The one and only Heather Swicicki is a household name in the New York City real estate market. With close to two decades in residential real estate, and with an impressive portfolio of New York City’s finest homes, it’s no surprise that she consistently ranks among the Top Twenty agents for Manhattan and Brooklyn.  Heather’s passion alongside her dedication to the industry has made her a recognizable force and powerful influence. 

 She is intimately familiar with the markets, trends, pricing and opportunities that validate both sellers and buyers in a market that keeps growing and presents the best return on her client’s investments. On top of being an excellent real estate broker and businesswoman, she is also a humanitarian at heart lending her free time to various charitable causes,  primarily charities that focus on rescuing horses that are in need of rehabilitation and that go on to become therapy horses for children with disabilities. She also sits on the board of the Changing Leads Foundation, an equestrian charity that raises funds and connects at-risk youth to horseback riding opportunities. With horses and all things Equestrian being Heather’s other passion, she is consistently driven to not only help others, but to consistently succeed in tackling the ever-consuming NYC real estate market one day at a time. Here is the impressive journey of passion that meets persistence, hard work, and dedication, to success.

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Upon moving to NYC close to twenty years ago, she quickly decided the path to real estate would be the one she would pursue. Though she had intended to focus on pursuing a master’s degree in Psychology and/or attending Law School, she was invited to become a real estate agent with Douglas Elliman Real Estate early on and has been conquering New York City’s real estate market ever since. “I used to often wonder what my life would be like if I didn’t follow my gut instinct to stick with real estate and though this choice has not been without any challenges, looking back, I would not have changed a thing” she recalls. 

She sold her first apartment, a charming one-bedroom, during her first month, postponed her plans to attend graduate school, and dove in head first. The rest is history as they say.  “I was one of the youngest agents in New York City when I started” she recalls. “So much has changed since I started. For one, we didn’t even have BlackBerrys to check our e-mails during a long day of showings and we did not have the internet readily available on our phones to quickly look up new listings when out with our clients as we do now. This forced me to research all of the comparable listings prior to taking a client out and to learn about each neighborhood and building by scheduling appointments at as many listings as possible with and without a client with me. I feel this sets me apart even years later, because my integral knowledge of the market was not learned from viewing listings on a website, but rather in real time and in real life.” Heather recalls of her earlier days.

Making the decision to join Douglas Elliman also proved to be one of Heather’s best decisions, as the company has expanded over the years to become one of the largest brokerages in New York City, the Hamptons, and Long Island.”  The people I have met, the connections I have formed and the amount I have learned have brought me the largest rewards, more than any sale could ever bring.” 

Looking back at her accomplishments, she feels that her belief in herself has always been the foundation of her success. “I have always believed we can all create the lives we wish to live, but sometimes things don’t always go as planned and I feel believing in yourself not to give up no matter how difficult it may seem at times to achieve your goals is the kindest thing we can do for ourselves and for me, I can say one thing is for sure, I never give up. This has always been my mantra.” 

She also comments that taking time off and prioritizing self care has been the magic for pushing her career forward. She adds that “I am always tuned into my work, but I have taught myself how to make time for myself each day. I definitely show up much better for my clients and for myself when I make extra time for myself each day or at least each week.”

New York City is one of the most prominent and attractive real estate markets in the world. When asked how she anticipates the market will increase in the near future, she states : The real estate market[in New York]  has always proven to be cyclical based on economic factors, but historically, the prices of real estate continue to rise. Though I can’t predict how the market will increase, I am very confident to say that the demand from buyers looking for a home to invest in will only continue to grow. 

As for her brand pillars, she holds integrity, positivity, and connection with her clients as her main foundation. We asked Heather how she develops trust between her clients and how she conveys the most important pillars of her brand when representing her clients and her listings. Here is what she had to share.  

“I have always found that full disclosure whether representing a buyer or seller, renter or landlord is what I am remembered for by my clients even years later, which has been a driving force for them to consistently refer future clients to me. With so many resources online, much of them often being contradictory; buyers, renters, sellers, and landlords very much appreciate having an agent or broker who can and will be willing to share their honest opinions no matter the circumstances and regardless of what the information is that may be found online.

It is challenging to convey an outlook, such as positivity when representing a material asset, but I always try to hone in on a home’s best features when representing a listing.  You don’t always have to be representing a 10/10 listing in order to portray the best parts of the listing.  Whether that be the view, natural light, a terrace, or a stellar renovation.  Each home has many unique positives and architectural details and I try to hone in on these features when representing my listings.  I feel this helps to attract potential purchasers to a listing at least for a showing.  They may not know how they will feel once they view the home, but if the photos are cheery, this certainly helps to attract appointments for any listing and this is half the battle when representing a listing.  I also always maintain a positive outlook in person and try my best to convey this outlook with all of my clients too.

I also try to make everyone I work with feel that their requirements are as important to me as they are to them.  Not every buyer or renter knows what they are looking for and not every seller is always sure they want to sell, but I think it is the job of a good real estate agent or broker to encourage their clients to feel comfortable with them. This creates a strong foundation so they can work together to figure out the best purchase or selling strategy and in the case of NYC real estate, the best buildings, streets and neighborhoods to search in as a buyer or renter. From my experience, the only way to accomplish this is to show up at each appointment with the intention of getting to know your client better versus with the intention of selling them an apartment or home that day.  If it just so happens that your client finds their dream home that day as well, then all the better, but otherwise, teamwork and patience in my opinion always bring the best results for both the client and the broker.

This also applies to representing a listing.  I feel buyers can envision themselves much better in a home you are representing if you let them come to that conclusion on their own versus trying to convince them to purchase the listing.”

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