Home is where one starts from - A Reflection of 2025
December 31, 2025
Dear friends,
Happy New Year’s Eve from my Airbnb in Costa Rica, where I’m spending the ethereal period between Christmas and New Year with my husband, my mum and my cousin!
Spending this holiday with my cousin, who is living away from China for the first time and watching her experience her first snow, glazed ham and homesickness made me reflect on my own journey leaving home at fourteen.
It also made me reflect on the concept of home, and how it evolves with time and our lived experiences.
See myself through a new lens
It was through my cousin’s lens this holiday season that I got to witness the new home I had built in this corner of the world called New York over the past two decades.
How I found and formed my new family, first with friends I met in school, at internships and student associations, then having my mum join me from China, and finally meeting my husband, to now calling his family mine.
It took a lot of trial and error, heartbreaks and setbacks, and a lot of time, but I am home again. My home is no longer in a quiet, slow, humid costal city in Southern China that never snowed; my home is halfway across the world in a loud, fast city that has had five snowstorms in the past month.
Perhaps my journey home by way of creating a new home is what propels me in my career as an envoy of homes, finding the right place for newcomers, for native New Yorkers looking for a new lifestyle, for newlyweds looking for a family home to raise future children, for a young family welcoming a new member that needs a bigger space, as well as helping those moving elsewhere find the next torchbearers for their homes in their corner of New York.
Story continues below...
Why Home Shapes My Work in Real Estate
Perhaps my journey home by way of creating a new home is what propels me in my career as an envoy of homes, finding the right place for newcomers, for native New Yorkers looking for a new lifestyle, for newlyweds looking for a family home to raise future children, for a young family welcoming a new member that needs a bigger space, as well as helping those moving elsewhere find the next torchbearers for their homes in their corner of New York.
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First Year Solo: 28 Homes, Hundreds of Conversations
In 2025, the first year I struck out on my own and became a solo agent within the same Elliman family, I worked my tail off and helped 28 amazing souls with their homes in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Westchester, Long Island, and even North Carolina, and in the process I more than doubled my volume from 2024.
I had conversations with way more than 28 people, of course, because I believe in sharing my expertise and advice without reservation. I want to give back to the community that continues to trust me with loved ones’ life events that involve needing new homes!
For example, I hosted three webinars for my NYU alumni community, attended by over 340 people, with actionable steps to help them rent, buy and sell with more confidence in New York.
Finding meaning in the daily
Most importantly, I am finding meaning in every conversation I have, every call I make, every step I take on my path, because I care about each of you whose journey that I am lucky enough to be a part of.
Thank you, from the depth of my heart bursting with love and appreciation, for allowing me to be here for you. For being a part of my journey.
For being a part of my home.
Love,
Judy
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