Media Coverage
Buyer Confidence: Portent or Blip? - The New York Times
The increased demand is not just at the high end. Doug Perlson, the chief executive of the brokerage RealDirect, said he had observed more activity even in the studio market. He has a client who lost a studio in a bidding war and is now in contract on a second apartment after another bidding war, both at 200 East 27th Street, a postwar building in Kips Bay.
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4 / 12 / 12
NYC\Boston duke it out for tech - The Real Deal
But Doug Perlson, cofounder and president of RealDirect.com — an online residential brokerage and listings consultant funded by New York investors that recently took 2,000 square feet at 22 West 21st Street — noted that many tech companies are still in touch with Boston firms to raise capital.
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4 / 1 / 12
Interest in Pinterest: Social media craze takes industry by storm - The Real Deal
Pinterest’s image-centric concept makes it ideal for showcasing real estate listings, said Audrey Binkowski, director of marketing at the Manhattan brokerage RealDirect.
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4 / 1 / 12
Be Prepared When Selling Your Property Broker-Free - NY1
“If you want the widest potential buyer pool you are going to want to include the New York City buyers-broker community. It's usually a two and a half to three percent commission to be paid to the buyers brokers and you want to explicitly include that in your listing,” suggests Perlson.
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3 / 30 / 12
Landlords Push Apartment Rents Near Record Levels - Crain's New York Business
Doug Perlson, chief executive of online brokerage RealDirect.com, is already hearing from a few clients who are now looking to buy their first apartment for less than $600,000.
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3 / 18 / 12
Houses of the Week - New York Post
A RealDirect listing was featured in the New York Post's Houses of the Week.
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3 / 16 / 12
High Rents are Forcing New Yorkers into Buyers' Market, Brokers Say - DNAinfo
"The spring season started Jan. 3 instead of March," said Doug Perlson, co-founder and CEO of online brokerage firm RealDirect.com. "There's definitely pent-up demand." Skyrocketing rents are pushing many first time buyers into the market, he said, noting that he's had several recent clients who have had rent increases of between 10 and 20 percent.
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3 / 2 / 12
Tech Boom Upgrades Expectations In City's Housing Market - NY1
“The New York tech scene is having a real impact on the real estate market. It‘s interesting. What we are seeing is that the business of business is now technology and more and more companies are hiring tech workers. These people need a place to live,” says RealDirect CEO Doug Perlson.
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2 / 3 / 12
Tech Boom Upgrades Expectations In City's Housing Market – NY1 - LICNYC
“Hot neighborhoods include DUMBO, there‘s lots of online media there. Williamsburg, a big area for young folks making money in tech as well as Chelsea and Flatiron areas where companies like Google have set up shop,” explains Perlson.
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2 / 3 / 12
All the fixin's — A guide to renovations that add value to your residence — and ones that don't - New York Post
According to an NYC buyer survey conducted by RealDirect, 87 percent indicated they wanted “ample closet space” (compare that to just 52 percent who chose “doorman”).
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2 / 2 / 12
Brooklyn nabes expect real estate boom with Barclays Center - AM New York
"Those who are getting priced out of Williamsburg are already flocking to Bushwick," said Doug Perlson, co-founder and CEO of RealDirect.com. "It's also one of the biggest attractions for new development projects," he added.
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2 / 1 / 12
Top 10 NYC neighborhoods for real estate investment - NY Daily News
"The schools in this area are strong, both public and private, and the discrepancy in price per foot of larger apartments to smaller apartments demonstrates the appeal for families in the neighborhood," says Doug Perlson, co-founder and CEO of online brokerage RealDirect.com.
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1 / 19 / 12
10 Things to Consider When Making the Leap from Renting to Home Ownership - Fort Greene Patch
With a strong buyer’s market, reduced property prices and low interest rates, it’s a great time to think about making the leap from renter to homeowner. Before you decide whether or not to sign on the dotted line, here are ten things to consider.
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1 / 19 / 12
How to Show Your Own Home - Park Slope Patch
Learning how to show your home is an important skill, even if you're not selling your home yourself. There may be times when the realtor can't make a showing or when potential buyers show up unexpectedly. When selling your home, the ability to show your home yourself may mean a quick sale.
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1 / 18 / 12
A Holding-Pattern Home - The New York Times
They had plenty of interest in their co-op, and sold it for $1.275 million using realdirect.com, which charges either a monthly fee of $395 or 1 percent of the sale price. They were content to more or less break even and relieved to be out of the market.
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12 / 15 / 11
What are NYC Real Estate Buyers Looking For? - Business Insider
When trying to match our clients with the perfect home, we ask a multitude of questions (over 65) about how important certain characteristics and amenities are to their search. Our questions range from the importance of location and transportation options to willingness to live in a walk-up and desirability of a building with a swimming pool. While price ranges ($100,000 to $5.5 million) and neighborhoods (all over Manhattan and Brooklyn) of buyers who filled out our survey varied widely, we found some interesting commonalities.
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12 / 6 / 11
Don't Slow Down The Sale Of Your Home - NY1
"Our research has shown that it takes somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 qualified buyers before you get your first offer and two to three offers before one actually sticks," says Perlson. "So you are looking at somewhere between 20 to 60 people through the door before you actually sell your home."
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11 / 28 / 11
For sale by owner, but with help - Crain's New York Business
Having bought and sold several apartments, Doug Perlson knew there were few options between paying a full-service broker a traditional commission and taking on the time-consuming work of selling a home on one’s own. But as a former real estate lawyer and the co-founder and CEO of TargetSpot, an Internet radio advertising company, Mr. Perlson was in the position to create an online alternative himself. In January, he unveiled RealDirect, an online Manhattan-based marketplace for real estate, which he beta tested last year.
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11 / 23 / 11
How to sell a nearly new condo - Brick Underground
“When you bought new construction, you probably paid the sponsor's transfer taxes, but in a resale you, the seller, are responsible for paying them,” says Doug Perlson, co-founder and CEO of RealDirect.com, an alternative brokerage that offers discounted commissions, an attractive option for sellers trying to break even.
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11 / 9 / 11
This Is How Long It's Going To Take To Sell Your Home - Business Insider
One of the most common questions someone selling their home asks us is “how long will it take?”
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11 / 9 / 11
Autumn market: No longer what it used to be - The Real Deal
“Due to the volatile economy and perceived lack of job security, cash-strapped singles or couples are less likely to buy apartments, while demand from growing families in need of larger apartments has stayed strong,” said Doug Perlson, CEO of the Manhattan-based online brokerage RealDirect.
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11 / 1 / 11
Homework for Condo Buyers - The New York Times
“Having an attorney familiar with new construction to go over the offering plan is key," said Neila Deen, the director of sales and business development at RealDirect, a brokerage firm in Manhattan that sells new and older apartments.
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10 / 27 / 11
Real Estate Brokers Brace for Upper East Side School Rezoning - DNA Info
Doug Perlson, co-founder and CEO of the online real estate brokerage RealDirect, estimated that 25 percent of the time that families are searching for apartments, school criteria are "deal breakers" since some "live and die by their search results," he said.
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10 / 6 / 11
Barely Missing a Beat - The New York Times
Doug Perlson, the chief executive of the brokerage RealDirect, said strong resales were “not the rule for a lot of the developments that came on at the height of the market.” In Chelsea, he said, some buildings near Eighth Avenue are reselling at a loss, while buildings farther west or farther east are getting a premium.
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8 / 19 / 11
Neighborhood "Hotspots" Make For Tricky Appraisals - NY1
Various "hotspots" in the city are seeing a surge in growth, which could throw off appraisals in some neighborhoods. NY1's Jill Urban filed the following report.
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8 / 12 / 11
Inman Innovator Awards 2011 Finalist - Inman
RealDirect was selected as a finalist in the 2011 Inman Innovator awards for Most Innovative Brokerage.
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8 / 11 / 11
Houses of the Week - New York Post
A RealDirect listing was featured in the New York Post's Houses of the Week.
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7 / 28 / 11
Recovering in fits and starts - The Real Deal
"Second quarter was positive for us, and we saw a lot of activity," said Doug Perlson, the co-founder and CEO of RealDirect, a New York City-based brokerage and real estate technology company. "I'm more concerned with the third quarter, especially if the financial sector, which bounced back quite strong, takes another hit."
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7 / 1 / 11
Big Reveal: Pricing a Renovated 1BR Greenwich Village Co-op - Curbed
"Don't think they dare cross the $1M line," wrote one anonymous commenter, and indeed, this listing sneaks right under the wire at $995,000. At $1,170/square foot, that's the max most folks were willing to guess, and many estimates came in lower. Note to the sellers: there is one offer in the comments to take the place for $815,000 "sight unseen," if it comes to that.
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3 / 20 / 11
You Don't have to Pay 6% Broker's Fee - The New York Times
Another company offering a hybrid service is RealDirect, which charges sellers $395 per month, or a 1 percent commission, to distribute a listing to major real estate databases; owners handle open houses and showings themselves.
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1 / 28 / 11
Homebuyers Score Amazing Perks - AOL Housing Watch
It's still difficult for some homebuyers to qualify for a home mortgage in this economy. And with tax credits out the door, buyers and sellers are looking for creative ways to help fund home purchases, including some people, like Emetria Sanchez of Fresno, Calif., who didn't think they could qualify for a purchase.
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11 / 29 / 10
How to avoid an endless house hunt - MSN Real Estate
Excited, but exhausted, trying to tour all the home listings? Remember that it's quality that counts, not quantity. Learn how to streamline the process for a satisfying - and short - house hunt.
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10 / 4 / 10
Why Real Estate Needs To Have An Internet Renaissance - Business Insider
It’s a cliché to note that the internet has completely changed business. For big companies and small, the web has allowed businesses to be more efficient, advertise better, and scale faster. However, the impact is not uniform. While technology has revolutionized the travel, advertising, jobs and financial services, some industries still seem to be chugging along unscathed by the web revolution.
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9 / 1 / 10
New brokerage offers home sellers ad tracking, charges them greater commission for homes longer on the market - The Real Deal
A new residential online brokerage hopes to unlock a new palette of analytics from which sellers can track how their advertisements perform among buyers, adding a new transparency to the home selling experience.
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6 / 26 / 10
Media Coverage
