Top Brokers Talk Megateams, Luxury Buyers at NYC TRD Event

Life is good at the top of Manhattan residential real estate.

Luxury buyers are powering the market in Manhattan and beyond, with cash ruling supreme and international buyers at the helm, top brokers Nikki Field and John Gomes said during a panel discussion at The Real Deal’s New York City Showcase + Forum.

“Our clients are collecting homes like they collect art on their walls,” said Gomes.

Gomes, who co-founded the top-performing Douglas Elliman team of the same name with fellow broker Fredrik Eklund, and Field, who leads the Field Team at Sotheby’s International, said the flow of ultra-wealthy buyers has powered the expansion of their respective “megateams.”

While Gomes pointed to townhouses as one of the city’s hottest products, Field predicted the next wave of success will come from hotel-branded residences like those by Ritz-Carlton and Aman, which scored some of New York City’s priciest sales in 2022.

“Hotel-branded residences, in my opinion, for the luxury buyer, is their Ozempic. It’s their drug,” Field said, referring to the diabetes medication that has attracted attention as a celebrity favorite for weight loss. “It’s a fast means to their goal without any hard work.”

As for what’s not working in the market, Field pointed to co-ops, calling them a “dinosaur.”

“If you’re putting your money into townhouses, you’re going to get your money out,” Field said. “If you’re putting your money into co-ops, [it will] stay there for a couple of generations.”

The brokers’ optimism extended to brushing off concerns about losses across residential brokerages, including Elliman’s net loss of $18 million in the fourth quarter and Anywhere, the parent company of Corcoran, Coldwell Banker and Sotheby’s International Realty, reporting a $138 million loss in the first quarter.

Gomes called Elliman “a company that makes us a hell of a lot stronger,” but alluded to some of the thinking that makes the team being “its own entity” within the firm.

“We learned a long time ago we didn’t want to rely on doing our business the way that they run their business,” Gomes said. “We’re different, we’re unique, we’re special, and we leaned into who we are.

As firms look to cut costs, Field said brokers should look to shore up any gaps in backend resources by investing in their own teams.

“Double down on what you’re providing spending your own money. That’s how the big players do it,” Field said. “Invest in you, invest in the market, invest the people that are working with you.”

Field, who described herself as an “optimist” in the face of the changing market, said New York City itself should be enough to keep brokers going.

“All of us in this room are the most fortunate in our industry, that we work in this city, in this industry — regardless of all of the highs and lows,” Field said.