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WATCH: Bess Freedman on Christie’s opening shop in NYC

Auction house abruptly ended a decades-long affiliation with BHS

For Bess Freedman, the news about Christie’s plans to open its own brokerage in New York City came not only as a shock, but also a “slap in the face.”

The Real Deal sat down with Freedman, Brown Harris Steven’s second-in-command, just days after the auction house abruptly ended its 22-year affiliation with the luxury residential brokerage.

“[Christie’s] called the owners and said ‘Hey, we’re opening up our own brokerage house in New York City,” and at the same time sent out a press release,” Freedman told TRD’s Hiten Samtani. “I think that was a little underhanded — you have a relationship for 22 years, I think you owe them a little bit more than that.”

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On whether Christie’s will be able to make a splash in the New York market, Freedman remains unconvinced.

“To work in New York City, you need to have some knowledge, you need to know what you’re doing, and you need to understand brokerage,” she said. “They do not.”

To see the conversation in full, click here.

Produced by Alistair Gardiner and Kerry Barger. Interview conducted by Hiten Samtani. 

For more videos, visit The Real Deal’s YouTube page.

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