From Wall Street to Real Estate: Ellen Silverman's Journey

"Finding your sanctuary in the city that never sleeps" is Ellen’s promise to all her clients. Whether her clients are seeking that perfect space or selling a prized property, she is 100% dedicated to meeting her clients’ needs and protecting their best interests in the unique and vibrant New York City market. Ellen approaches every client interaction as a partnership, emphasizing clear communication and hard work to achieve common goals.

She has worked in real estate since 2016 after a seasoned career as a Wall Street analyst. Her excellent financial and analytical skills, command of the digital space and organized and detail-oriented processes help her navigate all facets of real estate transactions. Born and raised in Manhattan, she went to Trinity School prep school, then graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University with a BS in Business Administration and Mathematics and also received an MBA from Zicklin School of Business.

Ellen has experienced living in New York City as a renter, buyer, seller and therefore understands the ebbs and flows of the market and the diverse neighborhoods of Manhattan. Ellen has earned the coveted Certified Buyer Representative and Master Certified Negotiation Expert designations. In addition, her keen eye for interior design and staging, and up-to-date insights into new condominium developments bring greater value to her clients. Ellen serves both local New York City clients and international investors from Spain, Portugal, France, Israel, Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam.

 What does it really take to navigate the complex world of New York City real estate? Ellen Silverman pulls back the curtain on one of the world's most misunderstood property markets, sharing wisdom gained from her remarkable journey from Wall Street analyst to successful Manhattan real estate agent.

Growing up in downtown Manhattan, Ellen developed an early appreciation for diverse living spaces by visiting friends in various neighborhoods—from Greenwich Village apartments to Upper East Side townhouses. This curiosity, coupled with her mother's constant redecorating projects, planted the seeds for her future career. Despite spending three decades in finance, Ellen maintained her passion for properties, purchasing her first apartment in 1995 for just $50,000 in an area others considered questionable. This bold move exemplifies her talent for recognizing value before neighborhoods become trendy.

The conversation shatters common misconceptions about New York real estate. While TV shows portray only ultra-luxury properties with glamorous agents, Ellen reveals there's a "whole gradation of how you can live here." She enthusiastically highlights emerging areas like Astoria and Long Island City in Queens, where buyers can find modern condos with Manhattan skyline views at significantly lower prices. "When I say Queens, people are horrified," she laughs, "but it's literally two subway stops to Manhattan. You have amazing skyline views, huge space that's affordable...and believe me, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's are coming."

For those considering a real estate career, Ellen offers practical guidance based on experience. She recommends joining established brokerages with strong training programs and emphasizes that success comes from learning by doing—particularly by assisting experienced teams. Perhaps most surprisingly, she notes that many major NYC brokerage firms are led by women, who often excel thanks to superior multitasking abilities and intuitive skills. Her parting wisdom resonates beyond real estate: "If there's something you want to do as a self-employed entrepreneur, definitely pursue it. Don't doubt yourself. Life is really short, and it's better to try and fail than not to try at all."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Divas that Care Radio Stories, strategies and
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(00:25):
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After the show.
Right now, though, stay tunedfor another jolt of inspiration.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Well, hello everyone and welcome back to the Divas
that Care.
My name is Candice Gish.
If this is your very first timetuning into the Divas, a huge
welcome.
We are now in our 15th year ofdoing the podcast and we're so
excited that you've joined us.
Today.
I have a brand new diva thatwe're going to be welcoming to
our family.
Her name is Ellen Silverman.
Welcome to the podcast, ellen.

(00:53):
I'm so excited to have you.

Speaker 3 (00:55):
Thank you so much, candice.
It's a privilege to be here.
My name is Ellen Silverman.
I am from New York, new York,born and bred New Yorker, and I
grew up here, grew up downtown,went to school in Pennsylvania
and worked in finance.

(01:17):
After I graduated college,worked on Wall Street for about
30 years as an analyst on WallStreet, for about 30 years as an
analyst, and the last nineyears I've been working in real
estate selling residentialco-ops and condos here in
Manhattan.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
Oh, my gosh and I'm going to be honest with you and
we'll start this off, ellen thatI have a guilty pleasure.
I love going onto YouTube andwatching real estate agents in
New York showcase historicalhomes, like that's definitely
been something that I've alwaysenjoyed doing.
So when I heard that you'regoing to be coming onto the
podcast today somebody from NewYork in real estate I'm like

(01:54):
this is going to be so much fun.

Speaker 3 (01:56):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, you know there.
There are hundreds ofneighborhoods in New York city,
not not just Manhattan butBrooklyn and Queens, and there's
so many different types ofapartments.
There are homes, there aretownhouses, there are co-ops,
there are condos and there's,you know, the size of apartments
varies from very tiny studiosto, you know, massive eight

(02:21):
bedroom floor through apartments.
So you have something foreveryone.
I always say New York hassomething for everyone, wow.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
What can I ask you?
What?
Why you decided to get intothis type of a business?
Why did you decide to become areal estate agent?

Speaker 3 (02:39):
Yeah, well, great question.
I think it's a.
It was a very long process.
When I grew up in New York City, a lot of my friends lived in
these beautiful apartments andbeautiful homes and I would
visit them and admire the decor.
Some of them lived in GreenwichVillage in small apartments.

(03:01):
Some of them lived on the UpperWest Side in grand, huge
apartments.
Some lived in townhouses on theUpper East Side.
So I was always going out andvisiting my friends because I
loved looking at their homes andI think also, growing up, my
mother.
We lived in a tiny apartment inChelsea, which is lower

(03:24):
Manhattan, but my mother wasalways decorating.
She was always.
You know, every few yearschange the upholstery, change
the furniture layout, change thecolor of the walls, buy new art
, buy new vases.
She had a decorator and it'snot that we had a lot of money,
but I think she had a veryrestless creative streak in her,

(03:49):
and my aunt did as well.
So I think I grew up with a lotof women that were always
creative and always decorating.
So I kind of had the interiordesign bug growing up.
I think they planted that seedin me.

(04:10):
And then, um, when I got out ofcollege, I rented a small
apartment for a while, but then,a few years after that, I
really decided I wanted to be ahomeowner.
Enough was enough of renting, Iwanted my own home.
And so I bought my firstapartment, I think in 1995, for
some very low amount of moneylike $50,000.

(04:33):
And it was in an area of thecity that was way uptown and
everybody thought I was crazy,but I really wanted space and I
really wanted to create mysanctuary.
So, and this, these were all.
This was during the time I wasin Wall Street.
So, um, I lived in thatapartment for about 10 years and

(04:55):
bought and sold um my apartmentthree different times.
I kept moving for one reason oranother, different reasons, Um,
but each place I stayed around10 years and I really enjoyed
the process of looking atapartments and negotiating the
deals.

(05:15):
Sometimes I had brokers helpingme and sometimes I didn't, but
I really enjoyed the process andI really learned a lot.
So, After around 30 years inWall Street, it was really time
to go.
My work was not as interestingthe banking crisis had happened
in 2008, and all the work I wasdoing had to be highly

(05:39):
scrutinized and regulated anddocumented, and I really wasn't
enjoying it.
I probably should have left in2008, but I didn't.
It took me another eight years.
So I think, between my love ofbeing a real estate investor and
owner and my love of interiordesign and my good financial

(06:03):
skills, I thought real estatewould be a really great career
for me.
So that's why I went into realestate.

Speaker 2 (06:09):
Oh my gosh, I can totally see that Just listening
to you is so inspirational and Ijust love it.
I just I was thinking aboutsome of the things when you were
talking, so I had a question.
You were mentioning buying andselling.
When people are buying in NewYork, do they kind of stay in
the same area or do they try togo farther away all the time?

Speaker 3 (06:31):
Yeah, I mean, it really really varies.
I get a lot of people that aremoving into New York from out of
town so they don't have aspecific neighborhood in mind.
I mean, I was a native NewYorker.
I grew up downtown and I reallywanted huge space so I went way
uptown for that.
That was my story.
I think everybody has their ownstory.

(06:53):
I also think the media createsthis sense of New York City that
it's kind of unattainable, butthat's so not true at all,
because there are so manyneighborhoods and there are many
ways to buy an apartment andit's not as impossible as people

(07:17):
think it is.
So you know I think if you'rethere are you know there are
some people that want to selland they want to stay in their
neighborhood because they lovetheir neighborhood, they're used
to the amenities and the shopsand their neighbors and their
friends and their conveniences,so they stay.
And then there are people thatare like I'm done with this
neighborhood.
I want to go somewhere that'squieter, or I want larger space

(07:40):
and I'm willing to maybe go to amore inconvenient neighborhood
for affordable space, or I wantto try a different borough.
I need a change, or I'm gettingdivorced.
I want to get away from wheremy ex is living.
Or, you know, my kids have leftthe home and I want a smaller

(08:01):
space, I want to downgrade.
So you know everybody has theirown specific situation.
I love hearing that.
I love how you said that youknow everybody has their own
specific situation.

Speaker 2 (08:09):
I love hearing that.
I love how you said that youknow sometimes the media, the
television, it kind of gives youa different, almost like a
messed up kind of version of howthings are.
And I think when people aremoving into a place like that,
they've got that in their headbecause like, well, I don't know
if I could do this, I don'tknow where to go.

Speaker 3 (08:34):
And having somebody like you that has that
experience and that knowledge Ithink is very beneficial.
Yeah, no, absolutely.
I mean I know every subway linelike the palm of my hand and I
know where everything is locatedand I have a very good sense of
which neighborhoods are goingto appreciate and value and take
off.
I have a sense of you knowwhere the commercial spaces are
going to be growing and fillingup.
So in that way I definitely canguide people for New York City.

(08:59):
And yeah, and I mean you knowyou watch these shows on Bravo
and they're very entertainingand they're a lot of fun and
they're eye candy and, believeme, I watch every single one of
them constantly.
I do Cause it's fun.
And it's fun to watch thebrokers and they're all gorgeous
and they're wearing, you know,beautiful clothes and they're

(09:22):
selling gorgeous properties andit's it's fun.
But that's not every day in NewYork City and there's a whole
gradation of how you can livehere.
So, yes, I do help people kindof adjust to what is real and

(09:42):
what is attainable.

Speaker 2 (09:45):
That's great and I like how you had mentioned that
things are changing and then youknow what's going to be kind of
the hot spots.
Have you seen a lot of theevolution through the city
itself?
Because I kind of get the ideathat there was maybe some areas
that were maybe run down overtime and then all of a sudden
somebody decides, you know what,we're going to revamp this area
and it starts changing soyou're able to see a lot of that

(10:05):
correct you're able to see alot of that correct.

Speaker 3 (10:12):
Oh, every day, 100%.
I mean I saw it happen toBrooklyn in the last 25 years
how Brooklyn really reallyappreciated from all the way
from Williamsburg, all the wayeast to Bed-Stuy, to Kensington,
to even East New York.
It's just, it just moves East.
In Brooklyn and Queens,especially on the waterfront um

(10:34):
Long Island city and Astoriaespecially, the development is
booming and you can getfantastic um condominiums
overlooking the water and havinga skyline view of New York city
from your apartment.
And I think Queens is great andit's getting better and better.

(10:56):
And a lot of people when I sayQueens they're horrified, no, I
can't go there.
But you know they're crazy.
It's literally two subway stopsto Manhattan.
Crazy, it's literally twosubway stops to Manhattan.
You have amazing skyline viewsof New York, you have huge space

(11:20):
that's affordable, and you maynot have Whole Foods around the
corner or Trader Joe's, butbelieve me, they're coming.

Speaker 2 (11:24):
I know they're coming .
I love that and I like how youhad mentioned that it's
affordable, cause I was going toask you like, how affordable is
it to live in New York and thesurrounding areas of New York?
Because what I imagine is thatit would be a very high cost of
living.

Speaker 3 (11:38):
You know you don't need a car, so you're not paying
for gas, you're not paying forparking, you're not, you're not
wasting time in a car.
Time is money, so the whole carthing is gone.
You're on the subway or the busor you're walking or maybe an
Uber.
Now our taxes are, our propertytaxes are.

(12:02):
It depends where you live.
You know, again, property taxesvary by building and by
neighborhood.
Yes, so you know, the monthlycharges depend on where you live
and the type of building you'rein.
The prices are probably higherthan the rest of the country.

(12:23):
For instance, you know, a largeone bedroom, um, you know, a
large one bedroom, let's say, inin a nice new building in
Astoria, is probably going to beabout 850,000.
Now that in Miami couldprobably get you a two bedroom
or, um, you know, I don't, Idon't know the rest of the

(12:44):
country, but I'm sure 850,000 isa lot of money to a lot of
people.
Um, so you know.
And then you know New Yorkstate and city taxes are higher.

Speaker 2 (12:54):
Okay, it is.
It is more expensive to live inNew York, but you know, I think
you would have a lot of fun inNew York.
To be honest, the things thatyou can do there, oh my gosh,
I'm very envious of that.

Speaker 3 (13:09):
Yeah, I mean you can still.
There's still lots of ways ofof enjoying the city without
spending hundreds, hundreds ofdollars on a on a weekend.
I mean I don't.
I don't go to Broadway.
Broadway now is $800 a ticket.
I don't do that.
That's crazy.

Speaker 2 (13:26):
Yeah, so tell me, would you recommend becoming a
real estate agent in New York?
What kind of tips and tools canyou share with an up and coming
real estate agent?
Sure?

Speaker 3 (13:42):
Well, yeah, I mean, that's another thing people
freak out about.
Um, there are some fantasticreal estate brokers, brokerages
here in here in New York City.
Um, there's also boutiquebrokerage.
There's millions of brokeragefirms that can help you get into
the business.

(14:02):
I would always recommendstarting out with a big name
firm like Corcoran or DouglasElement I work for Compass or
Compass or I work for Compass orCompass.
Go to a place where there's lotsof training and join a team and
try to be a part of a team andassist and learn that way.

(14:23):
The only way to learn is bydoing.
You can go to school and getyour license, but they're not
gonna teach you how to be abroker and how to generate leads
and how to cultivaterelationships with people.
That's something you learn onthe job, on your own.
The beauty of New York City isthat there are so many
neighborhoods.

(14:43):
There are so many types ofbuildings.
You can specialize in UpperEast Side Studios and really get
to know that inventory and bethe Upper East Side Studios
specialist.
We do have social media nowwhere you can advertise yourself
websites, videos, youtubechannel so you know a lot of the

(15:08):
job is lead generation andmarketing.
I spend, I think 70% of my time, 70% of my week, on marketing
and lead generation and the restof the time I'm doing deals.
That's the truth.

Speaker 2 (15:24):
Well, it's very honest, right?
You know people have to realizethat things don't happen
overnight and you're not goingto get the big deal unless
you're willing to put the workin.

Speaker 3 (15:32):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, and what you see on TV is just
the deal making, but you're notseeing the behind the scenes of.
You know, ryan Serhant hasprobably 10 assistants in his
office that are following up,doing his marketing, doing his
videos, doing his social media,doing his, he does training, he

(15:55):
does courses.
You know you don't see allthose people working day and
night on those tasks.
You just see Ryan Serhantselling a $40 million penthouse
on billionaire's row andeverybody thinks, oh, that's
what New York city real estateis you know, you know what I
really like that you hadmentioned that it is a team like

(16:15):
you're not doing it necessarilyby yourself it's a group of
individuals you're learning fromone another, you're working
with one another, and howimportant is that, especially
being a woman entrepreneur.
Oh yeah, no, I definitely learnfrom everybody and whether I'm a
woman or whoever you are, Idon't think this is a really

(16:38):
gender-based business, Although,I have to say, most of the
major brokerage firms are led bywomen, which is kind of funny.
Which is kind of funny.

(16:59):
But I think that whether you'rea woman or a man, you know it's
all about cultivating yoursphere of influence and lead
generation, and you know thereare a lot of skills in this
business that I think lenditself to women.
We are great multitaskers andwe have a lot of intuitive
skills that I think men don'thave.
You know, and men are strong inother parts of you know in

(17:24):
other ways.
But I think it's a greatbusiness if you are a woman and
especially, and age as well.
I mean, I've seen women intheir 80s in this business and
they continue to do extremelywell because they know certain
buildings, they know certainco-op boards, they know the
market, and people don't carehow old you are, as long as you

(17:48):
can get them the apartment theywant.

Speaker 2 (17:50):
Exactly Well, I always like when I have the
opportunity to have real estateagents on here.
They talk about the flexibilityof it.
How do you like the flexibilityof the business?

Speaker 3 (18:00):
Yeah, well, I love the flexibility of being
self-employed.
I love it, no matter whatbusiness I'm in, and I think
especially, you know, and inreal estate as well.
It's great that I can.
I mean, I still actuallyprobably work more hours now
than I did when I worked inbanking, because I work on the

(18:23):
weekends.
But you know, if I need to takea break, I can take a break and
I don't have to answer toanybody.
And if I, you know, there arecertain things I have to do
every single day, but I can dothem in the order I want to do
them and nobody's telling me howto work, you know, and what and

(18:43):
and and what to, what to say inan email and and how to do my
newsletter.
It's all up to me, and thatfreedom I really appreciate.

Speaker 2 (18:52):
Oh, I love that.
Thank you so much for sharingthat with us.
It's really inspiring when youknow people are honest and
authentic on how things work.
Well, you know, ellen, I've hadsuch a great time with you
today I honestly I would love tohave you back.
I think that having you on ourpodcast would be very beneficial
.
You know, to share the thingsthat you've learned over time

(19:12):
with our listeners.
So if you don't mind, could yougive me and share with all of
our listeners all of your socialmedia.

Speaker 3 (19:20):
Yes, of course.
I'm on Instagram at Ellen JSilverman and my website is
wwwellenjsilvermancom, and ifthat's too confusing, just go on
Compass and look for me, EllenSilverman.

Speaker 2 (19:38):
Thank you, this was wonderful.
I really appreciate you.
Is there any last minute thingsyou'd love to share with our
listeners?

Speaker 3 (19:48):
I always say to people if you feel there's
something you want to do in as aself-employed entrepreneur,
definitely pursue it.
Don't, don't stop yourself,Don't doubt yourself, Because
you know life is really shortand you don't want to live in
regret and it's better to tryand fail than not to try at all.

Speaker 2 (20:12):
That is perfect.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome, and to all ofour amazing listeners out there,
thank you so much for checkingus out today.
Make sure you go and check outEllen's social media.
I'm also going to be posting iton all of our social media so
that you can just click on itand go to it.
And another thing that I'd likeis make sure that you do
something kind today, guys, theworld is going through a lot of

(20:35):
crisis and we want to make surethat we spread kindness and love
, so I hope that each one of youhas an amazing day and until
next time, everyone.

Speaker 1 (20:44):
Thanks for listening.
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