Amir Korangy

Amir R. Korangy (born November 21, 1973) is an Iranian-American publisher and film producer. He is the founder of The Real Deal.^[1] He produced^[1] a PBS documentary about architect Costas Kondylis.^[2] He is also an adjunct associate professor of media and real estate at New York University.

Amir Korangy
Amir Korangy
Born	(1973-11-21) November 21, 1973 (age 51) Tehran, Iran
Nationality	Iranian-American
Occupation	Publisher of The Real Deal

Korangy was born in Tehran, Iran. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, his family left Iran as political refugees and lived in Paris and Madrid before settling in Washington, D.C. He received a BA in Journalism and Foreign Policy from Boston University and attended Emerson College.^[1]

Career

After college, Korangy moved to Baja, Mexico, where he worked as a publisher. He founded South of the Border, a weekly newspaper aimed at expatriates living in Baja. Within its first year, the paper was bought by Gringo Gazette, another local newspaper. He then founded The Washington Free Press, a weekly tabloid, which was sold to the Washington City Paper in 1997.

After graduate studies at Emerson College, he 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 create a real estate news outlet.^[3]

In April 2003, Korangy released the first edition of The Real Deal from his apartment in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. The Real Deal has a monthly print readership of 132,000 and a monthly online audience of over 2.6 million visitors and 17 million impressions.^{[4][needs update]}

Each year, Korangy hosts real estate professionals at The Real Deal Annual Forum held at Lincoln Center, where he interviews industry figures. In September 2015, he hosted a real estate development event in China, Toronto, and South Florida.^[5][6]

He produced Building Stories, a feature documentary on the life of architect Costas Kondylis, which aired on PBS in 2012. The film features Donald Trump, Larry Silverstein, and Aby Rosen; Karrie Jacobs, founding editor of Dwell magazine; architecture critics and historians James Gardner, Francis Morrone, and Kenneth Frampton; and Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier.^[7] In 2015, Korangy authored the book The Closing: Interviews with New York's Titans of Real Estate.^[8]

Korangy serves on the board of directors for SalesCrunch.^[9]

Perception

Korangy's work as publisher of The Real Deal has been quoted in publications including The New York Times, ^[10] and Forbes.^[11][12] He has also appeared on news programs on CNN,^[13] CNBC,^[14] FOX News^[15],^[16] and Real Estate with Vince Rocco, VoiceAmerica.^[17] He also sits on industry panels for Inman Real Estate Connect.^[18]

Accolades

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.^[19] In 2012, he 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.^[20] In 2009, he was listed in The New York Observer's Power 100 list of the most powerful people in New York Real Estate.^[21] In 2013, Inman News named Korangy one of the 100 Most Influential Real Estate leaders in the Media category.^[22] In November 2014, he was honored as a Child's Champion Award recipient by the Ronald McDonald House in New York.^[23] He was named a juror in the A+ Awards, presented by Architizer, a global online network for architecture.^[24] In October 2016, he was honored with the Media Man of the Year Award by the Vavardi Institute for Ovarian Cancer Education for his support of the Ovarian Cancer Research Organization.^[25]

Personal life

Korangy resides in Manhattan, New York, USA. He is a collector and supporter of the arts. In 2007, he completed both the Paris and New York City marathons within 7 months.^[26]