Michael Stanco: Helping People Live Their Dreams on the North Shore and Beyond

Growing up on Nassau County’s North Shore, Michael Stanco heard a lot about real estate over the family dinner table. He learned all about home sales from his broker Mom, Ludmilla Stanco, and he explored construction job sites with his custom home builder developer Dad, Les Stanco.

Today, Michael Stanco works with both his parents, bringing a multigenerational, multidisciplinary aspect to the services he provides as the co-team leader of one of Compass’s most successful residential real estate sales teams.

“Having seen my mom represent and negotiate with titans of industry on Long Island buy and sell local properties and my dad meticulously execute developing some of the most gorgeous new homes and developments really motivated me to jump into the business and expand,” Stanco notes.

Michael Stanco co-founded The Stanco Misiti Team along with coprincipals Ludmilla Stanco and Michael Misiti. They joined Compass in 2020 as Founding Agents of the Long Island market for the national company. The three principals, who have sold more than $1 billion in residential properties combined over their careers, are joined on the team by seasoned sales associates: Elizabeth Savastano, Mariya Kmet, Heather Lipman, Kristen Limberg, Greta Los and Peter Athanasopoulos.

“In addition to residential real estate sales, we provide a full gamut of new development services through our custom construction arm, Stanco Enterprises, Inc.,” Stanco says. “We have the expertise to run an entire development project from site acquisition to completion, whether it’s a single-family home or a subdivision.” The company also handles property management, commercial real estate and more.

The Stanco Misiti Team’s geographic focus is on the Gold Coast — with the communities of Glen Head, Locust Valley and the Brookvilles as the epicenter — but their service area stretches west into Queens, east into Suffolk County and south to Long Island’s South Shore.

“We go where our clients take us, and we cover a lot of ground – we are one of just a few teams that cover both Long Island and Queens with a high level of service,” Stanco says.

But the North Shore is Stanco’s backyard.

“I grew up in Old Brookville, and I reside in Glen Head, where my wife and I are raising two kids in the North Shore School District – the same schools that I went to,” Stanco says. “We love living here and it’s fun to sell properties here and promote the lifestyle that this area offers. It’s amazing to see how over the years different pockets of the area have grown in demand, and how home values throughout the North Shore have remained stable and strong over many years – even now with the higher interest rates.”

During the pandemic, buyers fled the New York City in droves, driving up real estate values and sales volume across Long Island.

“The pandemic opened up a lot of doors to this suburban lifestyle, and buyers are still coming out from the city,” Stanco says. “Buyers look to us to evaluate properties all over Long Island for their benefit, and sellers look to us to promote their property through our marketing apparatus, which includes a tremendous social media following, network and sphere of influence.”

Stanco and his team are currently working with the Compass Marketing Development Group (CDMG) to market Compass’s first ground-up Long Island development outside the Hamptons. The Residences at Glen Harbor is a luxury waterfront 48-unit condominium property in Glenwood Landing.

“It’s a project that’s very near and dear to me, being right down the road from my house and we took on the marketing and sales of the new development with a robust creative marketing campaign. It’s completely built and ready for immediate occupancy, and we’re about 65% sold out,” says Stanco, noting the condos are selling rapidly now that construction is complete and residents are enjoying the lifestyle and amenities.

Designed for luxury coastal living, the spacious contemporary units feature open floor plans, natural light-filled rooms, top-of-the-line appliances, quality finishes and each condo has limitless views of the harbor and Long Island Sound. Amenities include an outdoor heated pool with a resort-style sundeck, barbecues, fire pits and a spacious pool pavilion overlooking the water. There’s also a clubhouse lounge, two fitness centers including a cardio and free weights room, coffee bar, card room, garage parking, a quarter-mile waterfront boardwalk and 24-hour concierge and doorman services with porters.

Current listings range from $1.5 million to $2.2 million for two-bedroom units, and $2.399 million to $3.599 million for three-bedrooms.

Stanco has worked closely with the Racanelli Construction Company, the builder-developer for The Residences at Glen Harbor.

“Racanelli is an excellent company with a tremendous track record on Long Island in the construction industry for decades,” Stanco says.

Other developments that Stanco and his team have been responsible for have included Pen Mor Farms in Muttontown, a 23-lot subdivision with three- and four-acre properties, with homes of about 8,000 square feet. One home in the subdivision, at 8 Clover Court, is currently listed for sale at $4.7 million.  Stanco and his team also marketed The Estates at Green Fields in Old Brookville, featuring 16 homes, also in the 8,000-square-foot range and on three- and four-acre lots. Plus Sunview Estates in Glen Cove, a six-home subdivision of half-acre sites, developed by Stanco Enterprises, Inc.

Stanco, who is a graduate of the New York University Stern School of Business and the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate, obtained his real estate license in 2003. Highlights of his career include the 2014 sale of the Glen Cove Mansion Hotel & Conference Center, a 55-acre former Pratt estate on Long Island’s Gold Coast. Together with Compass, The Stanco Misiti Team is able to connect with every major market in the country and hold tight relationships with top agents just about everywhere, including Manhattan and the Hamptons.

“Our clients rely on us to help them meet all of their real estate needs and goals,” Stanco says. “They know that when they align themselves with us, we’re going to give them the information they need to make the most informed and educated decision possible. They know they will get a straight answer from us. We focus on every project individually, work on every price range imaginable and deliver high-quality service to every client. We don’t look at the size of the deal but the person who is counting on us to accomplish their goals.”

Stanco says the relationships his team has built in the community, including with other professionals, brokers, architects, attorneys, bankers and builders, are paramount to the high-quality service the team provides to their clients.

“Our clients benefit from our strong relationships with important players in the local real estate industry,” he says. “It’s a small community, in which a handful of brokers do the majority of business, and good relationships are important to gaining access to show properties and gather all the information our clients need to make the best decisions.”

For more information about the Stanco Misiti Team at Compass, visit StancoMisitiTeam.com.

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This article appears on the September 2023 cover of Behind The Hedges Powered By The Long Island Press. Read the full digital edition here. For more on greater Long Island real estate on BehindTheHedges.com, click here.