Luxury Real Estate

Courtesy of: Katrina Delgado of John Daughtery, Realtors

In the JDR tradition of community involvement, John Daugherty was invited to teach at Rice University for the fifth year running. Taught in Rice’s prestigious Jones Business School, the Real Estate Development class is offered to second-year MBA candidates.

To promote the importance of the professional real estate agent, John Daugherty pointedly recalled earlier, less expeditious times. Mr. Daugherty recollected an era when Realtors were required to await the arrival of the MLS book in contrast to the spontaneity of today’s MLS system, providing immediate access to the constantly occurring changes. But while Mr. Daugherty offered praise for today’s new and instantaneous technologies, he counseled the continued value of firms like JDR. He made the point that despite the Web’s impact on the real estate market agents are still vital to the buyer to help them find the right property.

Mr. Daugherty stressed JDR’s commitment to the continued use of technology as a marketing and networking tool and underscored the importance and vitality of the professional agent, an importance that with the advent of current and future new technologies has made the real estate agent even more necessary to the market today.

Courtesy of: Jacky Teplitzky

In repeat engagement, top NYC broker shares insight and wisdom with tomorrow's business leaders

NEW YORK, February 18, 2010 – Returning for the second time as a guest lecturer, Jacky Teplitzky, a managing director at Prudential Douglas Elliman and one of New York City’s most successful and sought-after real estate experts, will visit Yeshiva University on Friday, March 12^th. Speaking before graduating seniors from the university’s Sy Syms School of Business, Teplitzky will share the insight and wisdom that has made her a stand-out in the industry.

The forum will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the university’s Beren Campus located at 215 Lexington Avenue in New York City. The annual Kukin Lecture Series takes place every spring and is part of the Rennert Entrepreneurial Institute at the Sy Syms School of Business. It is a venue for some of the nation’s most accomplished business leaders, entrepreneurs, trailblazers and innovators to share their knowledge with business and accounting majors who will soon graduate and enter the workforce.

“We are delighted to have Jacky back at Yeshiva as she exemplifies the type of work ethic and visionary leadership that we instill in our students,” explains Sy Syms School of Business Dean Michael Ginzberg. “For many of our students, this is the last class they take as an undergraduate and the best experience in their academic career since it gives them a chance to have a close, personal dialogue with leading professionals across a broad spectrum of business sectors.”

“It is an honor to give back to the next generation of business leaders,” says Teplitzky. “Those of us who have been fortunate enough to thrive in this difficult market can assist others starting off on their career paths, and this unique forum is the perfect way to do that.”

Teplitzky will discuss the story of her own successful career path; some of the personal lessons she has learned as she advanced professionally; and the complexities of today’s real estate market and how she has addressed them. She will also discuss how being a successful businesswoman does not preclude having a full and rewarding personal life. A question and answer session will follow her presentation.

Teplitzky is among many honored speakers scheduled for the spring semester. Others include: Alan (Ace) Greenberg, J. P. Morgan Chase, James D. Robinson III , Abbey Joseph Cohen (Goldman Sachs) Scott A. Shay (Signature Bank); Dr. Jeffrey Solomon (Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies); Adam Blank (Sleepys); Carol Ammon (Endo Pharmaceuticals); and Marcia Tal (Citigroup). Past visiting lecturers include: Michael Bloomberg; Mickey Drexler (J. Crew); Sumner Redstone (Viacom); Howard Jonas (IDT); Josh Weston (ADP); Warren Eisenberg (Bed, Bath & Beyond); Izzy Borovich (El Al), Jeff Swartz (Timberland) and Fred Wilpon (NY Mets).

A real estate instructor certified by the Department of the State of New York, Teplitzky has lectured at numerous consumer, trade and financial venues, including the 92^nd Street Y, Barnard College, Smith Barney, The Penn Club, The Real Estate Board of New York and The UJA Federation of New York. She is an adjunct professor at New York University.

About Jacky Teplitzky

Jacky Teplitzky is one of Manhattan’s top residential real estate brokers, having sold more than $700,000,000 in New York City real estate. A widely-respected voice on real estate topics, she is often quoted on a variety of subjects, ranging from foreign buyers to local and national market information, and her statements have appeared in The New York Times, USA Today, WSJ.com, Reuters, Crain’s New York Business, The New York Daily News, The New York Post, New York Magazine and other leading print media. She has appeared on “Good Morning, America,” Bloomberg TV and has been seen on WABC-TV, WNBC-TV, WCBS-TV and New York 1 News.

For more information on Ms. Teplitzky, visit www.elliman.com/jacky.

By Robert Lockard

A while ago I stepped back from writing about luxury real estate to discuss a terribly destructive force that threatens to destroy families and make people miserable: debt. I would like to discuss something that I find to be just as dangerous as addiction to debt – the illogically high cost of earning a college degree.

I read a potentially explosive story on CNN yesterday about a bubble in the cost of higher education that makes the real-estate bubble or the tech crash in 2000 look tame in comparison.

I’d like to start by talking about my experience in college. When I attended college not too long ago, tuition and book costs were already getting out of hand, although they were manageable. I attended a community college in Washington state for my first two years to obtain my Associate’s degree. I had hoped to transfer to the University of Washington to complete my Bachelor of Arts in Communications, but the cost was prohibitive and, even though I graduated with honors and on the Dean’s list, I still had to wait a long time to enter that college.

Instead, I decided to accept a scholarship at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah and that turned out to be a very smart decision. In addition to the positive environment that beautiful campus offered, the cost of attending there was relatively low compared to my other options and I was able to pay for my entire education without going into hardly any debt. I am one of nine children, and my parents wisely told me that I would have to find a way to pay for my education by myself. Through a great deal of hard work and tight budgeting, I made it through without having to burden my family members.

During my time in college, I kept my mind focused on why I was there. I wasn’t there to waste time or take frivolous classes; I was there to finish my degree as quickly and as meaningfully as possible so that I could put my skills to use. I am grateful for the opportunities my college degree has opened for me. However, education costs are rising so fast that there might not be much reason for people to attend college in the future.

I would probably be sympathetic to colleges if the reason for the rise in education costs was because they were improving their education techniques or doing other things that would warrant such cost increases. But the truth is that this is not the case. Many colleges are increasing tuition costs for no other reason than because they want more students to apply. It seems to defy logic, but it’s true. Colleges appear to be playing a game that they will eventually lose. When they raise prices, people assume that they must have done so because they are more prestigious or offer better learning opportunities and so the colleges usually receive an increase in applications. This pattern cannot last forever.


Education is extremely important. It allows people to rise from humble circumstances and it also helps them make informed decisions about where they want to go in life. By making education worthless, colleges are doing a great disservice to their students. By worthless, I mean that the cost far exceeds the rewards. Greater cost does not always mean greater return on investment.

Increases in healthcare, energy and real-estate costs don’t even come close to touching the rise in education costs, as you can see in the graph in the CNN article. Knowledge is power, and if the cost of education becomes so high that that the benefits of earning it become small in comparison then we will be in big trouble. I am not suggesting that college degrees be easier to obtain or that unqualified people should receive an education without working hard. I am suggesting that colleges are in danger. They spend much of their increasing amount of money on frivolous amenities that do not improve their educational services or make their students’ diplomas any more valuable. Posh restaurants, nicer dorms and other foolish perks are unimportant for students who are simply hoping to receive the education they need to progress in life.

At some point people are going to realize that an education is not worth living under such an extreme amount of debt to obtain. When that day comes and colleges must cut their tuitions drastically, many cherished institutions will most certainly be unable to cope with this dramatic shift and they will come crashing down. Destroyed by their own pride and haughtiness. They will discover that they have spent their money on things that have no value and they are unable to offer students what they promised: an honest education.

I dislike focusing on something so negative as this, but I think it deserves special attention. Thank you very much for your comments. Feel free to let me know what you think of the state of higher education.


Editor’s Note:
Robert Lockard is the Public Relations & Media Specialist with LuxuryRealEstate.com. I am Robert. I create all of Luxury Real Estate’s newsletters, write the editorials in LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine and much more. I apologize again for sounding so negative. I am a very hopeful person and I trust that things will turn out right in the end. The photo of the bleeding wallet is from www.flickr.com/photos/adobemac/161319144 and it is the copyright of adobemac. The photo of the door is from www.flickr.com/photos/ben-zvan-photography/468487548 and it is the copyright of Ben Zvan.