Q&A: Dennis Hughes, Corcoran

Dennis is a Senior Vice President at Corcoran and consistently a member of the Corcoran Multi-Million Dollar Club which recognizes outstanding sales achievements. He achieves the highest ranking among his colleagues across the country with Corcoran's parent company, NRT, ranking in the top 1.7 percent among 56,000 sales associates and is a born and bred New Yorker who made real estate a second career.

 

The Observer: So you were born and raised in New York?

 

A: Actually I was raised in Queens and then my family moved to Nassau County later.

 

Q: And you got your start in the business because you were looking to make some side money, and then carved out your niche [buying foreclosed properties] at auctions? In the 80's??

 

A: Yes, well got into it at the age of 39, 40 years old. I had been working in the not-for profit world as an Executive Director, helping find work for disabled people; I had invested in real estate. In fact, I had acquired several apartments, which were bought for the sole purpose of investment, and rented them out. And these were the days when co-ops were far less expensive. The rate of return was high - one could easily cover the cost of maintenance and a mortgage. At the age of 40 I was without a job, so I thought I'd try this as a profession. So I got a license and started working mainly in rentals.

 

Q: Why did you choose rentals?

 

A: Good question. At the time, the company I applied for was only looking for people with sales experience and I only had my own experience of buying and selling myself, not with a broker's license. It was very fast money. My very first apartment was a studio rental on Fifth Avenue for $2,000.

 

Q: Wow.

 

A: So, keep in mind this is 1990. So a $2,000 rental on Fifth was .

 

Q: A huge deal.

 

A: And of course the fee structure was fully enforced .... It was a nice entr‚ to the business. That was my second day as a real estate professional.

 

Q: How have you seen the market change since then?

 

A: There recently have been a lot of changes - important technology changes have the agents far better equipped for anticipating the customer's needs. We can pull up a database of inventory whereas before, in the olden days, we had what we called "flip cards," or property cards, in books and we would have to wait till the last agent was done before we could look at the book. Now, it's immediate feedback, immediate information. I also think the customers nowadays are far more sophisticated. They know what they are looking for. I think that helps an agent when they are clear about what they want- which [is still] not always the case. People are aware of the different offerings of buildings, what amenities they have. And there are those [renters] that really care about amenities and others who think that is unimportant. Not everyone needs parking.

 

I find that the clientele that I'm dealing with, they have a very clear point of view as to what they are looking for.

 

Q: How do you feel about the trend towards more amenities? Is that a flash in the pan?

 

A: No, I think it's definitely here to stay. I'm working with a building right now, 240 Central Park South, which has now installed a fitness center and now storage is available in the building as well as bike storage. I don't see these amenities going away. I think the amenities are positively attracting more qualified customers.

 

Q: How do you feel the market looks as compared with this time last year?

 

A: I think it's on the upswing. I think there's more optimism both on the consumer side and certainly on the landlord side. Inventory is not as plentiful as it was last year and certainly in the luxury market we need more inventory. And I think the demand for luxury apartments tends to increase as time goes on.

 

Q: Do you think there will be a huge drop-off with the number of luxury buildings coming to the market due to the construction slowdown of 2008? And could that propel the market even more?

 

A: No, a big part of the luxury rental market is in obscure buildings, the sublet on Park Avenue, or Madison or Central Park West or anyone of the gold coast locations- downtown, uptown, east side or Westside. That demand ...

 

Q: Will just always be there.

 

A: Right. For instance I just rented a three bedroom apartment west of Madison in the sixties, for $26,000 a month. A three-bedroom plus a maid's room - an elevated townhouse. It was a good story. A mature couple, they had been living in a residential hotel, they had been looking for a luxury rental and it took some time to find the right apartment for them. They were very location-specific; they wanted to be in the sixties, they wanted to be west of Park Avenue and a doorman was really not relevant to them. What was important was the aesthetics of the apartment, the space. So now they have almost 400,000 square feet.

 

Wow. That sounds like a great deal! Well thank you for taking the time to talk with us. Best of luck.