By Joshua Burd
Real estate firm development and financing firm AST has launched a new brokerage division, marking a new offering for homebuilders and another piece of its growing platform.
Led by James Mattina, a veteran residential real estate expert with nearly a decade of experience, AST Realty will provide a concierge-style model that leverages AST’s nearly 40 years of development and financing expertise, according to a news release. The firm is also pitching what it describes as an on-the-ground presence in its current target markets of Ocean, Monmouth, Middlesex, Union, Morris and Essex counties, along with creative financing solutions, value engineering services and tailored marketing campaigns.
“The traditional realty model isn’t equipped to keep pace with or address the complexities of New Jersey’s residential marketplace,” said Shane Soranno, a director at AST. “To help homebuilders navigate these challenges we’ve created a one-of-a-kind realty experience that combines deal sourcing and brokerage services, with the option for financing, into one comprehensive system that has proven to generate results.
“By pairing a hands-on realty team with our deep development experience and robust in-house financing capabilities, we are bringing the state’s homebuilding community an invaluable resource created by builders for builders to ensure they can continue to find success in any market conditions.”
Joining Mattina on the AST Realty team are REALTOR Associates Robert D’Anton Jr. and Dara Soranno, who bring extensive experience in sales, construction and asset management.
“The AST Realty experience is singularly focused on meeting the unique needs of the homebuilder community,” Mattina said. “Whether it is handling a conventional resale of a property or finding a buyer for a new home or as complicated as identifying off-market development sites, securing financing, and identifying value-add potential throughout the construction process, the AST Realty team will be there every step of the way to help homebuilders bring their visions to life.”
AST Realty will operate alongside the firm’s development arm, which focuses on opportunistic ground-up development and acquisition opportunities throughout the Northeast and Southeast. In the more than three decades since its founding, the business has produced more than $1 billion in development and investment activity across several asset classes.
The new brokerage unit will also work in tandem with AST Financial, launched in 2015, which extends construction and bridge financing and preferred equity, through direct-to-lender capital programs, the news release said. Since its inception, AST Financial has provided builders with financing valued at more than $250 million.
