Feb 14, 2025
Barbara Corcoran has a knack for seeing potential where others see just bricks and mortar — and her dream penthouse is no exception.
In 1992, Corcoran had already founded The Corcoran Group, her real estate firm that would become synonymous with luxury listings. But back then, she was hustling — juggling her business with a part-time job delivering packages.
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“I was delivering an envelope to this penthouse. I walked in and saw this green, lush terrace through the French doors, and said to the lady who let me in, ‘if you’re ever going to sell this, would you sell it to me?’” Corcoran told the New York Times.
At the time, the seller barely batted an eye — because what could a part-time courier possibly know about prime Fifth Avenue real estate? Years later, when the owner finally decided to sell, she gave Corcoran a call.
Manifesting the dream
The secret to Corcoran landing her dream apartment wasn’t in sending follow-ups or obsessively tracking the listing — the magic was far less transactional. While she’s quick to champion the power of relationships and networking, Corcoran swears by something just as crucial: belief.
“I envisioned myself living here,” she said about the apartment in an interview with CNBC.
Her vision didn’t just stay a daydream — it became signed on the dotted line. Corcoran, alongside her husband Bill Higgins, turned fantasy into fact when, in 2018, they purchased the 11-room duplex for $10 million, adding another $3 million in renovations.
“That’s how I buy all of my homes. I have an emotional love affair with them. It’s romanticism. I walk in and I go, ‘I belong here,’” she told the New York Times.
While simply dreaming about it won’t secure a big purchase, staying focused on your goal while putting in the work can be a powerful motivator. With Manhattan’s median home listing at $1.6 million, according to Realtor.com, envisioning your future home might feel out of reach.
However, there are steps that can help turn that vision into a financial reality.
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Bringing dreams to reality
Corcoran’s purchase of her dream apartment might seem like a natural milestone, given her success, but the journey was far from effortless. She didn’t come from wealth — by the age of 23, she’d held around 20 different jobs and knew firsthand what it meant to live paycheck to paycheck.
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With just $1,000 borrowed from her boyfriend at the time, she left her job as a waitress in a diner and set out to build The Corcoran Group.
If you want to follow Corcoran’s playbook and break into real estate investing, you don’t need to buy a property outright. Real estate crowdfunding platforms offer a way to invest with far less capital, making it easier to enter the market, diversify your portfolio and start building wealth — without the traditional hurdles.
When Corcoran was starting out, real estate wasn’t her only focus — she also had a side hustle delivering packages, which ultimately led her to her dream apartment.
By diversifying her income, she wasn’t reliant on a single paycheck. A side hustle can do the same for you, providing extra income to grow your savings or fund investments, whether through freelancing, consulting or launching an online business.
Corcoran didn’t build her empire overnight — she played the long game, making strategic moves that paid off over time. The same principle applies to retirement savings.
Even if retirement feels far away, maximizing your 401(k) contributions can set you up for long-term financial success.
Just like Corcoran leveraged small investments to create something bigger, compound interest does the heavy lifting, quietly growing your nest egg in the background.
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Victoria Vesovski is a Toronto-based Staff Reporter at Moneywise, where she covers the intersection of personal finance, lifestyle and trending news. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto, a postgraduate certificate in Publishing from Toronto Metropolitan University and a Master’s degree in American Journalism from New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. Her work has been featured in publications including Apple News, Yahoo Finance, MSN Money, Her Campus Media and The Click.
