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Eastern Consolidated will close down next month, in the latest shakeup of the New York City brokerage scene.
Eastern’s founders, Peter Hauspurg and Daun Paris, told the firm’s employees the news at a meeting Friday morning, Commercial Observer reports. The firm will remain open for the next six weeks so its employees and brokers can make arrangements for their next move.
“This was an incredibly difficult and complicated decision to make as Eastern has been a huge and incredible part of our lives for nearly 40 years,” Paris and Hauspurg said in a statement. “But ultimately the right one ... we determined that the best path forward is to wind down the operations of Eastern Consolidated."
Paris and Hauspurg have been considering selling the firm, but none of the offers they had received were ones they said they came with terms with which they were "not comfortable." The did not reveal who had made offers.
The investment sales division of the firm suffered last year, according to CO. Across the city, investment sales tanked last year. There has been some indication of a jump in dollar volume so far this year, but Paris told CO there is "no clear indication of when conditions will improve."
Brokers Adelaide Polsinelli, James Famularo, Robin Abrams and Brian Ezratty were all major dealmakers for the firm, and all will likely be looking for new brokerages where they can ply their trade.
"We are confident our talented team will be in high demand at other firms, and we will do all that we can to make this an easy transition," Paris and Hausperg said.
Midsize firms are under increasing pressure in New York City. Earlier this month, Newmark Knight Frank bought RKF. In the residential space, Town Residential recently closed down its resale and leasing business.
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