TRD: Nooklyn plants a flag in Manhattan

Startup brokerage Nooklyn is crossing the Brooklyn Bridge.

The seven-year-old company has expanded to Manhattan, where it has opened up shop at WeWork’s Union Square location. Over the next few months, the plans to hire around 100 agents and build out a permanent flagship space in the Flatiron area.

CEO Harley Courts said he’s been looking to plant a flag in Manhattan for a while because so many of Nooklyn’s customers were looking for roommates or sublets in the borough. The company’s landlord clients also have holdings in both boroughs, he added, and over the past year, Nooklyn completed “quite a few deals” in Manhattan.

In addition to expanding its footprint, Courts said the 250-agent firm is going on a large hiring spree in both boroughs. In addition to the 100 agents in Manhattan, Nooklyn said it is looking to add 275 agents in Brooklyn. Courts said he’s already thinking about a second Manhattan location, too, most likely in Harlem.

Founded in 2010, Nooklyn has developed a software platform that connects renters, roommates and landlords.

The firm currently has four offices in Greenpoint, Crown Heights and Bushwick, where it has two locations. Courts said scaling up so quickly is possible because of Nooklyn’s software platform, which agents use to track deals, request photos, send invoices and manage customer relationships. Six weeks ago, the firm launched “Nooklyn Apply,” its online application platform, that’s been used by 993 applicants to date.

Besides connecting renters, roommates and apartments, Nooklyn began processing rental payments last year. Courts said 75 percent of customers currently use Nooklyn Pay, and year to date, the firm has processed $11 million worth of rent payments through the service. The firm charges around 0.75 percent per payment.

By E.B. Solomont @ The Real Deal