SERHANT., his real estate brokerage featured on Netflix’s “Owning Manhattan,” is expanding to Massachusetts, with a Boston office and some 30 agents per his Jan. 14. announcement.
“It’s exciting for me to get back to my roots,” said the star of Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing New York,” whose firm deals in million-dollar listings.
“Boston is the biggest little city in the world. It’s built on culture, built on the ethos of the original founders of the United States — this get-up-and-go attitude. That’s what I love so much about Boston. It’s in everybody’s blood to get up and go and make things happen.”
A noted workaholic with a get-up-and-go-attitude himself, Serhant, 41, spoke of his Boston launch from the back of his car in New York City — presumably with his driver, Yuriy, who has his own fandom.
For the initiated, if there’s such a thing as a real estate celebrity, it’s Serhant.
He’s a house-blend of Wall Street and Broadway. A savvy businessman with the big personality of a TV show host — magnetic Andy Cohen it-factor with Bostonian dry humor and an “I can sell ice to a snowman” sales attitude that revs up employees.
Celebrity real estate agent Ryan Serhant.SERHANT. Studios
Watching “Owning Manhattan,” they look like they’d follow their silver-haired leader into battle if he raised his heavily braceleted wrist. The knight’s steed? Social media. He’s harnessed the power of Instagram — with some 3 million followers — and other platforms. He also studied theater.
Two years after earning his broker license, he landed on “Million Dollar Listing New York,” then got his own Bravo spinoff shows.
In 2020, the author of three books founded SERHANT. He sells New York City apartments that look straight out of “Succession.” He repped Andy Cohen in the sale of his New York apartment, and Dave Portnoy’s Florida home.
Now that he’s “planted his flag” in Rhode Island and Connecticut, he’s expanding his empire back into what he considers his home state. “All my childhood memories” are here, he said. “My first date was at the Topsfield Fair.”
“When you walk to my office in New York City, the first thing you see is a Tom Brady autographed helmet. I have a football from the Falcons/Patriots Super Bowl signed, I have a lot of Patriots gear and jerseys,” he continued.
From left on “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen,” Cohen, Scheana Shay of “Vanderpump Rules,” and Ryan Serhant.Charles Sykes/Bravo
He took some time to chat about what the Boston office has in store:
You’re opening an office in Boston, but you’ll sell properties all over Massachusetts?
This is our 15th state. We’re starting in Boston with an office in Back Bay. We’re bringing our platform, our AI technology, our app, our brands, our production studio, our creative agency … It’s a big moment for us.
We’ll be selling all over Massachusetts. We have a lot of incredible listings that will come to market over the next couple of days. The way licensure works, it takes a second. But I love Beacon Hill, the Seaport, South End, and all the neighboring suburbs, North Shore, South Shore. My little brother’s in Walpole. So I’m looking forward to painting Massachusetts SERHANT. blue.
You’re already in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Are you going to expand into other New England states?
They’re on the roadmap, yes.
We have some beautiful properties. We’re growing very fast in Rhode Island. A lot of those agents also have clients in Massachusetts, so Massachusetts makes a lot of sense for us.
Season 2 of “Owning Manhattan” just released on Netflix last month. Any chance we might be in Season 3?
“Owning Boston”? Maybe. Depends on the properties. Every season so far, we’ve shown off a little bit outside of New York City. The show is predominantly based in Manhattan, obviously. But last season we launched some beautiful properties in Miami, and the show came with us to South Florida. So we’ll have to see.
You said your parents moved, but you still have family here. Tell me a bit about your local roots.
I was born in Houston, we moved around a bit, then settled in Topsfield. I went to Proctor Elementary School in Topsfield, then Masconomet Regional for junior high and Pingree [in South Hamilton] for high school. I went to Hamilton College, a liberal arts school in upstate New York.
My dad worked at State Street. My [brothers work in finance]. I was the odd one out who got into real estate by way of theater.
So you learned to drive on Route 128?
Hilarious. My first real frustration [with driving] was the Big Dig. Remember the Big Dig?
Oh my gosh. That thing was endless, forever and ever. I mean, learning to drive on those roads is a thing. You go out to the Midwest, where a lot of roads are straight, and you’re like, “These people have it way too easy. These roads were not carved by horses in any way, shape, or form.”
And how did you get into real estate?
Real estate was never part of the plan. I went to school for theater and for English literature. When I graduated in 2006, my grandfather died and left $20,000 to each [grandkid]. That was the most money I’d ever seen. I was like, “I’m going to go to New York City, do Broadway — that money will last me 10 years.” It did not last me 10 years. It lasted me a lot less.
So I needed a job or I had to move home, which I didn’t want to do. And a friend of mine said, “Sales is very similar to the skills you learn in theater. It’s listening to reply, listening to response, memorizing information, being a real human in front of people. Just get your real estate license.” So I did that in 2008.
What do you love about it?
I love that it’s a limitless career. The harder you work, the luckier you get. I love that every day is different. I love that you can be an inventor, a builder, a branded marketer, a negotiator, a therapist all at the same time. It personifies the American Dream.
How did you find your entertainment/celebrity/ real estate broker niche?
I got my real estate license in 2008, and after a year and a half, I went to an open-casting call for a reality show on Bravo, “Million Dollar Listing New York.” I was cast in 2010. We did that for a decade, and that was around the same time Instagram was invented. Instagram and Twitter and Facebook were a way to connect with those show’s fans, and clients. I was just able to build that profile.
I’m a businessman first, and I use social media and various forms of media to put out our message and our profile.
Will you be coming to Boston soon?
I was just there, actually. My little brother lives in Walpole. He and his wife just actually opened a gym in Walpole called Lifted Fitness, so I went to their opening, and went to one of their classes.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed.
Lauren Daley is a freelance writer. She can be reached at ldaley33@gmail.com. Follow her @laurendaley1.