Press & News

Karen Sharkey Named Manager of Downtown Edelman Office
December 13, 2007

Audrey Edelman RealtyUSA is pleased to announce that Karen Sharkey has joined its management team. Karen will be the sales manager for the recently opened second office at 710 Hancock Street and Route 13, working collaboratively with General Manager Richard Patterson. Karen brings to the position 17 years’ experience as a multimillion dollar producer in the Greater Binghamton market. She is a certified relocation specialist and has experience in real estate office management.

Born and raised in the Binghamton area, Karen spent 13 years as a procedures analyst at IBM before starting her real estate career. Karen has residences in both Vestal and Ithaca. Her family includes husband Mike, an engineer with Interconnect Technologies, daughter Erin, a Binghamton University sophomore in a pre-dental program, and son Thomas, who will be heading to college in the fall, majoring in pharmaceutical sciences.

“Karen’s personality and work ethic will be a perfect fit for the office, and I’m very excited about having her on the management team,” remarks Audrey Edelman, President. Karen says that she’s looking forward to working with the company’s many talented agents and to serving the members of the Tompkins County community.

Audrey Edelman RealtyUSA Draws National Media Attention
December 5, 2007

When Ithaca made national news for its seeming immunity to the subprime mortgage crisis, reporters turned to the management at Audrey Edelman RealtyUSA to learn how university towns are managing to buck the trend.

On November 4, 2007, The New York Times broke the news that Ithaca heads the list of metropolitan areas with the smallest percentage of high-cost home loans. In his article “College Towns Escape the Pain,” Times reporter Ford Fessenden interviewed Richard Patterson, General Manager of Audrey Edelman RealtyUSA.

The article cites numerous factors that explain why university towns are not experiencing the high rate of foreclosures plaguing the rest of the country. Chief among these, says Fessenden, are stability in both the housing and job markets.

“Contributing to reasonable home prices is the fact that many places on the list are economic oases, surrounded by areas where jobs are dwindling, which helps depress housing demand,” writes Fessenden. “Yet the college towns themselves are flourishing.”

“There’s so much construction at Cornell,” says Dick Patterson, pointing out that a major indicator of the health of the local economy is the growth of both Cornell University and Ithaca College.

The day after Patterson was quoted in the Times, Fox News contacted company President Audrey M. Edelman to ask her to appear on the Fox Business Network’s program “Money for Breakfast.” Edelman appeared on the air live on November 9.

Asked by host Alexis Glick how Ithaca has been affected by the subprime crisis, Edelman responded that compared to the rest of the nation, Ithaca has hardly been affected at all. She explained that Ithaca tends to be a financially conservative community and that its residents and real estate professionals rely heavily on local lending institutions. “We find that mortgage officers don’t really stretch our people to the limit where they feel the loan becomes risky and they possibly won’t be able to make the payments.”

Edelman added that the average price of a home in Ithaca right now is just over $212,000—a 4% increase over last year’s selling price at this time.

Richard Patterson Named General Manager of Audrey Edelman & Associates RealtyUSA
March 1, 2007

Audrey Edelman, President of Audrey Edelman RealtyUSA, is proud to announce that Richard Patterson has assumed the position of General Manager. Bringing more than 30 years of local real estate experience to the position, Patterson served as President of the Ithaca Board of Realtors in 2006, and has been named Realtor of the Year on four occasions, most recently in 2005 and 2006.

Patterson’s father, Russ, was a Realtor in the Ithaca area for many years, so Dick “grew up in the business.” He graduated from Ithaca High School and then attended Cornell University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration in 1970. He became licensed to sell real estate in 1976, and in 1977 he became Principal Broker of Patterson Real Estate, which he headed for 25 years.

In 2002 Dick decided to join the Audrey Edelman firm, citing its leadership position in the local marketplace as the primary reason for the move. “It was the best move I ever made,” says Dick, who enjoyed the increased opportunities of working with former and new clients. He says he is honored by the opportunity to work with Audrey in a new capacity and to lead the company during a period of growth. The company plans to open a second office in downtown Ithaca this spring and expects to add 30 new Realtors and several staff.

“I’m looking forward to collaborating with Dick, who brings so much to the office with his combination of real estate expertise and leadership abilities,” says Audrey. “He has the respect not only of his colleagues at Audrey Edelman, but of all the Realtors on the Board as well. He did a masterful job as Board President, and I’m confident that he will be a skillful leader of our company, with the full trust of agents, staff, and clients alike.”

Dick’s two grown children make their home in the Ithaca area, as do his parents, Russell and Gerry. In his spare time, Patterson enjoys gardening, kayaking, cross-country skiing, and renovating the Cayuga Heights home that he purchased recently with his partner and fellow Realtor, Johanna Gettinger.

Awards

Audrey Edelman Wins Upstate NY Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Audrey Edelman, Principal Broker of Tompkins County's leading real estate agency, is the recipient of the Upstate New York Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2004 Award. The award recognizes Audrey as "a truly outstanding and successful entrepreneur whose extraordinary leadership has created a legacy that has had a positive social and economic impact on ... her employees, community and industry and who serves as a leading role model for the ideals and qualities of entrepreneurship for the future generations of entrepreneurs."

Other Awards Won by Audrey Edelman

In 2003 Audrey received the BizEvents' Women in Business Award and was recognized for her outstanding personal and business growth with the Most Inspiring Story Award presented by the Central New York Business Journal.

In 1999 the Ithaca Chamber of Commerce presented Audrey Edelman & Associates with the esteemed David R. Strong Small Business of the Year Award.