New York City real estate biggies are going global!
Or, are major international brokerages invading Gotham?
Perhaps it’s a bit of both as local heavy-hitters Town Residential, The Corcoran Group and Douglas Elliman continue to forge comprehensive partnerships with big-name brands with serious world-wide bona fides.
Thinking locally — but acting globally — the goal here is to expand the city’s real estate impact as far and wide as possible while exposing local buyers to the world’s best property options.
Douglas Elliman
A rendering of 5 Beekman Street.Williams New YorkThe partnership: NYC’s largest residential brokerage, Douglas Elliman, and London-based Knight Frank Residential (known for its must-read Global Wealth Reports) partnered in late 2014 to market each company’s top-end listings to deep-pocketed buyers around the world.
The players: Chairman Howard Lorber and CEO Dottie Herman lead Elliman; Knight Frank’s Alistair Elliott and Lord Andrew Hay helm operations across the pond.
Elliman has over 5,500 reps, and Knight Frank has over 12,000.
The project: The partnership raises the profile of international projects in NYC while helping major New York developments shine globally; for example, Lower Manhattan’s the Beekman Residences at 5 Beekman Street has had exposure in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Istanbul.
The Corcoran Group
Pamela Liebman.Anne Wermiel//NY PostThe partnership: Corcoran — with presence in New York City, the Hamptons and South Florida — partnered with Monaco-based John Taylor Group, which was founded in 1864 and now has $12 billion in worldwide listings, to meet growing demand for Americans to buy abroad and for foreigners to invest stateside.
The players: Pamela Liebman helms Corcoran with 2,200 total sales associates; Delphine Pastor presides over John Taylor with 19 offices in nine countries.
The project: The Robert A.M. Stern-designed 30 Park Place will bring a Four Seasons-brand hotel and residences to TriBeCa when it opens in 2016.
“It’s a global brand that appeals to buyers around the world,” says Liebman.
This makes the project easy “for John Taylor to bring to their clients,” she adds.
Town Residential
A Jade Signature penthouse on Sunny Isles Beach.DBOXThe partnership: Town Residential joined forces with Miami-based brokerage and development firm Fortune International Group, which aims to give its pan-American clientele a taste of the Big Apple.
The players: Andrew Heiberger helms Town as CEO and co-chairman; Argentine-born Edgardo Defortuna leads Fortune International. Town has 650 sales reps, Fortune International has 1,000. Fortune is also a major South Florida builder.
The project: Fortune International’s Herzog & de Meuron-designed Jade Signature in Sunny Isles Beach is emblematic of its architecturally ambitious mindset.
With its mix of style, service and beach-front setting, Jade has proven of equal appeal to Miami, New York and Latin American buyers; Town and Fortune will jointly serve these lucrative arenas.


