While many companies have come and gone in this industry, Brown Harris Stevens has stood the test of time. First founded in Manhattan in 1873 by Charles Brown, the company has New York roots.
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CEO Beth Friedman has led the brokerage firm with a steady hand since 2018, guiding it through uncertain markets, major mergers, and major industry changes.
This week, the executive will sit down with Era Ventures Managing Partner Clelia Peters on stage at Inman Connect New York to discuss the current agent-broker environment, what’s happening in New York City, and more.
Ahead of his appearance, Inman interviewed Friedman to get his thoughts on recent headlines, hot topics, what he’s looking forward to at the event, and more. Her remarks are edited below for length and clarity.
Inman: First, I’d like to ask: Is there anything new you’d like to talk about at Brown Harris Stevens?
Beth Friedman | Brown Harris Stevens
Friedman: Well, just today we hired Rafael De Niro. [son of actor Robert De Niro]and in New York City, he’s probably one of the most well-known figures in real estate. He is one of the most successful agents. He worked for Elliman for more than 20 years.
His announcement came out today, but all I can say is that it’s long gone. Our agent is very happy and we are getting a lot of feedback from all over the industry because he is so loved and successful. He’s like a hero in the real estate industry. So this is a big win for us.
Congratulations. And is there anything else you’d like to share about any other plans you’re working on this year?
We recently launched a new website and are hiring many talented new executives and agents. This is great and our focus is going to be even more focused on what we do best. The announcement was made the day before yesterday that we are completely redoing our Broker Specialist program.
Therefore, we are the only brokerage that manages buildings in New York City. We have about 400 agents and we assign agents as specialists, so they participate in maintenance and work with management agents. That’s really important. So we’re redesigning the entire program, and agents are really excited about it. It starts this year and is going to mean a lot to us in New York.
very nice. I would also like to hear about recent news headlines. We saw the big Compass and Anywhere merger close earlier this year, and I was curious to know your thoughts on how it went, or if there were any surprises?
I mean, consolidation is not new in our industry, but I think the size of this deal is significant and definitely worth noting. The same goes for us. I think it happened in record time. I think the agent was shocked that it closed so quickly.
And big mergers are often driven by the need to meet Wall Street expectations rather than what’s best for consumers and agents. We’re in a very high-touch business. The thing is, when you’re a fiduciary and you’re working for an agency and you’re supporting an agency, when you have a huge, huge business like this, and you’ve got shareholders and debt and all the problems and challenges, I think a lot of things get muddled in there.
You know, we merged with Halstead, but we were much smaller and different. However, I would like to share with you that it was a difficult task to implement. It took much longer and was much smaller, but we were integrating cultures, systems, and experts, which was huge and stressful. So you can only imagine… For example, that’s a grain of sand, that’s a beach.
It’s very complex and I think it’s hard to maintain a clear culture in that environment. That’s a big thing and it works for some people. It will be interesting to see how that unravels, but I’m sure it’s important. This is one of the largest we’ve ever seen, and in such a short period of time.
I told Rob Refkin, [Compass senior executive] Gordon Golub deserves incredible credit for their ability to grow it and make it this big and create something that had so many haters and naysayers who kept saying it was going to fail. Therefore, they deserve to be celebrated for their achievements.
Understood. Moving on to the market, I feel like we’ve started to see some positive indicators for agents lately, but what do you think are the biggest challenges for agents in today’s market?
I think we’re still struggling with inventory, affordability, and complexity. I think the turmoil in the world situation is a distraction. But given what’s going on, the market has been very resilient. There are some markets where inventory is very limited.
Just like when I talked to one of our distributors in Connecticut, they’re running low on inventory. In places like Connecticut, places like Greenwich and Darien, New Canaan, there is no lack of willingness to work hard and do business. It’s just that there’s not enough stock for people to sell. As a result, markets like Connecticut continue to face inventory shortages.
We have a decent inventory [in New York]it’s working pretty well. Volumes are strong and the luxury goods market is really outperforming. That’s good.
The discussion about Mamdani and mass exodus turned out to be false. So at least we don’t see anything like that. So the challenges are similar to what they’ve had in the past: rates, inventory, pricing, etc., and it’s going to take time.
right. And when you think about interest rates, what do you expect to happen next year?
I think Fed Chairman Powell has done a great job of holding the line and doing what’s best, but also monitoring the data and making decisions based on the data. That’s what an independent body should do. And if he is looking at employment and inflation, then depending on those we will decide whether to cut or not.
I really believe in his ability to judge what’s best because he’s done a great job of keeping the country out of recession and keeping inflation down even though he’s had to make a lot of cuts in a very short period of time. I believe he will make those decisions, and I trust him to make them, but even if he leaves in May, there will be a new Fed chairman.
[On Friday, President Trump nominated Kevin M. Warsh as the next Fed chair.] And perhaps the next Fed chair will have a different view of things. But today I think [Powell] He did a really good job.
Returning to Inman Connect New York, what message would you like to convey to attendees or any advice on how to proceed with the event if you have never attended before?
i will definitely watch [the agenda] Let’s see who is where. My favorite person, Sahil Bloom, is scheduled to give a lecture. Find the person you want to talk to or meet and go there. [talk] Then shake hands with that person. I’ve been to Inman events where someone was telling a story I’d never heard before, and I waited, and then I went and talked to them, and I formed a lifelong relationship.
So surround yourself with interesting topics that interest you, people you respect and admire, and be open to meeting new people. And walk around. Real estate is a relationship business and you have the opportunity to be in a sea of relationships, connect with people, talk to people, have fun and have fun.
Do you have any other thoughts you would like to share today?
We believe it’s important to stay on top of this ubiquitous private listing network, and we’ve always been vigilant. I think we have to make sure that we give proper advice to sellers and protect them. Because sellers shouldn’t dictate to the market, the market exists to serve us. So I think we’ve been very cautious about that.
That seems like a very fabricated story. We’ve always sold things privately for people, but we really do it privately. Selling over the phone, not where you have a photo on your website where thousands of other agents can see it. So I think things are getting mixed up. We just need to be careful about educating our consumers.
Are there any sellers currently interested in the Private Listing Network?
I was in a meeting with all the executives and I said, “Are there any sellers who want this?” And not a single executive said so. I asked my agent, not just one agent. When I asked Fred Peters, Barbara Fox, and Hall Wilkie, who have been in the industry for over 40 years, they said they’ve never had a seller ask for a private listing network.
We believe that extensive information benefits consumers and supports important fair housing principles. But when the seller calls us and is a famous person that everyone knows or someone who’s going through a divorce and says, “Look, we have to sell this.” I don’t want anyone to know I’m selling it,’ and we say, okay, we’ll take care of it.
They have an exclusive agreement with us and we are not involved in their marketing. We have something exclusive. We then call top agents at companies we know may be working with the right buyers on this matter. And we quietly let them in.
In other words, it is a private listing, or a quiet listing, to protect the seller’s privacy. Private listing networks are different and misunderstood. I think that’s why people aren’t clearly educated about what works for them.
If you want to get the highest price you want maximum exposure, but if you want privacy you don’t want any exposure except for a trusted advisor contacting the right person to come and see the property. This is what we do and always have done.
I don’t believe in building sub-marketplaces. It creates fragmentation and mistrust.
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Email Lillian Dickerson
