Get to Know the Broker: Patrick Southern of Serhant

If you need a place in New Jersey, SERHANT’s Patrick Southern is the agent you call. 

In 2025 alone, he closed 376 contracts in the state, mostly in Jersey City, just a stone’s throw from the bustling luxury residential market that is Manhattan. He’s a Jersey guy at heart, and wants to take the post-pandemic boom Jersey City has seen and extend it so the area becomes just as coveted as its neighbor across the Hudson River. 

That’s a project he’s doing at Serhant, with the help of CEO and founder Ryan Serhant.

Commercial Observer spoke with Southern in September for a series called “Get to Know the Broker,” where we learn more about residential brokers and what makes them tick.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. 

Commercial Observer: What has been the biggest deal of your career so far?

Patrick Southern: When I was hired to sell the Dixon Advisory portfolio. I was chosen to help a giant hedge fund unwind their portfolio. I had to navigate the sale of about 700 properties. It was not your average job, to say the least. I was responsible for figuring out how to sell all 700, in what order, at what price, and how to do it efficiently. 

The goal was obvious: sell for the most money, quickly, without cannibalizing ourselves with our own inventory. It was a great challenge, and we successfully sold out the portfolio, with our last few units now on the market. 

On top of that, marrying the private sales side of the business (me) with a large corporate setup was its own challenge. But I stuck to my approach and eventually got them to understand the importance of speed and timing. We became a great team once the right leadership was in place. That project still ranks among the most interesting things I’ve done in this business.

What is your career Everest?

I’m building a new development business with Ryan Serhant here in New Jersey, and my goal for unit count under commitment is a big one. I’m streamlined, disciplined and plan-oriented, which is what’s putting us on track to hit it. Once I get close to the goal, I’ll move it. 

I want Everest to keep growing in height. I never actually want to reach the peak.

Who has been your biggest influence?

For me it was Mike Ferry. I joined coaching at a young age. I had no mentors, no one to look up to, and I needed direction. His program taught me to dream big, set goals, set a schedule, obsess over the skills of selling, and execute a plan.

Who is your favorite architect/designer of all time?

Honestly, that’s a hard one to pin down. It depends on what I’m feeling like that day. 

But I’ve been nerding out on John Lautner lately, so I’m going with him. He built these wild, dramatic houses out in L.A. from the 1940s through the 1970s, a lot of them built right into hillsides, looking like something that landed there instead of something that got built. The Chemosphere is the one people usually point to first. It looks like a spaceship on a stick, and somehow it works. The more I look at his stuff, the more I appreciate someone who wasn’t afraid to build something that didn’t look like everything else around it. 

Ask me again in a month and I might have a different answer.

What is your funniest deal story?

I was showing a house with a ladder up to a loft. The buyer made it about halfway up, froze, and could not for the life of him get down. Might sound mean to laugh about, since he couldn’t have been more than three feet off the ground, but it was bizarre and it was funny. Needless to say, he did not buy that condo.

What TV show are you currently binging?

“Tires,” season three. I can’t get enough.

What is your silliest pet peeve?

The voicemail from an agent that says, “I have a question, can you call me back.” Leave the question in the message! Then when I call back and get your voicemail, I can just leave you the answer. Sometimes I think real estate would be the greatest business in the world if we could just get rid of the realtors.

What’s on your Spotify playlist?

It’s a pretty eclectic mix. I love to listen to and play music, and my taste covers a lot of ground. But to answer your question directly, I grew up on the Strokes. Those guys are my age and they’re still my favorite, for a lot of reasons.

If you’d like to be featured in our Get to Know the Broker Spotlight, please email Amanda Schiavo at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.