RISMEDIA, June 4, 2009-In your marketplace, what’s your biggest challenge? For Ari Harkov, vice president and associate broker of Halstead Property, LLC, it’s bringing buyers and sellers together and reaching a meeting of the minds. “As sellers are starting to feel as though the market has bottomed out, buyers feel like there is still further to go,” he says. In this article, learn how Harkov and the agents at Halstead are navigating through today’s market in New York City.
Ari Harkov
Vice President/Associate Broker
Halstead Property, LLC
New York, New York
Region served: Manhattan and select areas of Brooklyn
Years in real estate: 2.5
Number of offices: 12
Average time on market: 106 days
Best idea for time management: Use a calendar to plug in all appointments, meetings, calls and tasks. While a lot of tasks are important, not all are urgent, so it is crucial to prioritize.
Best tip for dealing with difficult customers: The most important thing is to put yourself in your customers’ shoes and understand where they are coming from and what their needs are. You must also listen to what they aren’t saying as well as what they are saying, and learn to read between the lines, because oftentimes they won’t tell you the whole story.
How do you communicate with your customers?
Knowing your customer is the most effective way to communicate with them, as everyone likes to be contacted differently. You have to be willing to reach out to your customers multiple times, through different means. I e-mail a newsletter to my contacts on a monthly basis as well as send out print mailings to buildings in which I have done business in the past.
What makes your company unique in today’s market?
One thing that makes Halstead Property unique is that we are a privately held company. In addition, we are a New York City company that is owned by an overarching parent company, so our offices aren’t spread across vastly different markets. This has given us the opportunity to focus on a specific market and be knowledgeable about the market in which we work.
What is the key to staying successful in today’s market?
Real estate is all about numbers. Especially with today’s tough environment, it is even more important to network, brand yourself and advertise. Focusing on these items as well as mailings, newsletters, e-mails and phone calls will drive in leads.
