PropertyShark Staff 
With a passion for real estate nurtured from childhood, Gregory Kyroglou, managing director and licensed associate broker from Modern Spaces, is the latest to share his insights for our Expert Interviews series. Born and raised in Astoria, Greg has seen first-hand the wonderful transformation of the neighborhood he calls home. As a lifelong resident, Greg’s involvement in the community and its growth has always been important to him and his family and now as we enter a new age of development, Greg’s passion and drive has put him at the forefront of the area’s growth.
He also prides himself on being a people person and understanding all of his clients’ needs, building relationships based on trustworthiness and professionalism, and understanding the serious financial obligation and investment side to each transaction. Read on to find out more.
Q: Tell us a little bit about your background and why you chose a career in real estate.
I am first generation Greek American – born and raised in Astoria, Queens. Growing up, my parents moved to 8 different apartments – they were probably the first to show me, without realizing this of course, how interesting real estate can be. I had a chance to see all these different apartments and always seemed to love the changes that we went through and how every apartment was different from the other. I enjoyed change, and working in real estate means every day is different: I can show a 2 million dollar house at 10 am, and go right across the street and show a $2,800 rental at 11:30. It’s also the reason I chose to work out of my hometown and become an expert here in Astoria.
Q: What do you love most about your job? Can you maybe briefly describe a typical day at work for you?
I love talking to people, everyone seems to be interested in real estate – It might be people asking about properties or people asking about how you get and price listings.
I believe a good broker is like a teacher- he is always either teaching other agents how to be successful or teaching new and current home buyers/sellers how to maximize the value of a purchase they have made, or maximize the value when they are planning to sell. Most days you will see me reaching out to many past clients, coming up with some sort of marketing idea for my next mailing, or talking to other agents in my Astoria office.
Q: What is your general assessment of the local real estate market in 2018 and have you spotted any interesting market trends?
The market right now requires the right price. In real estate pricing is always key – our job is to make a seller understand that we have to price it right to be able to get the best value possible. Pricing high and negotiating down is not a good approach, we need to price right and negotiate up because we will have more people interested in the property and we can create a better buzz. It’s the approach I have used in almost all the sales I have done in the neighborhood. A trend I have noticed is that buyers would rather not deal with renovations when buying, they would rather pay slightly higher for a renovated house than have to do the work themselves and pay less.
Q: How do you think the real estate industry will evolve in the coming years?
Real estate is keeping pace with new technology – everything today is about being in people’s faces as quickly and as often as possible. While technology will be great and we will see some great ideas, I believe people will always want a personal touch, a personal feel, someone they can communicate with, someone they can relate to and get a better understanding of the market from.
Q: What are some of the priorities for home buyers in your market that might not be as important as those in other parts of the region?
That’s an interesting question because I think at the end of the day no matter where the home buyer is they are looking for value and a neighborhood that fits their needs. The beauty of Astoria is that it offers everything someone wants in a neighborhood and is only 10 minutes from midtown Manhattan which is what makes it so appealing and to me still very underpriced.
Q: What approach do you have when working with clients?
For me, it’s always about getting to know the client – having the client feel comfortable with you, knowing that you will be there for them throughout the whole process. This is a relationship business, and I pride myself on the fact that clients can call me at any time and ask me every little thing about what is going on with the transaction. Giving someone numbers is great but most people want someone they can talk and relate to.
Q: What plans do you have for the rest of 2018?
I am thankful that 2018 has been my best year to date – my plan (which I strongly advise should be every agent’s plan), is to stay focused, stay hungry and stay consistent. Agents tend to market themselves for one month and then give up because they do not see any results. This is a long-term business and it’s a long-game mentality. Always try to be better than the day before.
Q: What would you recommend to beginners in the industry?
This industry is tough – everyone sees the potential success and never wants to consider the failure. Nothing is that easy. This is a career and if you do not take it seriously and make it a career you will FAIL. It is a very serious business with millions and millions of dollars changing hands all the time. It needs to be taken seriously. Every new agent should come into this business with a game plan and for the first year do everything possible to learn the business, do every rental possible, make some cash and gain momentum, ask seasoned agents to go to Open Houses with them and attend as many as possible from other agencies. Get to know the brokerage community and see how things work.
Walk the neighborhood, see what’s up and coming, see what makes an area unique. If you are going to create an Instagram or Facebook page make sure you are on top of that page, if you are going to do mailers make sure you do it monthly and stay consistent with it. If your office has teams, join a team and run around for everything, be willing to learn and be coachable. Take ideas and tricks other agents do and make them your own. Look at a successful agent and say “I will be like them.”
Q: Any other insights you’d like to share?
When you help someone buying or selling their home, you are part of one of the most significant transactions and experiences in their life. I don’t take it lightly and I pride myself on having helped many people buy and sell their homes at top values which has created an amazing referral system for me.
About Gregory Kyroglou
Gregory is a licensed associate real estate broker and managing director for Modern Spaces, representing both buyers and sellers across the beautiful neighborhoods of New York City. For five consecutive years, he has also earned the title of “Top Producer” in Astoria offices. No matter what venture Greg takes on, his ultimate mission is to become his best version in order to help people reach all their goals. Find out more about him here.
