The Amorelli Realty team has served Queens from their Astoria office since 1978. Photo courtesy of Paul Halvatzis
Aug. 6, 2024 By Ethan Marshall
Since first opening its doors in 1978, the Amorelli Realty real estate agency, located at 36-01 30th Ave., has become a community staple in Astoria.
Having won the “Best of the Boro” award for “Best Realty” each of the last eight years, Amorelli Realty is well-recognized by many residents in Astoria and across all of Queens.
While those at Amorelli work hard to make their clients feel like part of one big family, the business is family-run. It was originally founded by Anita Halvatzis, whose sons Paul and Jim joined her as brokers. Now, Paul is running Amorelli, and his son, Nicholas, has joined the team as a broker as well.
Paul and Nicholas Halvatzis at the 2024 Best of the Boro Awards. Photo courtesy of Paul Halvatzis.
“I think [winning Best of the Boro in Realty eight times in a row] is an amazing feeling because it’s gauged on our true success of being recognized for what we’re capable of doing,” Paul Halvatzis said. “Our whole motto as a real estate agency is that we’re a family-type business that provides specialized service to the community. To be recognized as the Best of the Boro eight years in a row shows that’s what we’re really doing.”
One of the big contributing factors Paul attributes to Amorelli’s success is the office’s open-door policy. People can visit them at any time to talk with the realtors there about any real estate questions or issues they may have.
“Any real estate transaction has certain things that are particular to the individual who is selling their property,” Paul said. “We’re here to help them navigate through the whole process. With some of the bigger companies, you become a listing and talk to maybe one of the people that work there. Here, the people want to find out what’s going on with the transaction, how we could help them better, what we can do, how we can speed this up and get more money. You are talking to the person who makes decisions and gets it done. When you come to our office, you’re talking to the people who really make it happen. You’re not lost in the shuffle of the corporate world.”
Paul and Nicholas are among the 12 people currently working at the office full-time. They all handle sales of residential, commercial, and mixed-use buildings.
“We are really grateful to the community that we help every day,” Nicholas said. “We are also part of other civic groups and we’re constantly giving back to the community. We do fundraisers, turkey drives and, on top of all that, we do our day-to-day business of seller and buyer representation and landlord and tenant representation. We have our hands in a bunch of different things amongst the community.”
The father-son duo of Paul and Nicholas are also able to utilize different strengths to connect with and assist clients. Paul can apply his over 45 years of experience, while Nicholas’ youthfulness helps him connect with the younger clients.
The fact that this family-owned business has lasted long enough to employ three generations of the Halvatzis family is not taken for granted by Nicholas.
“This is a testament to our clients that we always try to make the client feel like family, and as close to family that they are being taken care of like they’re a family member,” Nicholas said. “That’s something we pride ourselves in. Often enough, they will end up that to us in reviews or feedback that we do. To me, I would say that is one of my favorite parts of the business.”
Nicholas emphasized the importance of making the clients feel comfortable, especially since this could be a highly stressful period for some. For some sellers of homes, they may have sentimental connections with the place, making it hard for them to say goodbye. Would-be buyers and tenants may be under duress due to having to worry about affording to live in a new home and possibly competing with others for that home.
Paul feels very confident in Amorelli’s chances of winning Best of the Boro in realty for a ninth consecutive year. “We feel kind of like we’re a locomotive,” Paul said. “A locomotive starts off slow, builds up steam, and once you get the pressure, that locomotive just keeps rolling. I think our chances are very good. We’re still providing the same service, we’re giving people the same benefits and I find this hands-on approach with customers makes more and more people come back.”
In addition to getting strong reviews from sites like Zillow, Amorelli has benefitted from a lot of referrals by satisfied customers to their friends and families.
Paul said that over the years, Amorelli has also helped create millionaires out of those they have helped. There were plenty of occasions wherein people followed the advice provided by Amorelli to purchase a property and build up equity through general appreciation.
According to Paul, the higher interest rates in today’s market have contributed to a shift away from commercial buildings entering the market and a larger focus on residential buildings and units. Rates in investment properties are currently over 10%. Paul noted that as a result, it is now much more challenging to make commercial business buildings show profitability. Consequently, it has become harder to sell commercial buildings. But he thinks that if rates trickle down, it will make selling these properties easier.
Amorelli has been handling the sale of many new condos in Queens recently. These units are very attractive to high-end renters, who would no longer have to worry about paying rent after buying their own condo, which can also end up granting them tax advantages.
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