May 16, 2025 is my 39th anniversary in the real estate business.
Happy Anniversary To Me!
It all started on a cold call to a broker I knew nothing about. I left a message with his secretary (no voicemail in those days) saying I was calling about a real estate matter. I figured that he might think my call would be a lead and I would get a response – and I did.
When I told him I was looking to get started in the real estate industry – his response was “I’m not looking to hire anyone, but why don’t we have lunch?” Three weeks later, I was working for him. He was a pioneer in the office brokerage business, and I learned a lot from him. We worked together for 12 years, as he taught me the most important lesson: Real estate is about people, not deals.
I resigned from that firm only because I had pitched and won a national account, and my boss wanted to stay 100% local. Not only was it a national account, but a New York Stock Exchange traded company that was expanding rapidly throughout the United States.
I may have forgotten to mention during my sales pitch that I had never done a real estate deal outside of Westchester. But I quickly remembered a broker I had met somewhere who was in a national network and he became my “rabbi” as he referred me to high-quality brokers that he had done business with in markets throughout the country.
I had lots of deals in Florida, California, and many other states on my desk as I set up my new office (which happened to be free and located within my new client’s White Plains office) but also made sure to work with Westchester clients as well. It was a good thing I did, as some 18 months later my first, lucrative client went out of business.
As is typical in real estate, the year after that was one of the biggest of my career. A client of mine referred me to a fraternity buddy of his who was looking to start up a data center business. I was able to secure the account, even though I didn’t know a data center from a shopping center.
But I made the relationship, and in the next number of years – we leased over 500,000 square feet of data center space in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. It was a great ride until they sold the business to one of the big public companies who had its own real estate department who did it all in-house.
There is not enough ink to tell all the stories I could about the next 25 years. I continue to be a one-man shop, working with exclusive clients in Westchester and other markets. I generally work on the Tenants’ side but have pivoted a bit in the post-Covid era to some landlord representation and real estate consulting as well.
The business is certainly more challenging today than ever before. Covid literally upended the office world. Some tenants closed their offices completely, going to an all-remote model. Most have adopted the hybrid model, where employees are in the office 3 days per week.
There is also much disruption on the landlord’s side. The costs of tenant buildouts has increased tremendously, as have interest rates when buildings refinance. It is not a fun time to be a landlord, and many buildings cannot transact new leases due to the high capital costs.
The Westchester office market continues to shrink, as obsolete office buildings are either demolished to make way for multifamily projects or are adapted into medical facilities. Our office market used to be about 33 million square feet when I began my career. It is now about 25 million square feet, so it has shrunk by about 25%.
Real estate continues to be an (even more) interesting business, and the socialization and problem-solving aspects still attract me. It is great working with new clients as well as those I have served for decades. Besides, my wife always tells me: “I married you for better or worse, but not for lunch!”
Recent Transactions
Howard E. Greenberg, President of Howard Properties, Ltd. represented building ownership in the New York State Solar lease and represented both Family Ties and building ownership.
New York State Solar signed a lease for 2,254 square feet at 30 South Broadway in Yonkers, New York. The company specializes in the sale, design, and installation of customized residential and commercial photovoltaic systems. It has nearly 200 employees and eight locations throughout New York City, Long Island and New Jersey.
Family Ties of Westchester has renewed its lease for 2,311 square feet at 30 South Broadway in Yonkers. The organization offers peer support and advocacy services, parent skills coaching, and a wide range of workshops and support groups that help families build the foundation they need for healthy, meaningful lives. Family Ties thirty year history began with one small group of parents working together to find solutions to their own families’ complex challenges. It currently has 5 locations in Westchester County.
Howard E. Greenberg is President of Howard Properties, Ltd. in Valhalla, New York. He has been a prominent commercial real estate broker for over 39 years and founded his own firm in 1998.
He specializes in Tenant Representation and Corporate Services for clients in Westchester and throughout the United States.
Let’s have a discussion regarding your lease and space needs.
Please call me at (914) 997-0300 or email me to review your real estate questions.