To new beginnings
October 22, 2024
The journey ahead
Dear friends,
I wrote and rewrote this letter many times before it arrived in your inbox this afternoon. I have always wanted to provide value in each of my letters, both educational and entertainment.
But this month, I had a dilemma. Something monumental has happened in my world, in my work as a real estate agent, and it’s caused me to reflect on the journey I have had since arriving in New York 15 years ago. I really wanted to share my reflections with you, so I’m dedicating this month’s newsletter to this.
(My regular programming of market insights and happenings in and around town will resume in November.)
Today, I am writing to share with you something big! Something both professional and personal.
I’ve been a part of Grace Chang’s team, based in Douglas Elliman’s Upper West Side office, since my career in real estate began almost four years ago. Grace has been selling New York City real estate for longer than I’ve been alive, and she was my mother’s first real estate agent in NYC when I was still in college. I literally could not have asked for a better mentor as a newbie in the frankly chaotic world of real estate. I can’t thank her enough.
But I’ve decided it’s time for me to strike out on my own.
I’m moving to the Douglas Elliman national headquarters at 575 Madison Avenue.
I’m still within my dear Elliman family. What’s changed is that I am now an independent agent, spreading my wings, charting my own path.
I am fully in charge of the business and brand I am building.
With this change comes more resources to better serve my clients, powered by the amazing Elliman brand. More PR and marketing support, more market intelligence, more opportunities and more markets.
I have expanded my real estate work beyond NYC. This year alone, I have partnered up with an experienced Westchester agent to sell my client’s stunning home in Rye. I have connected my friends with trustworthy agents that helped them secure their first homes in DC and Queens.
I just had a call the other week about connecting a friend with a reliable buyer’s agent in Los Angeles.
I am planning to expand my ability to serve my clients to two new markets next year. More to come on that later ;)
✨🏡✨
Are you dreaming of your next home? Book a free 30-minute consultation with me with no strings attached.
On retracing my steps
Retracing my steps the other day, I thought back to some of the places where I’ve grown to who I am today.
I have lived in 10 apartments since I arrived at JFK with three suitcases at the age of 18.
(Yes, for New Yorkers that come here without family or friends, it’s quite common to move this often.)
I stood outside my freshman year dorm at NYU, in the East Village at Third Ave and 11th St and looked at my fourth-floor bedroom window, with the eyes of a 33-year-old married woman running my own second business. I saw my younger self, living happily with five other girls who made me feel at home in a new country, who indulged my Chinese cooking in our shared kitchen, which could get greasy and smoky.
I also stopped by my sophomore year dorm, in Gramercy. The bank downstairs has changed from HSBC to Citizens, and the fancy condo-dorm conversion is finally showing some age, after 14 years. But I still remember being in awe to live in my first luxury condo in NYC, with stainless steel appliances and big windows showing views of Manhattan.
My living situation in NYC also took me to Alphabet City (East 10th St between Ave C & D), Woodhaven (Queens), the Lower East Side (Allen St and Houston St), Bushwick (Jefferson St near Myrtle & Broadway), Hell’s Kitchen (42nd St and 10th Ave), Fort Greene (St. Felix St between Fulton and Dekalb), before I eventually settled down in the Upper West Side, two blocks away from my mother.
Every move was a story. Some ended in tears. I remember pushing a cart of my belongings from my Gramercy dorm to my Alphabet City summer sublet with my college boyfriend, and the wheels of the cart kept sliding off the sidewalk, or getting caught in potholes. It was supposed to be a 30-minute walk, but it took us over an hour, in the heat of summer. We almost broke down on the street.
But it was also these moves, to all these different neighborhoods, that have educated me on the fabrics of NYC, allowing me to see so much about the city that many others might take decades to learn.
And today, as a real estate agent in New York helping clients with homes in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and beyond, I tap into my knowledge and experiences in all the neighborhoods I have lived in to articulate a level of understanding that makes my clients feel seen and heard.
I'm grateful for the journey I have had in New York, and I am so excited to find out where I am going next.
Who knows… maybe I’ll start my own team some day? :)
This is the start of an exciting new chapter, in a new place, and I can’t wait to experience it together with all of you.
Let’s chat soon!
XO,
Judy
——————————————————————————————————————————
In the media
Early this month, I spoke to the Houston Chronicle about how I use real estate accounting software in my business.
And a few weeks ago I gave my thoughts about mortgage rates to Investopedia. Check it out!
——————————————————————————————————————————
