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With nearly 40 years of experience in New York City’s residential real estate market, Jennifer Roberts knows a thing or two about navigating the unexpected and keeping pace with “the city that never sleeps.”
“I am a daily listmaker,” Roberts said, “which serves me well in not wasting time and accelerates accomplishing what I need to do.”
An avid reader and architecture aficionado who has taken many walking tours of NYC, Roberts leaves no stone unturned in serving her clients. Find out how she fell in love with real estate and what she’s learned from the ups and downs of her market.
Name: Jennifer Roberts
Title: Licensed associate real estate broker
Experience: 39 years in the industry
Location: New York City
Brokerage name: Coldwell Banker Warburg
Sales volume: Over $550 million
1. What’s one big lesson you’ve learned in real estate?
I’ve been a real estate agent now for almost four decades, and I learned a big lesson in the very first week of my real estate career. I started in my first real estate firm on a Monday and took out a buyer two days later who gave me a bid on the first home I showed him.
I was so excited and ran to the home of my manager, who helped me negotiate my first real estate transaction. The offer was accepted, and I recall saying to myself that this was an easy business. How wrong I was!
The deal fell through a few days later. I don’t remember the reason the buyer backed out, but I was crushed.
The important lesson I learned, and it has remained with me, is that things happen in this business, and you must go with the flow. You’ll have your ups and downs, but it is a people business, meaning people change their minds about things.
The lesson is you need to remain levelheaded and unflappable under all circumstances. That will serve you well.
2. What TV show has taught you the most?
My go-to TV station is CNBC, which offers business and financial news and analysis. I have gained vast knowledge from their many programs. The varied segments offer in-depth comments on real estate trends, such as the use of AI in real estate and how the economic and political climate affects the housing market and mortgage rates.
This assists me in being a smarter agent, and I can use what I have learned to intelligently guide my clients to make better decisions in the current buying and selling environment.
3. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? How does real estate relate to that childhood goal?
My father was a dentist, but he had a side business as a developer. With a partner, he built residential apartment buildings in Northern New Jersey and some strip malls. When I was little, I loved to hear his stories about real estate ventures, and I accompanied him to various sites occasionally.
I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be, but I knew I liked business and wanted to work for myself rather than have a “boss.” After getting my MBA and working for various corporations — American Express, Dun & Bradstreet and Bloomingdale’s — I decided to become a residential real estate agent in Manhattan, where I lived.
Almost 40 years later, I am still going strong. My dad’s love of real estate, which he passed on to me, was passed on to my son, who is a partner in the real estate department of a law firm.
4. What would you tell a new agent before they start in the business?
I would tell new agents that this is not a part-time business, and they must be prepared to put in long hours and work smart. By that, I mean they should develop a business plan on how they intend to grow their business and how they will master the neighborhoods they are covering as agents. To educate themselves on pricing and layouts, they should go to as many open houses as possible.
Another thing I would tell them is that real estate is an up-and-down business, and anything could happen between an accepted offer and the closing table, where even then complications could arise. If an issue comes up at any time during the process, you are the one who must remain calm, even if the parties involved are being high-strung. There is always a solution.
5. If you could do anything other than real estate, what would it be?
If I could do anything other than real estate, I would want to be a clothing designer, particularly a woman’s dress designer. While I can’t really sew, I do like to sketch design ideas now and then.
Plus, when I see certain dresses, I imagine how I could improve the look and fit. Designing dresses would be a way to express my creative side and craft a unique vision.
It would make me happy to give people confidence by wearing my designs. As with real estate, designers need to develop networking skills to build relationships.
