MANHATTAN MATTERS B Y B R O O K E K E L LY NEW YORK HAS had a challenging real estate journey during the past 18 months, but the stunningly quick rebound of our beloved city is joyously welcomed. With real estate sales back in full force in the Big Apple and COVID bargains behind us, top producer Nikki Field looks back on her journey navigating the Manhattan real estate through the worst of the pandemic, discusses the current state of the market, and also sheds light on the fearless female leaders in residential real estate. Brooke Kelly: Tell me about the state of the New York market. Nikki Field: NEW YORK IS BACK! Our journey began with fear and anxiety, then sadness and heroism, and followed by an unexpected zealous embracement of all things New York. As I captained our real estate team through these unchartered waters, one unwavering indicator was constant…hope. In March 2020, we found ourselves pivoting from the day-to-day sales routines to first caring for our families and each other in our Team family while reaching out to our extended “client” families. So many of them were on the move and needed our extensive network connections to place their families into immediate and secure new environments. Our team marketing messages during those early months were dedicated to the first responders, wishing them safety and recognizing their extraordinary heroism. As the worst of the pandemic moved out of New York, our message became “Mask Up and Come Back to the City.” Slowly and safely the city and the frozen real estate market opened and rebuilt. Quite surprisingly and beyond every analyst’s prediction, the residential market moved forward with speed. Today we are currently beyond the COVIDdiscount period and back to 2019 comps, sales velocity, and market parallels. Manhattan is indeed Rising Again.
From above: Nikki Field of The Field Team, Sotheby’s International Realty; The Field Team’s “New York is Rising Again” marketing campaign.
BK: As a leader in the industry, what are you thinking about these days? NF: Now that we hopefully have the worst of this global pandemic behind us, I recently have been pondering the longevity, success and dominance of women in residential real estate. Historically this has been a female dominated