Our Story
Realty Collective is a people-driven real estate solution service founded in 2005 with the goal of guiding and supporting clients using honest and ethical practices—and ditching industry bad practices along the way. The brokerage was co-founded by a then-24-year-old Victoria Alexander who, after studying art history at Pace University, hit pause on plans to become a gallerist once she realized a jump into real estate meant she could design a career that combined all her interests, activism and deep love of Brooklyn. (Not to mention all the old houses and architecture she gets to ogle every day.) Victoria went on to earn a Master’s degree from Pratt University in historic preservation and urban planning.
As a former carnival barker, club promoter, ‘zine founder and classic car restorer, Victoria did not seem destined to become a real estate broker. Coming into the business, she was acutely aware of the stereotypes associated with NYC real estate. Instead of sleazy agents, apathetic brokers, and money-hungry developers, Victoria envisioned a company that would combine empathy and advocacy to build meaningful relationships between clients and their communities.
That vision was put to the test on the tumultuous day Hurricane Sandy hit New York. Victoria awoke to see her neighborhood streets pummeled by the disaster and she immediately took action. Realty Collective opened its Red Hook office doors wide, giving locals access to emergency responders, government agencies like FEMA, food, warmth, and shelter. Victoria and her team partnered with Portside, New York and volunteered with local groups to weave the threads of their neighborhood back together. Her team’s support met many of the needs of their neighbors in a time when the city was nowhere to be found.
In 2013, Victoria was recognized for her work with PortSideNY when PortsideNY was awarded the Champions for Change by President Obama. Although she did not help for the recognition, her experiences rebuilding Red Hook solidified her belief in the power of community advocacy, meaningful connections, and empathy. She realized that real estate was about more than just filling spaces; realtors have a social responsibility to all the people in the community. This traumatic event inspired Victoria to join Resilient Red Hook, Community Board 6, as well as many other local initiatives that were related to community-based planning. She wears local advocacy as her badge of honor. Every meeting, she brings her mindful and unique perspective to local initiatives that are not often at the table.
Victoria has staffed her team with dedicated professionals whose one commonality is that their values must align with Realty Collective’s mission. But they’re also people who also have rich creative lives outside of their real estate careers—people you might actually want to spend time with!
We live in the communities where we work and clients are sometimes surprised that we “seem to know everybody.” These relationships keep us honest and offer us an inside track on information we can share with you. Need to know where to shop, eat, walk your dog? How loud that bar is on weekends? We’ve got the intel.