Serhant is planting its signature blue flag in the Hudson Valley.
The four-year-old brokerage is setting up shop with a 10-person team formerly with a Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices franchise in the region, according to the company. The cohort, headed by Jake Garay and Blake Michaud, closed roughly $80 million in sales over the last year.
The brokers said it was Garay who led the charge on moving to Serhant, marking a major shift for Michaud, who spent nearly 40 years with his previous firm.
“We came from a firm that had a traditional mindset and approach to the business,” Garay said. “That model is very broken.”
Garay said he views Serhant as a disruptor of the status quo and added that it’s a “no-brainer” for the firm to stake a claim on the Hudson Valley considering the flow of clients from the city.
“Coming out of the commission lawsuits, traditional brokers, [the National Association of Realtors] and most of the industry is more about preserving business as it’s been done, and not what the client actually wants,” Garay said.
The Garay-Michaud Team also covers Westchester and Fairfield and Litchfield counties in Connecticut. Listings on the group’s website include a $1.5 million home in Hopewell Junction and a three-bedroom abode in Hyde Park asking $1.13 million.
Garay and Michaud’s former firm, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley Properties, did not respond to a request for comment.
Serhant is heading to the Hudson Valley after demand for homes in the area skyrocketed during the pandemic, sending prices surging and sapping inventory.
“Five years ago, a starter home would have been $350,000, but that same home is up to $450,000 or $500,000,” Michaud said. “When you get into the upper end of the market, they’ve gone up even more.”
Prices have stayed elevated with few listings hitting the market, but Garay said more inventory is accumulating in the luxury sector, where sellers are more open to negotiation.
Onboarding the Garay-Michaud Team marks the firm’s official foray upstate, but it’s not Serhant’s first time selling in the region. In 2022, brokerage founder Ryan Serhant teamed up with a local team with a Keller Williams franchise to lead sales at NevelHaus’ Stone Ridge project.
The firm also announced it is adding to its New Jersey operations with the Beach House Group, a group of 13 agents based in Long Beach Island, and a seven-agent team, RPM Elite, in Morris County. The Beach House Group has closed $50 million in sales over the last year, while RPM Elite brought in $40 million in deals in 2023.
The Hudson Valley and New Jersey outposts are the latest markets added to Serhant’s roster after the firm began expanding last year. Earlier this summer, the company brought on a Bergen County team led by a father-daughter duo to its tri-state spread.
The brokerage now has 700 agents spread across eight states. But some of the firm’s competitors have pushed back against its expansion into their regions, with brokerages in Florida, Pennsylvania and Connecticut suing Serhant for allegedly stealing clients and information.
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