Property queen takes New York
Perth is more similar to New York than some might think - just ask real estate queen Danielle Geagea.
The local housing expert, who recently launched her own boutique lifestyle agency Zsa Zsa Property, is fresh back from a trip to the Big Apple where she was given an exclusive glimpse at some of Manhattan's most opulent apartment buildings, including one that has been home to celebrities including Conan O'Brien, Rosie O'Donnell and Al Pacino.
The rare inspection came about after Geagea was invited to spend three days with New York real estate broker to the stars and reality TV guru Fredrik Eklund, who appears in the hit series Million Dollar Listing New York and has sold a staggering $US2 billion ($2.24 billion) worth of property.
She had the chance to tour a modern Tribeca penthouse with views across the city and to then visit the iconic Apthorp Building on the Upper West Side, home to many famous faces and some of New York's business elite.
"A developer, one of Fredrik's clients, came along and bought somewhere between 20-25 of them," Geagea tells Access All Areas.
"He spent a lot of money, completely gutted and refurbished them, and I got to see two of the properties with Fredrik.
"They were totally stunning; it was a whole other level of wow. One was on sale for $US9.9 million and the other was on sale for $US8.8 million or thereabouts."
Geagea has brought inspiration from her trip to New York and time with Eklund back to Perth to inject into her agency, which centres itself around lifestyle and luxury rather than just real estate.
She says it's not just about selling houses and ticking the boxes - that's a no-brainer.
"It's about giving clients an experience they would expect to receive if they bought a bag at Louis Vuitton or any other luxury purchase," Geagea, who has more than 11 years' experience in the industry, explains.
And she says people may be surprised to hear there are many parallels between the leafy suburbs of WA and the bustling metropolitan scene of the city that never sleeps.
"When I was there I spent a lot of time looking at price points, whether that be for rentals or property, and you would be surprised - Perth is actually on par in many respects," Geagea says.
"Obviously New York has those apartments that are US$70 million, they have the real top end.
"But for the general CBD experience or Upper East Side apartment or downtown loft, we still have properties that can command those sorts of prices.
"We've got (West Perth building) Miami here on Bellevue Terrace - some of those apartments go for $12 million, it is exactly the same as Manhattan."
