A Donegal man has been named the exclusive broker for a multi-million dollar collection of apartments overlooking New York’s Central Park.
Shane Boyle left Killybegs for America in 2012 and started out working in bars and clubs. Prior to taking his chances overseas he was employed part-time as a shelf stacker in his local SuperValu while drawing the dole the rest of the week.
When an unexpected opportunity to get into property-selling came along Shane seized it and has never looked back. The 34-year-old has just been named among the top 100 estate agents in New York by website Propertyspark.com. It rates sellers by their activity on social media, including how many likes, shares and positive feedback they receive.
Over the years Shane has helped match countless New Yorkers with their ideal homes.
His latest task though is by far the biggest of his career. He is the exclusive broker for ‘Fifteen West 96th Street’, a collection of 21 modern apartments looking out on to Central Park. The starting price per home is in the region of a tidy $6 million while the penthouse is expected to fetch $20 million.
Fifteen West 96th Street has been in the planning since 2007 and is now nearing completion. Despite the price there is likely to be a demand as new properties in the vicinity of Central Park are scarce due to strict building controls.
“It is serious money,” admitted the Killybegs man.
As to who would be in the market for such an apartment, Shane said there were big financial and medical sectors close by. Buyers could emerge from those industries. But they could also attract a major movie, sports or music star eyeing a private Manhattan getaway.
Shane said, “You just don’t know. It would be great to get a New York Yankees player because the Yankees Stadium is close by.”
As to whether he himself is the running, he said something closer to home might be more in his price range.
“I’ll get a wee cottage in Killybegs, I’d be happy with that.”
On the rise of his reputation as a ‘go to’ person in the New York real estate game, Shane said it was partly down to his love of the job.
“I love it but you have to because it takes up so much of your time and energy. It is very stressful and the pressure is always on. But if you don’t like it or you are doing it purely for the money, I think that comes off.
“For me the buzz is in not knowing who you are going to encounter. Who knows who you could meet in these buildings. The calibre of people who have the money to buy these properties, I have the fortune of taking them through and matching them with a new home.
“Bear in mind, before I came out here I was stacking shelves in SuperValu. Now I’m getting to meet and deal with all these uber successful people.”
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)