The luxury real estate landscape on the East End saw many new faces during the pandemic of 2020, especially New York City teams that leveraged the second great East-bound exodus — after 9/11 — where New Yorkers found refuge and ultimately a deeper connection with our region and their second homes. Our heads spun when we saw the numbers, especially from Compass’s mega-team, The Hudson Advisory.
They were ranked #1 Mega Team in New York City by the Wall Street Journal, and number 18 for the 2021 WSJ Real Trends Ranking nationally with a sales volume of $1.3B — with a capital B. We are grateful for talking with founders, Clayton Orrigo and Stephen Ferrara, plus newly minted partner, Hamptons-based Cindy Scholz, about their meteoric rise, how they’ve incorporated the Hamptons into their concierge work-style portfolio, and what their plans are for the future.
Stephen and Clayton, we are so amazed by the success of the Hudson Advisory and the incredible team you’ve built. How did you both meet and why did you form this alliance?
Clayton Orrigo: We originally met on a deal, and while our respective clients presented challenges, we worked through the deal smoothly together and it started a year long dialogue, which eventually led to a partnership. We realized that 1+1=3, and that we both could benefit from having someone else take the punches along the way, in addition to being each other’s therapist day-to-day. This is an emotional, and often lonely business, and we felt more confident and powerful together. Furthermore, while most people view us similarly stylistically, we are very complimentary with respect to skill sets, clientele, and how we view the world.
What are the team’s origin stories? How did you get into real estate?
Cindy Sholz: For most, residential real estate is not our first career, it can be a default profession. I happened to go into real estate as my first job, but truly did not make real estate into a profession until joining Compass. Getting into real estate is easy, but staying in the game and being in the top of the field is the most challenging. My key to growing each year is understanding the why behind transactions. To transact luxury property you need to be a tastemaker of sorts and remain relevant. Staying relevant is a goal because it means I strive to stay useful, innovative, and up with the times for the my clients. A shared goal of ours is to deliver our clients connection, discovery, inspiration and conversation.
Where did the name “Hudson Advisory” come from?
CO: My first dog’s name was Hudson, and I loved the two syllable word that had a number of associations to the city, including some geographic.
Stephen Ferrara: The term “advisory” was clear immediately, as we treat our business as an advisory practice. We don’t live and die by transactions, and want to take a long term approach to the guidance we give our clients.
Your success is staggering — $3B+ since 2017, and the WSJ naming the Hudson Advisory as the #1 Mega Team in NYC. What is the methodology or philosophy that makes you so successful?
CO: Having not grown up in the city, and both coming from modest backgrounds, relative to many of our peers, we knew that unparalleled tenacity and responsiveness had to be a core tenet to our practice. We had built networks in our own respective communities and prior industries, and we believed that with objective advisory, taste, specific geographic expertise, and with some luck we could find our space in the industry. The client, not the commission, always came first.
You’ve referred to the team as “tech-based.” What kind of tech are we talking about?
SF: In addition to the Compass tech tools afforded to us, we have our own proprietary systems in house. The core of the business is our brokers and a phone, but the backend is an incredibly well-oiled machine, a real business behind every transaction and every client interaction. Our entire business is built on a digital hosting platform, which is used to support our brokers and provide tools custom to Hudson Advisory. We also use WhatsApp to streamline all communication, which is key when we collectively do 400+ transactions per year.
You have a 20+ agent roster on the team now. Really excited to see you growing and we really appreciate your partnering Cindy Scholz. Her work with women in real estate inspires us. What was it about Cindy that you found a great fit for the Hudson Advisory?
CO: While our initial goal was to capture Hamptons market-share with Cindy as our geographic expert, it became apparent that she was more than just a broker on the Hudson Advisory team. Her high-level perspective on branding and client service, and her expertise in building communities both inside and outside of Compass has helped soften the edges of our team. Stephen and I move fast and are both hyper-deal focused given the amount of deal flow we see and participate in, and Cindy often pulls us back to center to focus on bigger picture initiatives. No one is better at bringing people together, and we rely on her to help grow Hudson Advisory’s national reputation.
Cindy, how does it feel to be a partner in such a successful team?
CS: When NYC real estate shut down, many brokers took the opportunity to hibernate however we did the opposite; we decided to launch a Hamptons arm of Hudson Advisory. Hudson Advisory Hamptons quickly became a top team in the Hamptons. The guys are more than business partners; they are peers that I respect and lean on for personal and professional advice. The confidence we give to one another trickles down to our clients. I believe everyone should create a personal “advisory board” of a handful of individuals that will help you growth personally and professionally. Having Clayton and Stephen as part of this board helps me to make decisions faster, and with certainty. Speed and focus are essential to working in New York real estate, which in any market cycle, remains an efficient market. A client recently said the key to life is learning how to dance in the rain, not waiting on the storm. This saying is ringing true as we think about 2023. There is tremendous opportunity for those who take advantage of it. Being a part of such a successful team gives us the confidence to seek these opportunities and outperform in each market.
How is Women Of Compass going? What are some current initiatives that you’re working on?
CS: I am proud to say Women of Compass is thriving and continuing to grow on a national level. Elevating women in business is a passion of mine. I have started to organize events where I introduced strong female entrepreneurs from my personal circle to the WoC population. These ladies share their best practices in business and life hacks. The focus of 2023 will be curating in person events. A personal goal for next year is to connect some of my clients with female founders to collaborate through funding and advisory opportunities. I will be partnering with one of our top agents in Palm Beach to organize a group of women who want to invest in other women.
Clayton, are you still involved in the VC space and what do you look for if so?
CO: I’ve made over 25 venture investments over the past decade since I started Hudson Advisory, along with helping start a men’s athletic wear brand called TenThousand. A large percentage of the clients I work with are either venture capitalists or tech founders, so interesting opportunities often pass my desk that I have been fortunate enough to participate in.
How did you approach the global pandemic and how has your work flow changed because of it post-pandemic?
SF: From a work flow perspective, the pandemic gave us an opportunity to relook at our internal processes and improve the way we run the business. We brought photography in house, set up an amazing office in the West Village, started weekly team meetings to continuously stay connected, and more. It allowed us to really appreciate the time we spend together as a team and showed how important team culture and communication is to Hudson Advisory.
CS: For business, the pandemic highlighted the importance of having an escape from NYC. Many of our clients have two homes. Simply put, having the leisure of dual living between the beach and the city is the ideal combination.
With all the doom and gloom in the media, how do you think the talk of the market will affect the luxury sector that we’re in?
CS: 2023 is the year for general wealth and family offices to make legacy buys. This clientele doesn’t like to transact in chaos and being cash heavy will allow them to take advantage of opportunities.
Why did you choose Compass for your brokerage – was it the tech, the culture, etc.?
SF: In addition to offering modern technology to support our business, Compass is the most entrepreneurial and progressive brokerage in the industry, and it was important to partner with a company that has like-minded qualities.
As you expand in the Hamptons, are you seeing any shifts in the way the market is moving away from or towards the region?
CS: The Hamptons allows New Yorkers to live comfortably. With class A office spaces seeing occupancy rates of 60 to 70 percent post Labor Day, it’s apparent NYers are back home.
Are there any hamlets that you’re particularly focused on?
CS: We love Sag Harbor and Amagansett. Sag Harbor is the perfect year round town and there isn’t a better spot than the Dunes in the summer. Both of these Hamlets share an approachable luxury vibe, and in our opinion, still have great potential for appreciation.
Having worked in beauty for the majority of my career, I was ready to apply my marketing and operational background to a new industry, specifically real estate, as it has always been a strong interest of mine. When I joined, the team had already created an incredible identity and not just a team of agents, but a brand. Over the past year, I’ve taken a high-level approach to both the marketing strategy and operational efficiency to further establish our identity across all areas of the business. By evolving the brand and creating systems to support our agents, we’re continuing to build a strong path toward future success. — Marissa Nelson
Hudson Advisory has developed a great brand. What was the reason behind hiring a Head of Brand?
CS: Given our team’s growth, we knew we needed to advance our operations internally, however, the role “Head of Brand” was developed in reaction to meeting with Marissa Nelson. Marissa is an experienced marketing professional with a wonderful sense of strategy, operations, and business development. Her attention to detail and high-level marketing expertise makes Marissa a dynamic additional to the team. She allows us to deliver a level of service and sophistication that most clients did not know was needed for luxury transactions.
To learn more about the Hudson Advisory, visit hudsonadvisoryteam.com.
