In an interview with NTD at the 2025 NYC Real Estate Expo, Erica Parks, former Miss New York's Teen and New York's youngest licensed real estate agent working under Douglas Elliman, discusses the current housing market challenges, including low inventory due to the pandemic and election season.
She anticipates improvements with the conversion of commercial buildings into affordable residences, facilitated by new legislation. Parks highlights the transformative impact of AI on the industry, streamlining administrative tasks and enhancing client relationships. Despite the market's difficulties, she remains optimistic about the future, particularly over the next five years, and is eager to contribute to the industry's growth. -- 🧶More NTD Programs: https://www.ntd.com/programs?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=SocialM
You know, we're in a tough spot right
now, but I'm very hopeful to see what
things are going to happen in the new
year. A lot of the clients I'm working
with, they don't have too many options.
So, I want to make sure that when I'm
working with them, I can work to their
wants, not just their needs.
>> So, what are you saying? You're saying
there aren't that many uh properties on
the market. Is that the challenge?
>> That's been the challenge right now.
There's so many agents and there's so
many people looking to buy or looking to
rent, but our inventory is at the lowest
it's been in a really long time. So, I'm
really looking forward for it to
flourish in the next year or so. Why why
is inventory so low?
>> I think it's coming off of the pandemic
still and especially since we're in in
an election season. Most people wait to
list their their property until after an
election. Regardless of what way it
goes, they're going to wait until after.
So, I'm also seeing within the next
year, we have a lot of commercial
buildings getting transformed into
residential buildings. So, I know that's
going to do a lot for affordability and
housing in the city.
>> So, this is happening. These commercial
buildings are being transformed. Yes, I
was at a panel for it with the Real
Estate Board of New York last week and
it was an incredible conversation about
how we're working with new legislation
that's been passed to make sure that
these are affordable for civilians in
New York that aren't in the top 1% of
buyers
>> really. So, explain to anybody who's not
familiar with this phenomenon what
exactly is happening.
>> So, we're taking office buildings that
aren't being used because during the
pandemic our office uh capacity rate and
usage rate plummeted. So, we're taking
these buildings and there's been new
legislation that's passed. So, we're
going to take them and take uh state
loans and convert them into affordable
residences. So, all of these new
residents are going to have amenities,
access to public transportation, and
we're going to make sure that they have
an affordable and nice place to live.
>> Really? Um, what are some of the other
trends you're seeing or perhaps
opportunities either for buyers or for
sellers? The use of AI has completely
launched off in the last couple months.
Even since I started doing real estate,
I've seen AI really transform the
industry. It's doing so much for agents,
for buyers, listings, uh for buyers, uh
sellers listings. So, it's really doing
so much and it's having providing
amazing opportunities to make more
connections and to simplify our jobs a
lot more so we can focus on really
pleasing our clients.
>> So, what exactly is it doing for you?
It's taking a lot of the nitty-gritty
admin work that we do all the time as
agents and it's simplifying it for us so
we can spend more of our time out
building relationships, showing our
clients new properties, and making sure
that they are getting the best deal for
their buck.
>> Incredible. Um, finally, how optimistic
are you for the New York City market
over the next 5 years?
>> Oh, I'm here for it. I am ready to see
it flourish. I'm new to the industry and
I'm ready to grow along with it. Okay,
>> Erica, thank you so much.
>> Thank you.
