BY ADELAIDE POLSINELLI

Super-sized, mid-sized, mini or bite-sized, brokerage firms run the gamut from global mega giants the size of a small city to as minimalistic as a one-person show. Bigger doesn’t always mean better and good things don’t always come in small packages.

Let’s peel away the façade and look at the different-sized platforms to see if size truly matters to a seller of real estate. For the purpose of this column, we will assume the property is listed exclusively.

In multi-office firms, it is rare that the entire firm works on one client’s property sale. Usually just one agent or a few agents will work on the deal. Most of the time, they represent the entire sales force that will be marketing the property and sourcing a prospective purchaser. True value comes when a specifically qualified and experienced team is sourced to handle the assignment.

Ideally, a seller benefits most from the full attention of a team pulled together from a deep bench of talent. Having the ability to draw from a wide reserve of experienced mavericks with specialized skill sets and extensive resources best suited to the property is rare in most firms.

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BY SAM CHANDAN, PHD

At least for a moment, investors seemed oblivious to the economy’s latest flirtation with misfortune.

Rising to their highest levels since May, equities spiked last week in spite of discomfiting readings on corporate earnings and economic growth.

The rebound in stock markets belies that, as recently as last Wednesday, Treasury yields were exploring impossible lows on speculation of renewed Fed intervention.

These are not textbook days for free market economics. Whether into stocks or commercial properties, capital is shifting in response to anticipated policy interventions and the continued distortion of private markets.

Capital flows and data diverged sharply by the end of last week. Weighed down by drags on consumer spending and investment, advance estimates showed the economy struggled in the second quarter, delivering one its most disappointing post-recession results

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BY DANIEL EDWARD ROSEN

Maltheads rejoice.

A brand new private, exclusive whiskey club has inked a 10-year lease at a 5-story Midtown West townhouse (at an undisclosed location) that is set to open sometime this year.

1494, a whiskey club that launched in June, will offer scotch whiskey lovers the finest and rarest of malt and grain blends the world has to offer.

"We get a lot of privately collected whiskeys that come across our desks, and we also deal directly with the distilleries in Scotland as well, so we really have our finger on the pulse of going out there and finding the harder-to-find whiskeys for our members," said David Clelland, the Glaswegian founder of 1494.

If one wants a rare Ernest Shackleton whiskey or sip of a Black Bowmore, the club will give a whiskey connoisseur the chance to indulge in the exceptional, the club promises.

The 1494 will devote one of the floors for themselves, "where we hide all of our whiskey," laughed Mr. Clelland.

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