The path to becoming one of the top women in real estate 

You ask delicately, almost apologetically. But there's no need. Bess Freedman is happy to say that she is 55.

"Women traditionally hid from saying their age," she said. "But I feel really proud that I can do the things that I am doing."

And Freedman is doing a lot.

As the CEO of Brown Harris Stevens, she is leading one of the largest privately held real estate companies, with more than 50 offices and 2,300 agents across New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Florida. She was also recognized as one of the top 10 most powerful women in real estate in the 2024 SP 200 ranking of industry leaders.

She is a former lawyer and prosecutor who became a legal aid lawyer for juveniles — work that informed her heart, and her desire to help people find stability and a sense of belonging.

So real estate wasn't such a stretch.

Freedman always dreamed of being a lawyer and loved it. But when she had her first child, she found herself reluctant to go back to work.

That's when a friend — who worked at Brown Harris Stevens and was an agent at another firm — suggested real estate. She saw something in Freedman: That desire to help others find stability, but also an entrepreneurial spirit.

"So I took a U-turn," Freedman remembered. "I fell head over heels in love with the entrepreneurial and people aspect of the real estate business."

The freedom of independence

As an independent contractor, Freedman liked that everything was up to her. She remembered scanning the newspaper for "for sale by owner" listings and cold-calling them to make a connection.

Her first such sale was through someone who lived in her building. Freedman met with the seller and was able to get the listing because she not only knew the place so well — she knew people.

"Being able to communicate with someone, to demonstrate your professionalism and ethics and do something all on your own," she said. "I loved that. And I loved that I was having to navigate peoples' expectations and communicating with them."

As a courtroom lawyer, Freedman had learned how to communicate, manage and analyze. "I did that in real estate, but it was more fun," she said. "There was not that level of seriousness, of having people's liberty at stake."

Real estate was an emotional commodity that she was happy to jump into. She could work nonstop, do research and plan her own schedule around her husband and two children.

"My wings were open and I felt like I could do whatever I wanted," she said. Freedman was an agent for six years before she was tapped to go into management — and her career took off.

"It's an unusual story, but to me, well, I followed the path and it turned out well."

'Standing on the shoulders' of the women who blazed the trail

Asked about her journey as a woman in real estate, Freedman deferred to her predecessors. "You do stand on the shoulders of the people who did this before you." 

Her "mentor and inspiration," Freedman said, is New York real estate trailblazer and "Shark Tank" investor Barbara Corcoran.

"She really blew the doors off for women to come into real estate," Freedman said.

"She reinvented herself. She was creative and innovative and wasn't afraid. She helped open things up for people like me, and I appreciate everything she's done," Freedman added, calling Corcoran "the Madonna of real estate."

The market — and industry — 'is starting to change'

While the New York real estate market is unique, all parts of the country have shared one thing since the pandemic: Volatility.

"It is more stressed," Freedman said. "We have supply issues in every market, and the big issue is interest rates. They have had an impact."

Add to that the uncertainty around the upcoming presidential election, and the unknowns about how AI will change real estate and other industries, and, well, "It's day to day," Freedman said.

Still, the last three months have shown big improvement compared to the first quarter of the year. Inflation is coming down, and the U.S. has avoided a recession.

"We've been in a little bit of a holding pattern," Freedman said. "But that is starting to change."

There are other changes afoot, thanks to NAR's settlement in the commissions cases and the rule changes it requires, including mandatory buyer agent agreements.

"You want things to be transparent and not opaque," Freedman said. "There is more of that, and we embrace it. It's going to provide more discussion about who gets paid, and how you want things to be transparent. You want a trusted professional. When you're buying a home or selling it, typically, it's your biggest asset. So more discussion is a good thing."

Beyond real estate, working to 'change peoples' lives'

In addition to her work at Brown Harris, Freedman is deeply involved with The Bridge, an organization aimed at helping the homeless and housing insecure. She is also an advocate at Sanctuary for Families and a mentor for Young Jewish Professionals (YJP), the Leadership Now Project (a corporate initiative to protect democracy) and the Kalief Browder Foundation.

It is a lot of work, but to Freedman, it is fundamental to her values, which were instilled in her by her parents, Sylvia and Jacob.

"I hit the lottery with my parents," she said. "They were always helping other people and doing the right thing. Having grown up like that, I knew that was a piece of what I was going to do, and in real estate, there were a lot of philanthropic opportunities."

At The Bridge, she works with people who are homeless and suffering from mental illness. She remembered a woman who lived on Third Avenue — on the street — in Manhattan for years. Two weeks ago, The Bridge put her in her own apartment.

"It's not magic," Freedman said. "It's these organizations that change peoples' lives. Money is money, but helping people, you're really shaping the world. You give people their dignity."

Freedman paused to think about her parents.

"I'm a grateful person," she finally said. "I have been very fortunate and lucky. Not everyone gets parents who love you unconditionally."