Keller Williams NYC’s recruiting spree at the height of the condo boom in 2015 ultimately got the best of the firm, according to co-founder Ilan Bracha.
After rampant speculation about his firm’s future in Manhattan, Bracha sat down for a one-on-one interview with The Real Deal to talk about the firm’s management shakeup, layoffs and dip in agent headcount.
In the wake of Town Residential’s closures, the tumult fed speculation that Keller Williams may shutter its Midtown office — a rumor Bracha flatly denied.
But he acknowledged a need for cost-cutting measures to reposition the brokerage after it ballooned to 900 agents, the majority of whom weren’t making money. Today, Keller Williams NYC has 630 agents (455 in Midtown and 175 in Tribeca).
Until recently, the Manhattan offices of Keller Williams have generated around $1 million in profits each year since 2014, according to a publication from the parent company.
Bracha didn’t deny that real estate competition is fierce.
“All the competition is out there, they’re trying to take a piece of the pie,” he said.
Video produced by Jhila Farzaneh. Interview conducted by E.B. Solomont