Teams Spotlight: The Barton Barrett Marshall Team

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Names: Lindsay Barton Barrett and Maggie Marshall

Title: The Barton Barrett Marshall Team aka The BBM Team

Experience: Lindsay Barton Barrett is an attorney-turned-real-estate-agent with more than 20 years of experience. Maggie Marshall began her career as a publicist and has been a successful real estate broker for 20+ years.

Location: New York City

Team name: The Barton Barrett Marshall Team at Douglas Elliman

Rankings: Lindsay Barton Barrett is Douglas Elliman’s No. 1 agent in Brooklyn and is No. 3 city-wide. The BBM Team has consistently been in the top three company-wide since forming in April 2023

Team size: 7

What are 3 things you’d like readers to know about you and your team?

The BBM Team is led by Maggie and Lindsay who are both powerhouses in their respective areas – Lower Manhattan and Brookyln.
After spending 20 years successfully leading our own real estate careers, we decided to do something different. Previously, Lindsay led her own team, while Maggie was at the helm of another top team at Elliman.
We pride ourselves on being both professional and relatable. We take this job seriously and will not miss a beat, but we also know that buying and selling a home is as personal as it gets and we are there to work with and guide our clients through that personal process.

What are 3 reasons you should be in the Team Spotlight?

We each have a unique perspective, having been deep in both the Brooklyn and Manhattan markets for the last 20 years, living through all of these market cycles as agents, developers, and owners.
We are both experienced brokers who chose to partner now, bringing together two firmly established and respected businesses. This is beyond rare.
We’re cool and fun.

How did you get your start in real estate?

MLM: I wanted to get out of the PR world and try something different. I had recently purchased an apartment, and the broker suggested I get licensed; she thought my PR/sales background would serve me and my clients well in real estate.

LBB: I was a lawyer, fancy law school, fancy law firm but I didn’t feel like I was helping people achieve their goals. I wanted to be closer to deals and do something that felt meaningful to my clients.

How did you choose your first brokerage?

MLM: I started at Corcoran because, at the time, they had a great new agent training program. I had the unique opportunity to work under the manager, Mitchell Lawrence, who started the program. Lindsay and I met in that office. Sadly, Mitchell passed away but the training facility was named in his honor.

LBB: I was drawn to the Corcoran image; it felt modern and refined but not too formal. It made NYC real estate seem like an aspiration that was not out of reach. And, as Maggie said, it had the best training in the business, which was started by Mitchell.

What do you wish more people knew about working in real estate?

MLM: I think a lot of people get their licenses because it is a low bar to entry. But you don’t just walk in and start collecting checks, it takes hard work and skill to succeed in this industry. While anyone can get their license, not everyone can be successful.

LBB: We do genuinely care about our clients and their outcomes. So much of what we do isn’t seen, and shouldn’t be if we’re doing things right. We come up with creative solutions, we clean up very gross things, and we take some abuse at times, but we do it knowing that we are doing something really valuable for a client.

What’s something you know now that you wish you knew when you started?

MLM: Truthfully, had I known too much, I might have been discouraged. Lindsay and I each started in this business before Selling Sunset and Million Dollar Listing. We learned as we went and experienced the good and the bad without too much prior warning.

LBB: I did not understand that building a business was a job unto itself. You don’t get to sell a home until you have a client.hen we started, it was largely before teams were the norm. You were on your own.

What are 5 things you’d like readers to know about you and your brokerage?

We care about our clients.
We are professionals who take our roles seriously – which means the best possible outcome for our clients.
We have an AMAZING team, so the support our clients and developers get is stellar across the board.
We have the respect of our colleagues (a lot of people don’t appreciate the importance of this in our industry) as a result we work well with other brokers and lawyers and get clients the deal they need and want.
We’re cool and fun!

Tell us about a high point in your career.

MLM: I think we both agree that this is a really exciting time for both of us. We have talked about partnering for a long time and now that we run this business together, we have so much to look forward to. We have accomplished a lot since partnering our businesses in April 2023; we have a lot of exciting things happening with announcements in the works. Stay tuned!

LBB: I definitely agree with what Maggie said, but I think she’d agree with this too. The high point was that moment of recognizing that we’re good at what we do. For me, it’s those times when I navigate a tricky situation and my client is really happy. Often I know the skill that was required – maybe it’s a nearly impossible appraisal, maybe it’s winning them a deal in a competitive environment, often it’s keeping a deal together – but the client often does not see the work that goes into it. Those are the days when I feel fulfilled and proud.

What’s your top prediction for 2024?

MLM: There is still a disconnect between buyers and sellers. Sellers are still looking at comps from before the interest rate hike and buyers are realizing their new buying power because of it. As sellers who need to sell transact, the new market prices will start to emerge giving buyers more data to point to. Interest rates will come down a bit and the market, which is at a bit of a stalemate at the moment will start to open up again.

LBB: New Yorkers are an impatient lot. We had very limited deal flow in the last 16-18 months, in part because people are enjoying their uber-low interest rates. But people in New York are movers and shakers and they only wait for so long. I expect the spring will shake loose a lot of sales. But, it will still be challenging because of the disconnect Maggie referenced. Whatever happens, we’ll be in it!