Ryan Serhant Returned to Real Estate Reality TV With Netflix’s ‘Owning Manhattan’ | Canada News Media
Connect with us

Real eState

Ryan Serhant Returned to Real Estate Reality TV With Netflix’s ‘Owning Manhattan’

Published

 on

To be lured back from his hiatus from the reality TV universe after 10 seasons on Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing: New York, NYC-based celebrity broker Ryan Serhant knew he wanted to do something different. “I didn’t want to make Million Dollar Listing: New York 2.0, or a spinoff of Selling Sunset, which has its own distinct style,” he says. “So, we’ve created a concept of elevated reality.”

The new concept, Owning Manhattan, launched Friday on Netflix. In many ways, it feels soothingly familiar to the slew of other popular real estate reality fare like Selling Sunset and Buying Beverly Hills: luxury listing porn, feuding peacocking agents, high-stakes sales. But with its soaring orchestra score, documentary-style filmmaking and Serhant’s outsized, time-tested personality, it offers a polished, insider’s look into Serhant’s new real estate agency, named, of course, SERHANT.

Related Stories

“Ryan gives good TV because he is good TV,” says World of Wonder’s Randy Barbato, who executive produces the show. “It’s authentic. It’s not an act. Before we started filming, he’s been building this empire, and he has decided that he wants to be the N. 1 brokerage firm in the world. And to see someone trying to achieve that is amazing. On top of that, he is someone who has heart, and is funny and is a great businessman — they’re the things you’d put on a wish list and then expect AI to generate. But Ryan actually delivers it. And then on top of it, he has perfect skin.”

Most of the action takes place in the SERHANT headquarters in Soho, home of the former Tommy Hilfiger landmark store, which becomes a kind of character in the show. “It’s like the Soho House of real estate,” says executive producer Fenton Bailey, of World of Wonder.

Barbato agrees. “It’s very chic. It’s very happening. It’s very buzzy.”

With Serhant stepping into the role of brave leader and mentor, the show focuses on a mix of agents both old and new, with made-for-TV appeal and flash for days. “It is a Baskin-Robbins,” Barbato says.  “There are many flavors of amazing cast members in this cast.”

Standouts include Tricia Lee, a sophisticated, steely powerbroker in Brooklyn who’s looking to make it just as big in Manhattan; Jonathan Nørmølle, a tatted up, expressive Danish upstart; and Savannah Gowarty, a peach-pie fresh newbie from North Carolina.

“I lately have been equating the real estate business with the drag queen business,” says Bailey, longtime producer of Drag Race along with Barbato. “To be a great agent is just not that dissimilar to being a great drag queen.”

No one personifies this more than the brash Chloe Tucker Caine, a former Broadway star in Mama Mia! before becoming a top-selling agent.

“You have to be a triple threat,” Bailey says. “You’ve got to know your stuff about property. You’ve got to know how to sell it. You’ve got to know how to dress well. You’ve got to know how to walk and talk, and you’ve got to know media. You’ve got to know how to post great videos. You know what, drag queens and real estate agents are the Marines of reality!”

Although he is an old hand at being a reality star, Serhant admits that filming Owning Manhattan was daunting. “Shooting this entire show was terrifying. It was unlike anything I’ve ever done,” he says. “We shot the entire show in real time, and it’s the only real estate show where there are live firings. So, I don’t know if I would call those scenes ‘fun,’ but they were the most real I’ve seen on an docuseries, and I’m excited for the audience to experience them.”

Viewers will see a softer, mentor version of Serhant, encouraging brokers to “Take it to the Wall” (literally, a wall in the main office where agents list their big sales). It also delves into his goal of merging technology and real estate, especially through his Instagram, which has over 2 million followers.

“We’ve been making property shows for a gazillion years. I mean, the first show we made was Hot Property for Channel 5 in the U.K., literally last century,” Bailey says. “And it’s funny to see how selling real estate and homes has evolved and really fused with media and social media. it used to be that a listing would be just a few pictures, and you’d have to make an appointment — you’d have to go see it. And now, there’s 360-degree videos. There are drones flying through the house!”

Much of the drama of the season revolves around Serhant’s attempt to sell the soaring penthouse at Central Park Tower, the highest residence in the world with an elevation 17,545 sq. ft. Currently listed for $195 million, the penthouse serves as a metaphor for the great heights Serhant and his crew aspire to.

“The question ultimately was, what will make people look up from their phones? What if the show opens in voiceover, has a first-person narrator and, because all episodes release at the same time, the series feels like a documentary film — what does that look and feel like?” Serhant says. “Then, layer in incredible real estate as in the most extreme properties in the world, real deals being done for significant amounts of money, the backdrop of New York City, a diverse and unique cast of personalities and emotions — some who are new to the business and some who are quite seasoned — lots of drama and humor, and we surprise the audience until the final credits of the final episode. What would that be like?”

Viewers are now finding out. In a media space crowded with real estate fare, Owning Manhattan promises to be a breath of rarefied fresh air, with one old hat in the center of it all. “Ryan is back where he belongs,” Barbato says. “On everyone’s TV set all around the world.”

 

Source link

Continue Reading

Real eState

Greater Toronto home sales jump in October after Bank of Canada rate cuts: board

Published

 on

 

TORONTO – The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says home sales in October surged as buyers continued moving off the sidelines amid lower interest rates.

The board said 6,658 homes changed hands last month in the Greater Toronto Area, up 44.4 per cent compared with 4,611 in the same month last year. Sales were up 14 per cent from September on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The average selling price was up 1.1 per cent compared with a year earlier at $1,135,215. The composite benchmark price, meant to represent the typical home, was down 3.3 per cent year-over-year.

“While we are still early in the Bank of Canada’s rate cutting cycle, it definitely does appear that an increasing number of buyers moved off the sidelines and back into the marketplace in October,” said TRREB president Jennifer Pearce in a news release.

“The positive affordability picture brought about by lower borrowing costs and relatively flat home prices prompted this improvement in market activity.”

The Bank of Canada has slashed its key interest rate four times since June, including a half-percentage point cut on Oct. 23. The rate now stands at 3.75 per cent, down from the high of five per cent that deterred many would-be buyers from the housing market.

New listings last month totalled 15,328, up 4.3 per cent from a year earlier.

In the City of Toronto, there were 2,509 sales last month, a 37.6 per cent jump from October 2023. Throughout the rest of the GTA, home sales rose 48.9 per cent to 4,149.

The sales uptick is encouraging, said Cameron Forbes, general manager and broker for Re/Max Realtron Realty Inc., who added the figures for October were stronger than he anticipated.

“I thought they’d be up for sure, but not necessarily that much,” said Forbes.

“Obviously, the 50 basis points was certainly a great move in the right direction. I just thought it would take more to get things going.”

He said it shows confidence in the market is returning faster than expected, especially among existing homeowners looking for a new property.

“The average consumer who’s employed and may have been able to get some increases in their wages over the last little bit to make up some ground with inflation, I think they’re confident, so they’re looking in the market.

“The conditions are nice because you’ve got a little more time, you’ve got more choice, you’ve got fewer other buyers to compete against.”

All property types saw more sales in October compared with a year ago throughout the GTA.

Townhouses led the surge with 56.8 per cent more sales, followed by detached homes at 46.6 per cent and semi-detached homes at 44 per cent. There were 33.4 per cent more condos that changed hands year-over-year.

“Market conditions did tighten in October, but there is still a lot of inventory and therefore choice for homebuyers,” said TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer.

“This choice will keep home price growth moderate over the next few months. However, as inventory is absorbed and home construction continues to lag population growth, selling price growth will accelerate, likely as we move through the spring of 2025.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Real eState

Homelessness: Tiny home village to open next week in Halifax suburb

Published

 on

 

HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.

Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.

Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.

The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.

Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.

They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.

The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Real eState

Here are some facts about British Columbia’s housing market

Published

 on

 

Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.

Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.

Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500

Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438

Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103

Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359

Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent

How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Exit mobile version