The 16th Annual NYC Real Estate Expo, held on Oct. 16 at the New York Hilton Midtown, brought together industry leaders and professionals to discuss market trends and investment opportunities.
Shimon Shkouri, president and founder of Ariel Property Advisors, told The Epoch Times that the next two years present a unique investment opportunity.
“I think the next two years are probably the most opportunistic we’ve seen ever,” Shkouri said, citing decreased property values and rising rents in New York City as contributing factors.
Shkouri advised potential investors to focus on familiar areas and partners. “Know what you’re investing in and know who you’re investing with. These are the two most important aspects of investing in real estate,” he said.
Jackson Reiter, chief operating officer and cofounder of Relm AI, introduced his company’s AI-powered home search engine at the expo.
“We are an AI home search engine, allowing people to find homes and apartments based off of anything they can imagine,” Reiter told The Epoch Times. He said the platform has been successful in New Jersey and announced its upcoming launch in New York City.
Bob Knakal, chairman and CEO of BKREA, said he was optimistic about the current market conditions in New York City.
“I think that today is probably the best buying opportunity that I have seen in the 40 years that I’ve been a broker in New York City,” Knakal told The Epoch Times. He said many buildings are selling for prices comparable to those 20–25 years ago.
Knakal also criticized public policy for exacerbating the housing crisis.
“Everything that our politicians have done since 2018, even though they all say they want New York to be more affordable for everybody, has constricted the supply of housing and exerted upward pressure on the cost of housing, making it less affordable for everybody,” he said.
Thibault de Saint Vincent, founder and chairman of Barnes, a luxury real estate agency with high-end properties worldwide, discussed the rise of digital nomads and its impact on the real estate market.
“Now there is this explosion of digital nomads. People are not only working or living in one city in the world but they are really moving a few times a year,” de Saint Vincent told NTD News. He noted the need for service apartments and comprehensive amenities to cater to this mobile clientele.
Anthony Kazazis, director of One National Real Estate LLC, the organizer of the event, said the expo’s success was evident in its attendance and scope.
“The expo at the Hilton Midtown was a tremendous success with over 7,000 professionals attending. We had 175 exhibitors, 50-plus speakers and panelists, and several podcast and media companies interviewing and reporting on the days event,” Kazazis said.
Erica Lacentra, marketing manager at RCNCapital.com, said her company was able to form many new connections at the event.
“From the stack of business cards that I saw, we should be getting a lot of new business from the contacts we made,” Lacentra said.
Michael Romer, managing partner of Romer Debbas LLP and co-owner of Real Estate Center 4 Success, described the recent expo as “the best event yet,” highlighting the positive experience of returning to in-person networking after pandemic-related disruptions.
Margaret Gibbons, CEO of Insignia Renovations, commenting on the event, said, “The energy was electric and the place was buzzing.”
According to the organizers, the NYC Real Estate Expo has become New York’s premier event for real estate professionals, offering a platform for networking, learning, and exploring business opportunities across various sectors of the industry.
The expo’s success underscores the resilience of the New York real estate market, despite challenges posed by economic fluctuations and policy changes. As the industry continues to evolve, such events allow for in-person connections among professionals navigating the complex landscape of real estate in one of the world’s most competitive markets.
