New York, NY – July 26, 2018- An audience of more than 175 attended AmTrust Title Insurance Company’s fourth annual summit on July 24th, featuring two panels of professionals discussing the current residential real estate market in New York City. The event was held at the CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue. “NYC Current Trends in the Residential Market, Outlook for 2019,” moderated by Kim J. Kirk of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson, included panelists Howard Morrell, Engel and Volkers; Jacques Cohen, Compass; and Matthew Stenta, Popular Bank. “Issues Facing NYC’s Residential Market and More,” moderated by Jordan Shea, Douglas Elliman included Lior Aldad, Esq., Aldad & Associates; Robert J. Smith, Attorney at Law; Ben Brash, Amirian Group; and Daniel Gershburg, Romer Debbas, LLP. A plethora of ideas and perspectives were discussed, some of the highlights included: • Brooklyn is clearly NYC’s ‘hippest’ neighborhood, making locations such as Murray Hill, the Upper East Side and Sutton Place suddenly ‘affordable’; • Absorption is happening more slowly at the luxury end of the market than in moderately priced buildings; • Supply and demand, the basic fundamental, characterizes today’s residential real estate market, and we are oversupplied at the luxury level; • It’s a buyers’ market, concessions are being made by developers on the backend, the front end, and ultimately if necessary, in reduced pricing; • There is less foreign investment in luxury developments than in the past, in part due to the Treasury Department’s demand for transparency in identifying purchasers. Panel One, L to R: Matt Emanuelo, AmTrust Title; Kim J. Kirk, Esq., Fried Frank Harris Shriver and Jacobson; Matthew Stenta, Popular Bank; Jacques Cohen, Compass; and Howard Morrel, Engel and Volkers. Panel Two, L to R: Robert J. Smith, Attorney at Law; Daniel Gershburg, Romer Debbas, LLP; Ben Brash Amirian Group; Lior Aldad, Esq., Aldad and Associates, P.C.; and Jordan Shea, Douglas Elliman.