A 'Million Dollar Listing' star got into real estate at the peak of the 2008 recession, and he's convinced it was key to his success

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September 12, 2018 10:01 PM

Ryan Serhant got his real-estate license a decade ago, at the start of the 2008 financial crisis. Serhant said he was broke at the time and had nothing to lose. His team is now the No. 1 real-estate team by sales volume in New York City.

Million Dollar Listing
financial crisis

It's been a decade since the 2008 financial crisis and real-estate fall out. That same year, Ryan Serhant, now the star of "Million Dollar Listing," got his real-estate license.

Today, Serhant holds the No. 1 spot for real estate sales in New York and No. 2 nationwide. His team closed more than $838 million in deals in 2017 while Serhant filmed two separate TV series and wrote a book, "Sell It Like Serhant."

Serhant's seemingly glamorous real-estate career had an unglamorous New York City beginning, he told Business Insider on an episode of our podcast "This Is Success."

Serhant said he had no money and nothing to lose, so he would approach strangers on the street with a few shopping bags in hand and asked if they wanted to invest in real-estate.

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