Nothing like a good rumour...

The NY Social Diary web site (yes, there is such a thing), should be expecting a law suite soon I would think. They reported a rumor that Corcoran was going out of business. Nice work, fellas!

12/9. The talk was real estate. Rumors and/or realities. One rumor which was running through the industry yesterday was that Corcoran, the real estate brokerage with more than 800 brokers, was closing with its biggest producers moving over to Brown Harris Stevens. This is untrue. Earlier NYSD references to the matter were simply false. These rumors probably stem from the fact that the major brokerage firm, which was acquired and expanded several years ago by Cendant’s Henry Silverman, is in the middle of a divorce from his wife of more than 30 years, Nancy Silverman, and doesn’t need any more aggravation. Whatever Mr. Silverman's matrimonial issues, Corcoran is NOT an issue.

Not closing, but moving, is Alice Mason who is basically down-sizing, giving up the million dollars-a-year lease on her big Madison Avenue office space which is coming up for re-negotiation anyway.

Mrs. Mason who has been consistently one of the most prominent high private residential brokers in the last half century, will continue to operate her business with her brokers, all of whom, like herself, working out of their homes with their computers, Blackberries, iPhones, etc.

As it is, most of Mrs. Mason’s brokers, like many in the business, tended to work out of their homes. Brokers working in-office are a big city phenomenon, with smaller office brokers around the country working mainly out of their homes.

There were rumors circulating yesterday about Edward Lee Cave closing. This is FALSE. My friend Kathy Steinberg, President of Edward Lee Cave, confirmed this morning that there is no change in the firm's status or business plans, and in fact they are looking forward to a strong New Year in the New York real estate market.

The high end real private residential real estate business in Manhattan has been under pressure for several months now because of the Wall Street situation. Part of the problem has also been the building co-op boards, many of which remain, despite the stressful financial atmosphere, extremely strict about allowing new people into their buildings. One couple, friends of mine, put their seven figure apartment on the market, found a buyer, moved out so as to allow the buyer to begin work on the apartment, only to have the board turn down the buyer. This has happened twice to the couple who, after several months of renting, have moved back into their old apartment.

The financials and their first cousin real estate are now on the minds of many amongst the social set in New York, although a friend from out of town told me that the anxiety is either not as apparent or doesn’t exist when you get out of the metropolis. Last night at dinner I was talking to a woman from London who told me that it has already had a tremendous effect on that city.