KGCI: Real Estate on Air - Urban Real Estate Strategies for Top Agents

Episode Date: October 27, 2025

Summary:This episode is an interview with Rebecca Knaster, a top-producing agent in urban real estate. She shares tactical strategies for navigating city-specific markets, including working with luxury clients, managing multiple offers in a competitive environment, and leveraging market data unique to urban areas. The discussion offers actionable advice on how to position yourself as an expert in a dense, fast-paced market and build a brand that attracts high-end clients. The content is valuable for agents looking to specialize or compete in urban real estate.

Hey everyone. This is Real Estate Rich's podcast, and boy, is it going to be rich, full of the wealth and the tips and the tricks of all kinds of successful agents, because that's what you want to be, right? A business builder who has success in their business, well, that's what we got going on here. And I'm going to have all kinds of agents, men, women, younger, older, sharing all their stuff because there's technology, there's just, how do you build your business? There's so many questions, right? So let's learn from some of the best. Gather your wealth and build your business. That's what this channel's all about. And I'm excited to bring it to you. I'm Kathy Burns and I'll be your host and stay tuned. Let's get at it, right?

Hey, everybody. I'm Kathy Burns here on Real Estate Riches and I'm here with Rebecca Naster. Really excited to have her on Pro in New York City and she's going to give us all kinds of nuggets of her own. So hey, welcome, Rebecca. Thank you. Looking forward. Me too. All right. So you and I were just talking and you mentioned that in New York City, which is where you work, you don't have an MLS there. No, we've never had one because the brokerages, they can't come to an agreement. So we've never had one. The closest thing we have to an MLS, the closest thing is street easy. I don't even know what that is. Well, this New York City is not a Zillow. It's not Homes.com. The only thing in Zillow really, is for the buyer. Because before Zillow came into being,

if you wanted to look at listings, you had to go to each one of the firms. You had to go to Corcoran. You had to go to Compass. You had to go to Brown Harris-Stevens because there was no collective. And then Streeties, he came into being probably,

I don't know, 15, 20 years ago. And we thought it was great, but now they have a lot of power, too much power. So, that's how a buyer goes to look at apartments. Well, how does the seller promote their product?

How do you, if you're the listing agent. It's very simple. We have three, there's three avenues. We promote it on our website, which I'm Compass, which has a huge, huge website all over the place. Then we also have something called OLR, where brokers will go on. And then we have Street Easy. And I'm basically a listing agent. I do some, I do represent buyers, but not a whole lot. So when I have a listing, the first thing I do is I put it on my listing, which is Compass. And Compass will then shoot it over also to OLR. I don't have to put it on again. But I will have to do a separate insertion for Street Easy. Same what comes with the profile, the information, the pictures, the floor plan.

When I started in this business, we came in on Monday mornings and we looked at the FISBOS in the New York Times. Just a few lines. And then we started getting on the phone and calling people because it was all for, most of it was like a for sale by owner. So when I will tell you, history is Corpn's the first one that started doing this online. And everybody followed Sue, because I worked at corporate at the time. I'm in the business on maybe 28 years, maybe 29. So it kind of like knocked the New York Times off the box or out of the box. Yeah. But they had a website, so people still went on their website, but the website was terrible.

So they are a non-entity, but they were the force to be reckoned with when I started in this business. How interesting. So you were telling me that NAR is not really an issue for you guys because you're, you were never putting commissions in there before. How did you? We do put commissions in, but we're not members of NARSA. We're not subject to their rules and regulations and what's going on. But I will tell you now, I can only speak for Compass, when I put an exclusive, I mean, I have six exclusives right now. And when I put it an exclusive, now the exclusive says, three percent by the seller, three percent by the owner, total of six percent. But I'll tell you something. So I sent it to

one of my clients and it's a big listing. Well, they got confused. They said, do I have to pay 12% now? Three and three is six, six and six is 12. So it has, for me, it has not come up. The bottom line is this. If you are going to be the only person who says, I'm not paying for the broker, let the buyer pay for the broker. And you have 15 other listings and similar listings, and they're all paying the broker on the buyer side. What broker is going to want to bring their listing to your apartment. Right. What's going to happen is it's going to lower the price. Yeah. So it has not come up in any of my business. Yeah. I'm not saying it can, but it could. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I really don't see it in an issue either. I do see a lot of agents freaking out over it

across the country because like in our state, we already had a broker agreement anyway, so they were already putting in the commission that we were going to get paid. So just the fact that it's not and the MLS is, it's just going to be more aggravation. We'll have to call the agent to find out what we're being paid. Look, as I said, it hasn't come up yet. If somebody doesn't want to pay, that's their right. But then they have to know. The market is very soft in New York right now.

It's not like that in most other places, but it's soft in New York. If you've got a soft market, it's going to be, you know, the other side's not going to want to pay it out. I mean, it's like we, in New York, we have something called flip taxes. and 95% of the time the flip tax is paid by the seller. It could be per share. It could be 2%, 3%, 1%. It goes back into the reserves and it helps maintain all the work that has to be done

for maintain a building. Sure. So there are some buildings where the flip tax has to be paid by the buyer. I don't agree with it because as it is, they're spending all this money to buy for an apartment and then they have to pay up front for something else. But everybody can do what they want and some people, And I think also in the end, it actually has to lower the price.

It has to. Yeah, it does. This is just my professional, personal opinion. So we have a lot of different things here that you don't have. Yes, you do. I just read an article that 7 million people are leaving New York and they're moving. And a lot of them are going to Florida. Do you know why?

Taxes, I hear. You got it. Listen, I was just working with a lady yesterday. She came to see one of my exclusives. she was living in Scarsdale, which is a very, very high tax area because the schools are superb. So I said to her, so she's living in New Hampshire now. I didn't ask why she moved to New Hampshire, but the handwriting is on the wall. Live free or die.

That's the same for New Hampshire. She said initially we were going to buy a place in Florida. And then they decided to take the money that they put into a trust from the sale of their house, which was very nice, I'm sure. And she wants to buy something for her two girls to live in New York. but you want to talk about tax but you know what water is not a cheap place to live anymore no i agree so if you don't get in the back end you get on the front end well what i find because i'm in north carolina so we've got to what part of north carolina are you in outside of charlotte okay i have a he was a client of mine he just moved to charlotte from new york he moved there because

i don't know so much of the taxes but because the weather yes we go we get four seasons so it's not so hot as Florida. That's what I was just going to tell you. So they move from New York or the north to Florida and then they can't stand the heat, just like you're experiencing right now with all the humidity. And so they move halfway back. We call them halfbacks. There's snowbirds in Florida and halfbacks in North Carolina because they want the four seasons and our taxes are wonderful here. I would get people calling me from up north and they'd say, what are the taxes? I tell them, they go, is that a month? And I go, no, that's a year. They pay cash and get right down here. Well, I'll tell you something interesting. You know, this is my last career. I think do I want to

still stay in New York after I'm done? I also own a home in the Hamptons. So, you know, do I want to stay here? Do I want to move away? And he was telling me all about North Carolina, and it sounded very inviting. It is. I moved from Michigan. I moved from Michigan in 2005, and I wanted to get away from the snow. I was done. And I like the idea of the four seasons because I didn't want to just cook down in Florida. Yeah. And I'm within four hour, three hours drive, really, of either the beach or the mountains. And Florida, it's just another eight hours down. So by driving, if I wanted to drive, which I won't anymore, I fly. I know. I never discuss politics with anyone, but I will tell you that Florida's a hotbed. As you well know. So that's, to me, that's another reason why you

want to go and not go. We'll leave it at that, dropping it. Yeah, I'm glad you're going to drop it. I am going to drop it because that's another reason people want to go or not go. Yep, yep, I totally agree. Well, this state is beautiful and they are moving here in Drove. So we are the number one big city in the country where people are moving to. They all move into Charlotte? The Charlotte metro area, but they're also going, yeah, the Charlotte metro area. I'm north of it. I'm up at a lake here, Lake Norman, and I specialize in the waterfront properties. And just being from Michigan was around water all my life. And I said, I like that price point.

That's going to be my target market. Look, I could sell my apartment by a mansion there. You could. Before I forget, people that go back and forth periodically to Florida, we call them snowflakes, not snowbirds. Have you ever heard that term? I haven't heard the snowflakes. The snowflake.

In other words, you don't pack up and stay there for six months. so you're a resident, you go back and forth. You know, you go there for two weeks, come back, or for a month, come back. It's a flake. That's funny. That's funny. So tell me, what have you done through all these years? You've been in the business a long time.

You focus on listings. How did you build that business up where you got, you focused on listings and you actually get them? Okay. I had a friend who was a real estate broker back, you know, a long time ago. And I was looking to get out of corporate America because it did not suit my personality. It took me a long time to figure out. I don't like taking orders from people and having to come in at a certain time and leave it a certain time. But it took me a while to get there.

So she said to me, this is a funny story. So I left my last position. I was in marketing. And it's funny. It's the same building I'm working in now for Compass. You know, it's hysterical. I worked for Harper Collins at the time. So I left for, there was a lot of stuff going on.

And I didn't know what I wanted to do. But I had a dog. And first I went to dog grooming school because I thought I wanted to open dog grooming shop because I used to groom my dog on my own and people stopped me. And then this friend said to me, why don't you? become a broker. I said, I don't know anybody wants an apartment. Who's going to want to sell to me or buy to me? abide with me. So I went to real estate school. I went back and forth and back and forth and I picked real estate. I live in a co-op, a big co-op. We have under 300 apartments in the building. And there was another broker who's doing a lot of business in the building, but I didn't think he was

terribly ethical, but neither hand or there. So I said, I'm going to make this building my own. So most of the business that I do is in the building. And, you know, call me lazy, but all I've do is go up and down the elevator. It's not like you're in your North Carolina where you get in the car and you go show an apartment, show a house. I got to take a cab, a bus, my bikes, train, something. It's a nuisance. So I don't love, and I'll tell you, if I'm going to go somewhere, it has to be worth my while financially at this point. So I do a lot of business in my building. Right now I have four exclusive, four or five exclusive in the building in one uptown. Nice. Then what happens is when I sell the apartment to the next person, we become friendly. You know, all the marketing in the world,

and I have a person who's a wonderful social media for me, she's fabulous. I do so many videos, but all of that marketing cannot take the place of the personal interaction you have with somebody. Oh, I agree. I agree. It's relationships. This is a relationship business. Well, it's a company, they're thinking they want a bigger apartment. I sold them. I wasn't there broke at the time, but we've gotten together. Friday, we're going to look at a few things in the building, and then they're coming over for drinks later. Yeah, there you go.

I love it. That's what I decided to do. Not everybody does it that way. I mean, my plaintiff famous, I once had five or seven board approvals in one night. Wow. Yeah. Well, that's another thing, because you're a co-op, you have to have board approval, right? That's right.

Yep. So you have to be, a lot of these younger brokers, I don't mean to say anything negatively. but they don't know how to handle a co-op. They don't know how to clarify somebody, want to call somebody. So you have to really know what you're doing. It's not an easy task. You have to be able to match the person,

their finances, with the building. Yes, right, where they're going to qualify, right? It isn't just the finances. It's their job or whatever, right? Is that it? It's a combination of your finances, your job, what you do.

In other words, somebody who's in finance usually goes into a condo because their income can be through the roof or in the dirt. You think about someone in finance, if you're in a hedge fund, you can have a great year or terrible year. And you don't have, your base is minimal. It's minimal. It's all wrapped up in the bonus and the compensation at the end of the year.

So you could buy yourself a $5 million apartment and wind up making no money one year. Wow. Think about it. Most of these big financial guys go into condos because they got the bucks to do it and no one's going to turn them down. So that's the thing. You need someone who's got a stable work. history. Yeah. It's a whole different ballgame there. Are you in Manhattan? Physically in Manhattan.

Yeah, yeah. I only do Manhattan. I don't really go out of the city. I once was working with a customer in Brooklyn. I drove there and I got a parking ticket. That was the end of it. It wasn't worth it to me anymore. I'm done. You know, the other thing I do is I look at the person's debt to income. Yeah. You know, co-ops want people to be 25, 20, percent tops. When you're going to a bank, the bank doesn't care what your assets are. They care about your income. Right.

So a bank will look for a 33% debt to income. A building would never accept that. And the reason they do that is because they don't want to be kicking you out down the road if you can't pay the bill. That's right. Because in a co-op, and I'm going to do this video with my marketing person. A lot of people don't understand the difference between a co-op, a condo. And a condop.

Kandah. You've never heard of a condop, did you? No. C-O-N-D-O-P. Never heard of it. It's a combination of a co-op and a condo. Interesting. Yes.

So the difference is that you want to, so when you're looking at something like this, co-op, they, somebody once, a board president once said, your job is not your asset. Here's an example. I had a lovely kid who was buying an apartment in the building. He worked for a hedge fund. He made a good living. He went off to Greece.

I get a letter, I get an email from him. While he was in Greece, he lost his job. The bank has never, the bank does a final check. The bank was never going to approve his mortgage. Signed contract, I had a letter out of everything. Oh, wow. So that's what I'm saying to. He lost his job.

And while the co-op would never take him, they don't know how long it's going to take him to find a new job unless he's got $10 million in a bank or something. It's very rigorous because in a co-op, you don't own your apartment. You own shares of the apartment, the building, the co-operate, the corporation owns your apartment. Right.

Condo, you own your apartment. So if something happens, it diverts back to the bank. Right. Something happens in a co-op, it goes back to the co-op. The co-op does not want to be in real estate. Right, right. And a condo is a combination of a condo and a co-op. Years ago, you only needed to put 10% down to buy a condo.

I forget exactly, maybe it's gone up. And in a co-op, it was usually 25%. A condo rules and co-op financing. So you need to put down a minimum of 20%. You can't be turned down. If you want to sublet your apartment, you can. There's no rules and regulations. You just have to pay the fees.

So the price is a little higher than a co-op, but still a little bit lesser than a condo. We don't have many of them, but we have a handful. Yeah, that's interesting. I can't tell you the genesis of it. I don't know. That's interesting. So you say you do a lot of video.

on a YouTube channel? I have, it's on Instagram. On Instagram? Yeah, I have a person I've hired, you know, every month. We do a bunch of videos and she posts them. Okay, great. And what's your subject? So what are your videos on?

Let me see. I sell a lot in this area. And my feeling was I might as well be a specialist, not a generalist. I agree. Thank you. So I did a video. I went around the corner. There's a really great bakery.

This is the most, this was the best video. Everybody loved it. the highest response. It's called Eclare. And I tell him about my favorite bakery and my favorite and Mrs. Eclare. And I told him I love Eclare's. I took them inside and I showed him the Eclaires. So that was one.

I did another one about the pizza I love down the block. I did a pizza one. And then I did another one. Have you ever heard of the Citicorp Center? No. Okay. It's a huge building down the block and they used to have a big thing downstairs, which kind of got seedy.

It was a big restoration there, renovation. And it became the U. It's got a fabulous restaurants down there with seating. It's a young crowd, an older crowd, and the food is great. So I did something about come to the U, and I gave him some history on the U. Oh, see, I teach agents to do this exact same thing, because this is how you build them relationships. Did you give those videos to the owners? Did they know about it?

I can't give it to the U because I don't know anybody there. Okay. The problem is you don't know who owners are. They're really not in the shops. They have workers there all day long. We also have a promenade along the river. I lived down the block from the river. Mm-hmm.

It's a blops on the river. So they just opened up a brand new promenade that's sort of like combined with the rest of the river. Mm-hmm. So I did a whole thing on there. Beautiful. Well, see, you're basically showing the walkability. Yeah, the walkability of your neighborhood and the cool little spots, right? So I do that.

You know, I have to come up. I'd like to find something where you can sit around outside for a drink because it's that time of year, but I haven't really come up with anything, yes. I don't want to just do wine bars. I don't want to be inside. Yeah, yeah. I have to find out to Ordani that I like. Yeah, yeah.

And I think the next one I'm actually going to do is I do some educational ones. I'm going to do a thing. Do you know the difference between a condo, a co-op and a condo? Well, you know, just like you just talked about. I mean, now that's pretty specific to your area, but that's who you're marketing to, right? It's not necessarily my area. What if someone's coming from out of town? I have a huge mailing list and they want to buy something in New York and they don't know what the difference is.

But that's my point. You're giving your unique territory. If I'm looking in your area, and I don't know that I even know about it. No, if you're looking in New York City, period. Yes. That's what I'm saying. So if you want to buy a new, if you want to buy a Pietitara in New York, you should become educated.

So my job is to educate you. Yeah. Well, anywhere you're looking to move, you should be educated. And that's why these videos are important. I've got two YouTube channels that I do. You should put all those videos on a YouTube channel because it's free. I'll ask her if she's free. putting them on there. I'm not much with I'm not much on social media. I built my business without it.

So I think you can understand. I'm a little late getting there. Well, I saw that you were very lean on your social media because that's what I look at to see so that I could learn about people before I go in. And I saw that you. Yep, you're on Instagram. And I did see some of your videos, which I thought were great. But you've already established your clientele there. So you already have a book of business that you just kind of over and over, wouldn't you say? More or less. You know, it's referral here and there, the business, the building. Okay.

And so basically by doing that, when I first got started years ago, I didn't have a budget for anything. So I would just start interviewing different vendors that I worked with. And I would give them copies of the video. So they would promote it on their social media. I would promote it. But they were more inclined to give me business because I just promoted them. They're going to see that I'm helping them.

And so I did that with the vendors. I did it with small businesses, pizza places, all that. So the people will get to know the area as well. And because it also gets you promoted when you're out there doing all these different videos, you're putting them on Instagram or YouTube or whatever. I'm a big fan of multipurposing them because on Instagram, your feed goes down once it's past the day, it's gone. On YouTube, it's they call that term Evergreen.

So it's always living there. Well, I'm going to tell Lena to put it on YouTube. Yeah. And YouTube is free. So it's a great one. Thank you. I learned something new today. There you go.

Well, thank you so much for all of this. I appreciate your insight. I learned a lot more about Manhattan area and how things are done there. Is there anything else? Anything else you wanted to share before we get off? You know, I tell people this all the time. If you are ready to be your own, business person. If you are ready to go off on your own, if you have enough money put aside

to wait for that, I was very lucky. I had my first sale in a month. Right. But also if you are able to motivate yourself. Absolutely. This is a great business. This business has its ups and downs everywhere. You know, this is what I believe in doing. I do a three-year income average. Because one year could be great. The next year is not so great. And the next year is better. So if you income average it out for three years, it always looks good. That's a great idea. I love that. Rebecca. So I encourage people all the time to become a real estate broker if they feel they can handle their own business and motivate themselves. Well, it is a business and that's exactly the whole point. You've got to run it like a business. Exactly. Thank you so much, Rebecca. I really

appreciate it. For the chatting. So if you like this, please subscribe below, share this, spread the word, love to have more conversations just like Rebecca's today. Thanks so much, everybody. So thanks for joining me on this episode of Real Estate Riches. Wasn't that great? I'm sure you've got a nugget or two. I know I did. So if you liked it, please subscribe below, share it with everybody, make some comments. We really find that invaluable. And if you're thinking that you would love to talk about this a little bit more, let's schedule a business strategy call.

I'll have the link below. Let's see if we can't mastermind together and see if we can't empower each other. That would be great. So until next time, signing off. Hope to see you on the next one.