To the editor:
Corcoran Real Estate and Blade (an on-demand commercial helicopter app) have joined marketing forces to cater to the “elite” potential Hamptons rental customer by offering a “free one-day” round-trip helicopter ride to the Hamptons. READ
It’s certainly not uncommon for a real estate agent to also have another full-time career, but few have followed the same path as Corcoran’s Ryan Springer. READ
Candy canes, flowers and other decorations — including a holiday-themed doormat and Christmas table runner — helped make this open house in Mattituck more appealing, said real estate agent Beth Pike. (Credit: Paul Squire)
The holidays have long been considered the worst time of year to put your home on the market. But could listing your property between Thanksgiving and the New Year actually not be such a bad thing?
“Look: It’s never the wrong time to sell your house,” said Sheri Winter Clarry, licensed associate real estate broker at Corcoran in Southold. “Once you’ve made that decision, go for it with your full effort.” (more…)
The “Big E Farm” in Riverhead. (Credit: The Corcoran Group)
With sweeping vistas, a storied 8,000-square-foot home, an iconic horse farm and award-winning Maratha Clara Vineyard on-site, the “Big E Farm” in Riverhead just became the largest parcel currently for sale on the North Fork. (more…)
COURTESY PHOTO | Corcoran’s top Island broker, Penelope Moore, has jumped to Hampton’s based Saunder’s & Associates.
Saunders & Associates, a leading independent real estate firm in the Hamptons, announced today it has hired Corcoran Group senior vice president and Shelter Island broker Penelope Moore to open up Shelter Island for the firm.
Only weeks ago, the Corcoran Group welcomed Ms. Moore into its “Silver Circle” of top producers. Ms. Moore becomes a senior vice president at Saunders & Associates. It’s the same position she held at Corcoran.
Ms. Moore’s real estate career has spanned 30 years and she was among the top 5 percent of producers throughout Corcoran’s New York City, Hamptons and Shelter Island offices.
“I’m not a person that makes job changes quickly or easily,” Ms. Moore said. “I have a lot of affection for them,” she said about her former Corcoran colleagues. But Saunders “really impressed me with their track record” and half of their team are former Corcoran employees, she said. What attracted her to the Hamptons-based group was its approach to selling real estate that’s different from what other large firms do, she said.
At Corcoran, her listings appeared only on her own broker’s page, while Saunders places listings on all of its agents’ and brokers’ pages to get the maximum exposure, she said. She also likes that she has backup assistance to handle a lot of the paper work that consumes time she would rather be spending with clients.
Ms. Moore will be working out of a satellite office adjacent to the Candlelite Inn on South Ferry Road.
“Penelope is an important part of making inroads on Shelter Island,” said Andrew Saunders, founder and owner of the company. He noted that Shelter Island is a “unique market” that couldn’t simply be treated as an extension of the Hamptons.
Ms. Moore started her career in the entertainment industry in New York City in 1980 at the Screen Actors Guild where she interpreted employment contracts for producers and actors. She also worked in public relations at the American Film Institute in Washington, D.C.
After 1983, she negotiated contracts at two talent agencies until moving into the real estate field in the late 1980s.
“Real estate just seemed to be a natural progression,” Ms. Moore said about the career transition when she spoke to the Reporter in February about being named to Corcoran’s “Silver Circle.”
Ms. Moore initially joined Allan Schneider Real Estate, which later merged with the Corcoran Group. While working in the field in New York City, she handled commercial leasing in Midtown and later in lower Manhattan from Soho to the World Trade Center area.
Saunders & Associates is comprised of just 10 percent of the total number of brokers in the area, but the firm accounted for 34 percent of the more than $2 billion in residential real estate sales from Southampton to Montauk in 2012, according to story in Real Estate Rama. It was involved in 34 percent of residential real estate sales from Southampton to Montauk, the story said.
With Ms. Moore on board, Saunders is able to extend its influence into the Shelter Island market as it has done in the Hamptons, according to the company’s press release.
Ms. Moore’s former senior managing director at Corcoran, Joseph DeSane, could not be reached for further comment.
COURTESY PHOTO | A dining room that has been staged for a Southold home on the market.
With a bite in the air and snow coating the ground, home buyers are less likely to go out and about searching for the perfect house. Instead, they are turning to the Internet to get a peek at what a property has to offer.
“Showcasing a home on the Internet is probably, besides pricing the property, the most important way to market a house,” said Diane Gregory, associate broker with Douglas Elliman in Mattituck.
Nine out of 10 buyers use the Internet as a resource when looking to purchase a home, and 52 percent of buyers use it as their first step, according to a 2013 survey by the National Association of Realtors. Real estate-related searches on Google grew 22 percent in 2012 compared to the year before, according to internal Google data.
“Buyers today have already done their shopping on the Internet,” said Kate Carpluk, senior vice president of Town & County Real Estate in Mattituck. “They have looked at hundreds of homes and come with a short list of their favorites.”
Where realtors used to make lists of homes to tour, Ms. Carpluk said, “the buyers put together the tour now.”
A complete portfolio of quality photographs is the most important part of an online listing, she said.
“The thing that generally grabs people is the quality of the photos, and the number of photos,” Ms. Gregory added. “The more photos, the more likely the individual is to stay with the property and look through the details of the home.”
Nancy Cervelli and Barry Novick of The Corcoran Group in Southold said they hire professional photographers to best showcase each property.
“We take them no matter what the price of a house is — if it’s $300,000 or $3 million,” Ms. Cervelli said. “The most important thing on the Internet is to have great photos with good lighting, or people will go on to the next property.”
They try to feature around 20 photos of each property, and no less than 12, she said.
A professional photographer isn’t always necessary, however. There are tips and tricks to taking inviting photos of a home.
“The devil is always in the details,” said Steve Berger, who recently sold his Jamesport home with the help of Ms. Carpluk. Mr. Berger is an avid photographer and took photos along with Ms. Carpluk, who said she generally photographs the homes herself. She purchased professional camera equipment to do so.
“She’s really good,” Mr. Berger said. “She made sure when she photographed the back of the house that she went out on a windy day so that the flag was fully extended. The little details like that make a difference.”
“You want to take away anything that personalizes the house,” Ms. Cervelli said. “We always tell homeowners to remove as many personal photos possible as well. It is best to have everything as clutter-free, simple and clean as possible.”
“[Ms. Carpluk] said you just want to leave bare essentials. You have to leave enough pieces that are sort of neutral — so people can see themselves sitting in a chair in the living room or see themselves cooking in the kitchen,” Mr. Berger said.
Then you want to “set the stage.”
“The house should be staged properly,” Ms. Gregory said. “If there is an outdoor table it should be set with margarita glasses and fresh fruit, maybe some colorful napkins. You need to set a stage for how the house will be used.”
“Some people are limited in what they can imagine so you try and make it as easy for them as possible,” Mr. Berger said. His home sold within 10 months of going on the market.
Timing can be essential, Ms. Gregory said. Shooting interiors in the late afternoon offers a warm glow, giving more depth to rooms, Ms. Cervelli said.
Shooting the exterior of the house depends on which way it faces and where the sun is in the sky, the realtors said.
“I think it’s also important to do a sequence of photographs,” Ms. Carpluk said.
She said she starts with exteriors, moves to interiors and saves any special amenities a home may have for last.
“The last photographs are often the ones that stay on the buyer’s mind,” she said.
And avoid the cardinal sin of East End realty marketing: a photo with snow on the front lawn.
“Generally, the people shopping for homes on the North Fork, the reason they purchase it is for enjoying the water, the summer people, the fresh vegetables, the fresh fruits,” Ms. Gregory said. “Looking at a property with snow on the ground is not going to showcase that.”