Amir Korangy

Amir R. Korangy (born November 21, 1973) is an Iranian-American publisher and film producer, who founded the business magazine, The Real Deal, AbOUT real estate and finance news. He also produced the PBS documentary, Building Stories about architect Costas Kondylis.

Korangy was born in Tehran, Iran. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979 his family left Iran as political refugees and spent time in Paris and Madrid before settling in the Washington DC area. Korangy received a BA in Journalism and Foreign Policy at Boston University and attended Emerson College.

Career

After college, Korangy moved to Baja, Mexico where he commenced his career as a publisher. He started South of the Border, a weekly newspaper that targeted expatriates living in Baja. The paper was bought within the first year by the Gringo Gazette, another local newspaper. His next venture was the founding of The Washington Free Press, a weekly tabloid challenging DC’s conservative media culture. The Washington Free Press was sold to the Washington City Paper in 1997.

After graduate studies at Emerson College, Korangy moved to New York City in 1999. He worked at Yahoo Inc., and eventually began investing in New York City real estate. These transactions inspired Korangy to recognize a void in that industry for compelling real estate news.

In April 2003 Korangy put out the first edition of The Real Deal from his apartment in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. The Real Deal provides an inside look into the prominent New York real estate market as well as reports national and international market trends. There is also a South Florida edition of The Real Deal. The monthly magazine includes an array of news exclusives, wide-ranging interviews, and in-depth analyses for brokers, developers, investors, appraisers, bankers, architects and real estate enthusiasts. The Real Deal has been coined the “Bible” by many in the real estate industry. The Real Deal has a monthly print readership of 132,000 and a monthly online audience of over 800,000 visitors and 4.3 million impressions.

Each year Korangy hosts thousands of real estate professionals at The Real Deal Annual Forum held at Lincoln Center where he introduces and interviews industry luminaries.

In pursuing his interests in film and real estate, Korangy produced Building Stories, a feature documentary on the life of architect, Costas Kondylis, which aired on PBS in 2012. The film features development moguls Donald Trump, Larry Silverstein, and Aby Rosen; founding editor of Dwell magazine, Karrie Jacobs; architecture critics and historians, James Gardner, Francis Morrone, and Kenneth Frampton; and Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier.

Korangy serves on the Board of Directors for SalesCrunch.

In the Media

Through his work as publisher of The Real Deal, Korangy has been called upon as an industry expert and has been regularly quoted in publications including The New York Times and Forbes and appeared on news programs on CNN, CNBC, and FOX News.

Accolades

Under Korangy’s leadership, The Real Deal was named the best publication and real estate news website by the National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE) for 2010 and 2011. In 2012, Korangy was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Young Jewish Professionals (YJP). In 2009, he was presented with the Boy Scouts of America Explorer's Leadership Award for his work with underprivileged inner city kids. In 2009, Korangy was listed in The New York Observer’s Power 100 list of the most powerful people in New York Real Estate. In 2013, Inman News named Korangy one of the 100 Most Influential Real Estate leaders in the Media category.

Personal life

Korangy resides in the Manhattan borough of New York City. He is a collector and supporter of the arts.

External links

• The Real Deal
• The Real Deal South Florida
• Amir Korangy on CNN In the Arena with Eliot Spitzer
• Amir Korangy on Internet Movie Database
• Freakonomics Quorum: Is It Time to Believe in the Housing Bubble?. Freakonomics Blog.