“The office condo market is strong in New York,” Rudder said. “There is huge demand and not a lot of product.” He said some lenders were considering converting real estate-owned assets to commercial condos to sell them quickly, a strategy which he said occurred in prior downturns.

Time Equities is considered one of the top developers of commercial condos in Manhattan.

Rudder is a principal with the new company, while Heller, who spent two years at Time Equities, is director of office leasing and sales.

Greenburger, chairman and CEO of Time Equities, said Rudder was a valued employee.

“We held him in the highest regard. We don’t have a Sales Director of the Year award, but he did a great job,” Greenburger saidl. He left because, “he wanted to start his own business. Sometimes people get that feeling. We wish him the best.”

Rudder is being replaced at Time Equities by Scott MacWhinnie, formerly senior sales director of institutional accounts for two years at commercial mortgage tracking firm InvestCap Advisors. Before that he spent nine years with CoStar Group, and prior to that he was with CB Richard Ellis as an associate.