Lisa Lippman

In an era of reality-TV brokers and Instagram bravado, Lisa Lippman has a warning for the next generation: this isn’t friendship — it’s finance.

At one of New York City’s oldest brokerages, Lippman has become a fixture. The Connecticut-born broker began her career at Brown Harris Stevens nearly 30 years ago, trading in corporate law to stay home as a new mom before finding her footing in residential sales. A University of Pennsylvania graduate, she built an early client base from well-heeled classmates who would become bankers and buyers.

Lippman has risen as one of the city’s top producers, largely by trading co-ops and condos on the Upper East and Upper West sides. For nearly a decade, she has defended her reign as the No. 1 agent at Brown Harris Stevens, and ranked third on The Real Deal’s 2025 list of leading resale brokers, closing roughly $165 million across 37 deals. An Upper West Sider herself, she serves as a gatekeeper to Manhattan’s most coveted addresses, from co-ops in the so-called Good Buildings on Fifth and Park avenues to icons like the San Remo.

At a recent panel, Lippman pushed back on the industry’s culture of blurred lines. “Remember, you’re talking about a lot of money. This is business. It’s business, business, business,” she said, cautioning agents against confusing access with intimacy.

–Sheridan Wall