22 March 2012 www.TheRealDeal.

com
PHOTOGRAPH FOR THE REAL DEAL BY JAMES CHANG

At

the

Desk

of:IlAn

BrAchA
This 27-story condo-hotel was planned for 16-18 West 57th Street, on a site that Brachas development firm, B&B Investment Group, bought for $60 million in 2007 before losing it to lender Petra Capital Management. Extell Development Group bought the note on the property for $80 million in October.

t wasnt quite the equivalent of Babe Ruth ditching the Red Sox to play for the Yankees, but top-producing broker Ilan Bracha caused a stir last year when he left Prudential Douglas Elliman to launch the first Keller Williams franchise in New York City. Eleven months later, Bracha, the chairman, has assembled a deep bench of brokers, many of whom have defected from established firms. True, he may not hit his stated goal of 250 agents by his one-year anniversary next month, but hes getting close the firm has 160 brokers, with more expected in the upcoming weeks, Bracha says. This winter, he cut the ribbon on a new 25,000-squarefoot headquarters at 425 Park Avenue, though Bracha, 37, will continue to work out of the firms former headquarters at 725 Fifth Avenue, Trump Tower. B y C. J. H ugHes

These types of framed news articles highlight Brachas successes at Elliman. So far, his firm has about 350 NYC listings. By comparison, Elliman has thousands. But Bracha is convinced Keller Williams will ultimately be a rival.

Ilan with his late father Jacob Bracha, who lived in their native Tel Aviv. The older Bracha, who worked as an ironworker making tables and gates, also dabbled in development, specifically small apartment buildings.

Foreign buyers made up 60 percent of Brachas clients last year, which is partly why he has international clocks on his wall. Some of those overseas clients are Chinese and often prefer condos in Midtown: They are buying what they see in the movies, he says.

Bracha likens his job to that of a Wall Street trader. Thats why he has three computers going at all times. Condo and co-op sales, he says, should be monitored on a daily basis. Things arent moving as fast as the stock market, Bracha admits. But its all about keeping up with the deals.

The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Keller Williams cofounder Gary Keller. The books tips about how to build a real estate team in seven steps was a blueprint for the creation of the Bracha Group, the 12-person team Bracha created at Elliman and moved to Keller. I like to read about opportunity and business, Bracha says.

A tennis player since childhood, Bracha still swats the ball around once a week at indoor courts on West 43rd Street, though he plays outside in the spring.

An oil painting by Mati, Brachas wife, who used to teach art at an elementary school in Israel but is now a full-time painter. She recently sold her first painting for $1,000 at a nearby West 57th Street gallery.

A pair of trendy Beats headphones, designed by Dr. Dre. Theyre for grooving to U2 but also for listening to sales lessons from real estate coaches like Mike Ferry, a favorite.