A 20 year veteran of the Manhattan residential real estate market and among the top real estate professionals nationwide, Doug is the founder of The Heddings Property Group, LLC. Prior to forming HPG, he was a top producing agent at one of Manhattan's largest brokerage firms for 11 years.

Doug's work is distinguished by an unwavering commitment to the best interests of his clients--even when it departs from his own short-term interests--which has earned him a steady stream of repeat and referral business. He demands the same consumer-centric approach from the more than 30 agents that work for The Heddings Property Group with offices in NYC, the Hamptons, Greenwich, Westport, Westchester and Rockland.

One of the first broker bloggers (www.truegotham.com) in Manhattan as well as one of the pioneers of the guided video tour, full screen property photos, and an early adopter of Buyfolio, Doug is always trying to stay ahead of the technology curve consistently exploring innovative and effective ways to better serve his clients.

A Manhattan resident since 1989, Doug prides himself on his knowledge of the marketplace, his negotiating skills, his meticulous research, and innovative marketing techniques. As members of a boutique residential firm, Doug and his agents at the Heddings Property Group can effortlessly and expeditiously implement marketing tools and strategies delivering global exposure that exceeds even the big brands.

Doug spends almost all of his free time with his wife Kate and their two children. Kate is the Deputy Editor of Food and Wine magazine, so much of that time is spent traveling and eating incredible food.

Testimonials

Doug has sold 6 apartments of mine in the past 10 years. I can't speak highly enough about him

Doug has sold six apartments for me in the past 10 years. The first of those transactions was in 1998 when Doug helped me sell a loft on West 42nd Street. In that sale, and each sale since, Doug has gotten me a great price -- on a few occasions he even set a record price for the building. In two of the offerings, I received offers for roughly $100,000 more than the offering price. I attribute a great deal of that to Doug's skill at marketing and pricing the properties. He has an extensive network which helps bring in buyers and he is excellent at marketing. In addition, he knows the entire city. The apartments which he sold for me were in Chelsea, the Upper West Side and Midtown East, so he does not confine himself to one particular neighborhood. I have enjoyed working with him on each transaction. Doug has always been very professional, honest and straight-forward. He always responded to me promptly which is a problem that I've had with other agents in the past. I can't speak highly enough of Doug. Review by Brian B.

Consummate professional. Incredibly honest and ethical

My experience working with Doug was excellent. He is the consummate professional and understands the market really, really well. From marketing my apartment, to pricing, to running the open house, Doug gave me great advice. I think that where a seller's broker makes his or her money is after the contract has been signed and before the closing. There are so many things that come up and, in my case, there were plenty. Doug handled the situation brilliantly. I think that there were times in the process that, but for Doug, the deal would have fallen through. Besides the unbelievable marketing work that Doug does, he advised me to price the apartment lower than other brokers advised me. He was very convincing that, strategically, this was the way to go. As a result of listening to him, I had six offers and ended up getting 12% more than I was originally asking. His instinct was spot-on. I can't recommend Doug highly enough and in a profession in which not everyone is as honest and forthcoming as one might hope, Doug stands out as an incredibly honest, ethical and professional person. Review by Ellen D.

Great listener. Makes sure you are comfortable with the process

Our experience working with Doug was extremely positive. Doug is honest and is conscious of how important honesty is in the relationship between a real estate agent and client. There is a stereotype of real estate agents as somewhat less-than-honest, but Doug strives to defy the stereotype of the typical Manhattan real estate agent. Doug is respectful of, and focused on, your preferences. He listens to your preferences in terms of property type, price range and neighborhood and he doesn't push you to deviate from those preferences. However, he is also flexible. For example, in the course of buying our first apartment with Doug, we switched our focus to condos and away from co-ops, and he helped us do that. Doug is a great listener. He really got a sense of what my wife and I were looking for, and that made the process much easier because we didn't waste time looking at apartments that we weren't interested in or were out of our price range. Unlike with other agents that we have used, Doug never used pressure tactics to make the transaction move more quickly. He understands that buying a home should not be a high-pressure situation; instead, he wanted us to feel comfortable every step of the way. Finally, during the negotiation process, Doug really works to serve the needs of his clients. There can be divergent goals between an agent and their client because it is in an agent's financial interest for a transaction to close. Sometimes they may guide the negotiation to that end. Doug does not work that way. We were very happy with both transactions we completed with Doug -- both buying and selling. I already give Doug unsolicited referrals because I think so highly of him. Review by Bruce S.