Karen Sharkey Named Manager of Downtown Edelman Office

December 13, 2007

Audrey Edelman RealtyUSA is pleased to announce that Karen Sharkey has joined its management team. Karen will be the sales manager for the recently opened second office at 710 Hancock Street and Route 13, working collaboratively with General Manager Richard Patterson. Karen brings to the position 17 years’ experience as a multimillion dollar producer in the Greater Binghamton market. She is a certified relocation specialist and has experience in real estate office management.

Born and raised in the Binghamton area, Karen spent 13 years as a procedures analyst at IBM before starting her real estate career. Karen has residences in both Vestal and Ithaca. Her family includes husband Mike, an engineer with Interconnect Technologies, daughter Erin, a Binghamton University sophomore in a pre-dental program, and son Thomas, who will be heading to college in the fall, majoring in pharmaceutical sciences.

“Karen’s personality and work ethic will be a perfect fit for the office, and I’m very excited about having her on the management team,” remarks Audrey Edelman, President. Karen says that she’s looking forward to working with the company’s many talented agents and to serving the members of the Tompkins County community.

Audrey Edelman RealtyUSA Draws National Media Attention

December 5, 2007

When Ithaca made national news for its seeming immunity to the subprime mortgage crisis, reporters turned to the management at Audrey Edelman RealtyUSA to learn how university towns are managing to buck the trend.

On November 4, 2007, The New York Times broke the news that Ithaca heads the list of metropolitan areas with the smallest percentage of high-cost home loans. In his article “College Towns Escape the Pain,” Times reporter Ford Fessenden interviewed Richard Patterson, General Manager of Audrey Edelman RealtyUSA.

The article cites numerous factors that explain why university towns are not experiencing the high rate of foreclosures plaguing the rest of the country. Chief among these, says Fessenden, are stability in both the housing and job markets. 

“Contributing to reasonable home prices is the fact that many places on the list are economic oases, surrounded by areas where jobs are dwindling, which helps depress housing demand,” writes Fessenden. “Yet the college towns themselves are flourishing.”

“There’s so much construction at Cornell,” says Dick Patterson, pointing out that a major indicator of the health of the local economy is the growth of both Cornell University and Ithaca College.

The day after Patterson was quoted in the Times, Fox News contacted company President Audrey M. Edelman to ask her to appear on the Fox Business Network’s program “Money for Breakfast.” Edelman appeared on the air live on November 9.

Asked by host Alexis Glick how Ithaca has been affected by the subprime crisis, Edelman responded that compared to the rest of the nation, Ithaca has hardly been affected at all. She explained that Ithaca tends to be a financially conservative community and that its residents and real estate professionals rely heavily on local lending institutions. “We find that mortgage officers don’t really stretch our people to the limit where they feel the loan becomes risky and they possibly won’t be able to make the payments.”

Edelman added that the average price of a home in Ithaca right now is just over $212,000—a 4% increase over last year’s selling price at this time.

Richard Patterson Named General Manager of Audrey Edelman & Associates RealtyUSA

March 1, 2007

Audrey Edelman, President of Audrey Edelman RealtyUSA, is proud to announce that Richard Patterson has assumed the position of General Manager. Bringing more than 30 years of local real estate experience to the position, Patterson served as President of the Ithaca Board of Realtors in 2006, and has been named Realtor of the Year on four occasions, most recently in 2005 and 2006.

Patterson’s father, Russ, was a Realtor in the Ithaca area for many years, so Dick “grew up in the business.” He graduated from Ithaca High School and then attended Cornell University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration in 1970. He became licensed to sell real estate in 1976, and in 1977 he became Principal Broker of Patterson Real Estate, which he headed for 25 years.

In 2002 Dick decided to join the Audrey Edelman firm, citing its leadership position in the local marketplace as the primary reason for the move.  “It was the best move I ever made,” says Dick, who enjoyed the increased opportunities of working with former and new clients. He says he is honored by the opportunity to work with Audrey in a new capacity and to lead the company during a period of growth.  The company plans to open a second office in downtown Ithaca this spring and expects to add 30 new Realtors and several staff.

“I’m looking forward to collaborating with Dick, who brings so much to the office with his combination of real estate expertise and leadership abilities,” says Audrey. “He has the respect not only of his colleagues at Audrey Edelman, but of all the Realtors on the Board as well. He did a masterful job as Board President, and I’m confident that he will be a skillful leader of our company, with the full trust of agents, staff, and clients alike.”

Dick’s two grown children make their home in the Ithaca area, as do his parents, Russell and Gerry. In his spare time, Patterson enjoys gardening, kayaking, cross-country skiing, and renovating the Cayuga Heights home that he purchased recently with his partner and fellow Realtor, Johanna Gettinger.

Audrey Edelman RealtyUSA to Build Second Office on Hancock Street

July 6, 2006

Audrey Edelman & Associates RealtyUSA is proud to announce plans to build a second office in Ithaca, according to company president Audrey Edelman. The 7,500-square-foot office is slated to be built on the corner of Route 13 and Hancock Streets on the site formerly occupied by Roma Pizzeria and a car wash. The property was purchased for the project in October 2005, with groundbreaking for the new office scheduled to take place in the next few weeks and anticipated completion by the end of the year.

Edelman says a second office will help to meet growing client demand. Having opened its doors as a four-person brokerage in 1989, Audrey Edelman & Associates RealtyUSA is now the dominant brokerage in the Ithaca area, with 50 Realtors and six staff in its 6,300-square-foot facility on Triphammer Road.

The company is “expanding in a measured way to meet the demands of the marketplace,” according to Andrew Cahalane, the agency’s general manager. “Increasing our presence in the community, enhancing our services, and continually looking for the best ways to work with our clients are extremely important parts of our business strategy,” says Cahalane. “We felt a new and additional location was a critical step in our commitment to achieving these goals.”

Edelman says the new office is architecturally consistent with the Triphammer office. “The design is friendly and inviting, with high ceilings, large windows, and private offices with French doors. Mirroring our first office, our downtown office will promote interaction among agents while ensuring their clients’ privacy and comfort.”

Edelman adds that since the beginning, the company’s strategy has been to provide agents with first-class facilities and support “so that they can focus their efforts on the client and provide the best real estate services possible. One of my goals is to create a welcoming space that fosters the team spirit that has been so integral to our success.” For clients’ convenience, 1st Priority Mortgage will also offer onsite financing at the downtown office.

Increasing accessibility to the downtown community is another goal that the second facility will help to meet. Edelman acknowledges the community’s role in the agency’s success, adding that giving back to the community has always been important at Audrey Edelman & Associates RealtyUSA. The agency supports the Hangar Theatre, Kitchen Theatre, and the Sciencenter, as well as Ithaca Breast Cancer Alliance, United Way, IPEI, and other charitable organizations.

The two Audrey Edelman & Associates RealtyUSA locations will function as a single office, says Edelman. Joint sales meetings will bring the offices together weekly, and Edelman herself will split her time between the two offices.

Photo, left to right: Lisa Moracco, Laurie Lawrence, Claire Van Deusen, Kelly Bargher, Katy Heine, Suzy Kessler, Diane Cooper.

Ithaca Rotary presented its 2005 Pride of Workmanship to the entire staff of Audrey Edelman & Associates RealtyUSA at its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, October 26. The staff was chosen from a field of half a dozen candidates and, according to Pride of Workmanship Chairperson Joanne Lamoreaux, was chosen for its dedication and service above and beyond what is required or expected. In the past year, the staff of seven has steered the agency through several significant transitions and challenges, including the affiliation with RealtyUSA and a floor-to-ceiling renovation of the Triphammer office.

Recognized at the meeting were Sales Manager Diane Cooper, Operations Manager Lisa Moracco, Data Entry and Relocation Manager Laurie Lawrence, Marketing Coordinator Katy Heine, Bookkeeper Suzy Kessler, and Receptionists Kelly Bargher and Claire Van Deusen.

Audrey Edelman & Associates Real Estate, Ithaca's leadingreal estate firm, is proud to join forces with RealtyUSA, NewYork State's largest independent real estate company. This veryexciting affiliation will have many positive benefits for ourfriends and clients, as well as for the agents and staff whocomprise our agency.

Ranked ninth among independent real estate agencies in the U.S.by Real Trends, RealtyUSA has 44 offices and over 1,500 agents.Our affiliation with this tremendously successful organization willgive us new tools and new products and services to help us dowhat we do best.helping our clients navigate one of the biggestfinancial and emotional transactions of their lives.

I want to assure everyone that Audrey Edelman & Associates,the company in which so many of you have placed yourconfidence, will only improve. I look forward to continuingto grow the business as Principal Broker and President. The agents and staff you have come to trust, andof whom I am so proud, will continue to serve you as before, with even better tools and technology.On behalf of the 50 agents and devoted staff of Audrey Edelman & Associates/Realty USA, I want tothank the community for all the support and friendship you have shown us in our 16 years of doingbusiness. We feel very fortunate to be a vital part of this extraordinary community, and we look forwardto helping many more of you Open More Doors and Close More Sales in the years ahead.

Audrey M. Edelman, Principal Broker