But, it was more than the borough's tree lined streets that attracted her to Brooklyn. Nadine noted the things that brought her to Kings County, also prompted her to make brownstones and townhouse properties a core part of her business. Having grown up in a family of real estate investors and property owners, she saw firsthand the tired nuances of the ownership options typically available to Manhattanites. “My dad owns a quarter of a co-op building and my mom owns a third of a condo building and I saw them start to get annoyed with their co-owners.” Nadine mentioned the stories she would hear from friends and clients as well, who found it difficult to swallow the often stringent rules imposed on them by their co-op boards and condo associations. “It was a combination of people I knew not having that autonomy and feeling restricted.”
After living abroad, Nadine returned to New York City as a new mom and to a new discovery- one that would further contribute to her dive into Brooklyn real estate. “In three years, all of my friends had moved to Brooklyn, within two or three blocks of each other.” Nadine couldn’t believe that they had all left Manhattan for Clinton Hill, but she quickly made the decision to join in on the eastward migration. She brought a brownstone and when her son started pre-school, she came across other parents who were interested in buying brownstones as well. “That was kind of where the brownstone wave started.” And it made sense. In Brooklyn, within its family of townhome properties, an individual could realize a few of the perks of owning a house; space, separate floors and true control over one of the biggest financial investments folks tend to make in their lives. The pot only gets sweeter when one purchases a townhome, which essentially is a multifamily property. “When you have two apartments, your giant owners triplex and your garden rental...you have that flexibility.” The flexibility to keep the house entirely to yourself, or use it as a vehicle for personal income.
If you’re excited, then you should be. However, it’s no secret that owning anything in this city can break the bank but according to Nadine, that isn’t entirely so. For her, the “housing stock” and quality of life in Brooklyn are incredible, and the borough’s real estate taxes are very low. There’s a huge demand for townhomes, she states, within the popular areas of Clinton Hill, Fort Greene and Bed Stuy. Interestingly enough, it seems buyers should be looking to the prime neighborhoods of Brooklyn, such as Park Slope, for home ownership opportunities. “In a way, they’re almost suffering from their success and I think there’s a real opportunity to invest there and you’ll see a great monetary reward.” In terms of value, she looks to areas where people are moving out of, such as lower Manhattan. “Tribeca, I think, has great room for appreciation.”
Her genuine enthusiasm for the Brooklyn lifestyle, coupled with her strong background as a broker and investor has kept her business thriving, even in the midst of a global pandemic. Since the city’s quarantine orders were put into effect, Nadine saw closings on several of her sales and rental deals, all at above 8% of last year's market. And this all happened virtually. Some kind of magic? Not quite. “Some of those deals happened with people who had seen the properties before and were scared to get off the fence and I think this situation reinforced that people wanted to have a home.” But selling sight unseen isn’t something foreign to her, COVID-19 aside. It all comes down to the price and the offer; when they both line up, Nadine can convince serious buyers to make the move. For her buyers, she encouraged them to act decisively and “see how far their dollar could stretch”. For seller’s, Nadine found herself advising clients who wanted to take advantage of market opportunities as buyers, but needed to sell their properties first in order to do so. “We guided them, with the bids that we had, to take the best deals for them and translate that into a bigger gain in their next step.”
For the last several months, Nadine found herself on the phone “all day, everyday” with her clients. What she provided was something better than magic, it was constant support and reassurance. “My basic method was, as horrible as the situation was, we’re going to be ok. You’re going to be ok with the real estate.” Regardless of how the tides turn around us, Nadine remains confident that real estate is a much better investment option over others. “I’ve never owned a single stock but I have a lot of houses,” she said chuckling, “and if I had any money I would buy more!” Although she’s not in the market personally, she does have a few gems on the market to sell to you. Nadine has an elegantly modern loft listing in Brooklyn Heights, offering potential buyers a private terrace with grand views, high ceilings and a stunning roof deck. “There’s water views, you can see boats going in and out of the harbor...but you literally have the subway around the corner and you can walk across the bridge.” She has another high ceilinged, 1900 sq. ft. loft listing in Clinton Hill of which, according to Nadine, “translates like a showroom”. The immediate area is a social hub, and the next owner of this condo won’t ever have to venture far for a playdate at the park or a cocktail afterwards.
From the age of nineteen, Nadine found herself being the one others turned to for advice on real estate. “I was doing real estate without being a broker, just helping my parents and friends and just being that person that everyone always called when they were making a real estate decision.” While renovating the new brownstone she purchased after moving back to New York, people started asking her about renovating brownstones. From there, Nadine found her mentor encouraging her to make a business out of her expertise as a broker. Her perception of the job made her leery of it at first, but her mentor had faith that she could be one of the good ones. Her mentor was right. Nadine quickly found that she could make money and help people. “I love doing it. It’s almost like a matchmaking process for me and it’s fun bringing people a little out of their comfort zone or just showing them stuff that they don’t know about.”
It’s still arguable to reference that magic again. It takes a special kind of person to work in New York real estate, to touch so many parts of it and to be consistently successful in doing so. Nadine knows the system, what can go wrong and what can go right. Here’s her take on it: “People like working with me because I know what I’m doing and I know what I’m talking about.” This doesn’t only apply to clients, but to her fellow realtors. “I work on having really good relationships with other brokers, who also have listings, and we do our best to make money for our buyers and for our sellers.” Nadine wants to connect people, help people and simply be a good neighbor; and when she sells a piece of property, she’s there through to the finish line. In the beginning, people advised her to stay away from rentals because of the work and time involved, claiming that it was a waste. But Nadine couldn’t see abandoning her clients right when they needed her most- to fill units on the property they just purchased through her.“You don’t do that.” she said, “Of course I’ll help.”
Nadine made an interesting comment. “My dad to this day will not give me a listing.” It turns out that her statement was more of a family joke, but it’s because of her success that he doesn’t throw any bones her way. Instead, he gives them to other brokers he feels bad for because they don’t have as many listings as she does. It seems that success in the real estate business runs in her family, and she confirms that it does. “My parents came to New York in the 70’s, my dad in the 60’s, and they invested in Tribeca and were converting buildings.” Nadine often hears their voices in the back of her mind, their stories about real estate, while walking through the streets of her childhood neighborhood in Tribeca. Now, she has her own stories to share with her two boys while walking the streets of Brooklyn. Does she see them following in their family’s footsteps? When her eldest son was about two or three, he gave the nicest compliment to the homeowners of a house they were visiting, “I like your chandelier”. That was proof enough. Nadine has a working family and her boys, 14 and 9, help her with tasks such as stuffing envelopes, landscaping and assisting with open houses..
So what’s in store for Nadine Adamson of Brown Harris Stevens for the rest of 2020? Just business as usual. “It’s so busy!” she cried. “We have so many buyers.” Buyers who feel like they missed out over the last several months, buyers eagerly waiting to jump into the market and buyers who regretted not taking her advice that “now is the time” to purchase. But, she also has questions about the future- particularly, the future that will undeniably be shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. “One of the things I keep thinking about, just as human beings going through this collective trauma, is what are we going to think about and what are we going to take with us?” Nadine recalled the lasting effects 9/11 had on New Yorkers and admitted that she still feels a ting of anxiety whenever she enters a crowded space. To this, she wonders about the lasting effects of the coronavirus, “What happens when we’re on the subway and somebody coughs?” It’s times like these that make Nadine realize the importance of home. The safety and security that comes with it, both physically and emotionally, are priceless. And she feels very lucky to be in the position to help people find those things- no matter their budget. She’s not a nice broker. Nadine’s a great broker and businesswoman. She’s ready to show you your next home when you are.
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