Cold Calls from Brokers

I have been receiving cold calls from real estate brokers/agents who are leaving voice mail messages to call them back as soon as possible. I have never corresponded with these people and I have not been apartment shopping since 2017 when I bought into a Manhattan co-op building. I have no idea where these people got my phone number. Even more puzzling, one of these brokers was calling about my... [more]

I have been receiving cold calls from real estate brokers/agents who are leaving voice mail messages to call them back as soon as possible. I have never corresponded with these people and I have not been apartment shopping since 2017 when I bought into a Manhattan co-op building. I have no idea where these people got my phone number. Even more puzzling, one of these brokers was calling about my Hamptons house. Another of these brokers identified himself as an Elliman broker (I had a Corcoran broker for my co-op purchase). Can someone tell me what the hell is going on? Is this a symptom of desperation due to the slowing Manhattan/Hamptons real estate market? Are bottom-feeding brokers systematically combing through closing records to dig up telephone numbers? Does this cold calling thing actually work? [less]