Named By NY Post as One of The Power Women Driving The NYC Luxury Real Estate Industry
In yesterday’s New York Post, our CEO Diane M. Ramirez was highlighted as one of the Top Executives in New York City Real Estate. They sat down with Diane for an exclusive interview. Here are the excerpts from the piece.
Taken from the Alexa Section of the June 11th NY Post:
Year she launched the company: In 1984, with her business partner Clark Halstead. “We were very much marketing-minded,” she says, at a time when brokerages were still “very mom-and-pop.” She moved up to president in 1999. “Elizabeth Stribling already had Stribling, Barbara Corcoran was a great and colorful leader, Dottie and Howard Lorber bought Elliman, and then Pam Liebman took the reins for Corcoran,” she recalls. “There were a lot of great women out there in the early days.”
Known for: Working with her peers to bring polish and define best practices in what was a fairly rag-tag industry.
Breakthrough deal: Just as she stepped into management, she was closing a major deal: an East Side townhouse bought by Calvin Klein. “That was my last deal. It was on for $6.5 million and we got a bidding war going, and it sold at $500,000 over ask — a record at that time.”
Next big thing: Halstead just expanded in Hoboken and tripled in size in Harlem. “And we are the first major firm to open in Bed-Stuy. We’re very excited about that.”
Personal mantra: A quote from Andrew Jackson resonates with Ramirez: “Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.”
State of the industry: “I may be tri-state, but New York is the sun: everything revolves around New York,” she says. “Everywhere I go, everyone wants to know how NYC is doing.”
Fun fact: Ramirez has a DIY streak. “I have bought and sold 30 apartments of my own,” she says. “I love to buy a wreck and renovate it.”