In 1981, Smith Hanten opened its doors in 165 Smith Street on the corner of Smith and Wyckoff. The area looked nothing like it does today. A lot of commercial stores were boarded up and rented out as ground floor apartments because businesses could not survive.
In the late 1970’s Edward Gerrity (our Chairman Emeritus) was a managing broker of a Fillmore Real Estate branch on Avenue U, Brooklyn. Fillmore had one sale closing every day during the warmer months – that’s 30 houses or more a month – it is difficult to believe it today’s market of bidding wars and a strong seller’s market ! … but it also reminds us that markets are emotional, they always bounce back, and the pendulum keeps moving.
Ed decided he wanted his own firm a good distance away from Fillmore and he saw the long term potential of Smith Street with 2 subway lines running underneath and a short walk to the courts and government offices in Downtown Brooklyn.
Peter McGuire bought a 3-family property in Carroll Gardens through Smith Hanten in 2001 and decided shortly afterward to work as a salesperson under Ed Gerrity’s broker license. After studying and passing his Broker’s license and working as a partner with Ed for a few years – Peter purchased the business in 2008.
For more than four (4) decades Smith Hanten has advised thousands of landlords and sellers. Whom to pick and whom to decline. No one real estate business has a monopoly …. but along with a small cadre of well known real estate brokers in this part of Brownstone Brooklyn we believe that in many meaningful ways Smith Hanten’s boutique real estate agency has contributed to the happiness of the 400,000 individuals and families that live within a five (5) mile radius of our office.
In 2014, we moved our offices from 165 Smith Street to 152 Smith Street. The interior designers and the contractors all lived in Boerum Hill. That means that every dollar we spent did not travel more than a mile before it was used again. We believe that community starts and ends with helping your neighbor achieve their dreams.