Business of the Week: Coldwell Banker, Yorktown
The Underhill Avenue site of the Yorktown offices of Coldwell Banker has been a regular fixture in the real estate business for decades.
Mahopac resident Don Cummins III was hired to be senior managing director of the Yorktown office of Coldwell Banker in June 2015, he said last week. Prior to Coldwell Banker taking over, another real estate firm had offices in the building, which has been in existence for over six decades, Cummins noted.
“The real staying power of this office has been the fact that we don’t tend to have a lot of agents jumping as you do in a lot of other offices,” Cummins explained. “For example, Michael O’Connor has been working as a realtor in the Yorktown office for over 40 years.”
“I think we’ve done a good job of offering agents fair (commission) splits, a good working environment, and lots of products they can use servicing their clients,” Cummins continued. “Without getting crazy on new technology, we always have cutting-edge technology available so we’re not always jumping after a fad. But at the same time we always have the cutting-edge of what’s working in the market and I think that makes it easy.” Coldwell Banker also offers “huge training,” he said. “I think it’s very hard to get that kind of training anywhere else.”
According to Cummins real estate is now rebounding strongly in the northern Westchester area and elsewhere. “The market’s healthy,” he said. According to a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors, “Over 40 percent of the American population is looking for a larger home,” he said.
Cummins’ previous positions included serving as the in-house counsel for the Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service and the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors.
“I’ve spent the last 25 years doing agent training,” Cummins said. “Even when I had my law practice out of Katonah and Somers I did a lot of work for the local and state associations. So then I went to work for the actual board of realtors and the MSL,” he said.
“My job is to handle all of the marketing and agent-client relationships,” Cummins said, noting the Yorktown office has 59 agents.
The Yorktown office handles both commercial and residential real estate. ”We do cover everything from $40,000 cooperatives in Peekskill to $1.4 million houses on the Hudson River,” Cummins said. “It just a real mix of an office with a great group of people who really do love Yorktown and value where they work.”
Cummins and his colleagues also are very active in charitable work. “The main charity this office supports is Friends of Karen,” Cummins said. O’Connor’s daughter, Erin, died of cancer about 12 years ago. “Friends of Karen really assisted them through that entire process.” O’Connor has since run the Erin O’Connor Memorial Golf Outing. “This office raises $60,000 to $65,000 a year to benefit Friends of Karen. “It’s just something we do because giving back to the community is something that’s important.”
The Yorktown Coldwell Banker office is located at 366 Underhill Ave. For more information call 914-245-3400 or visit https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/ny/yorktown-heights/office/yorktown-heights-office/oid_2166/.
