Karen Kemp Aguiar Abud
Karen Kemp Aguiar Abud is a seasoned real estate executive, entrepreneur, and international investment advisor with more than 25 years of experience in high-value commercial and luxury real estate. She is the CEO and Founder of Atrium Real Estate and Atrium Global Visa, a transatlantic firm specializing in property investment, residency advisory, and cross-border portfolio strategy between the United States and Portugal. Throughout her career in New York City, she built a reputation as one of the nation’s top brokers, advising investors, developers, and high-net-worth clients on complex acquisitions, dispositions, and asset management across multifamily, retail, hospitality, and mixed-use sectors. Her performance earned national recognition, including top rankings in the Wall Street Journal Real Trends and consistent placement among the top 1% of agents in the United States.
Karen’s career began in an unconventional way, rooted in the arts community of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where she transformed a need for affordable studio space into a scalable real estate venture. From managing artist studios to acquiring and operating large-scale properties, she evolved into portfolio management before transitioning into commercial brokerage. She spent over a decade at The Corcoran Group, where she built and led commercial investment teams, and later served as Executive Managing Director of Asset Sales at MHP Real Estate Services. In 2020, she founded Atrium Real Estate NYC, a boutique advisory firm focused on strategic, client-centered transactions, shortly before expanding internationally as global demand for lifestyle-driven investments increased.
Today, Karen leads Atrium’s operations across New York and Portugal, with offices in Lisbon and Porto, delivering an integrated approach that combines real estate investment with residency and relocation services. Through Atrium Global Visa, she guides clients through Portuguese residency pathways—including Golden Visa and alternative visa programs—while aligning investment decisions with long-term lifestyle and wealth strategies. Drawing from her own experience as an expatriate, she brings a practical, deeply informed perspective to global mobility and cross-border investing. Her mission is to help clients not only invest abroad, but successfully transition into a new way of life with clarity, structure, and confidence.
• Real Estate License
• Certified Physical Trainer
• Certified Nutritionist
• Michigan State University - BA
• 2015 Ranked 5th in the U.S. for transaction size by Wall Street Journal Real Trends
• 2016 Ranked #1 in the U.S. for transaction size by Wall Street Journal Real Trends
• 2017 #3 Ranking Team in the U.S. for Volume
• Largest transaction per square foot in SoHo
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a developed skill set to recognize opportunity. It's not one specific accomplishment, but rather the ability to see opportunities before they become obvious and then capture them. Throughout my career, from that first studio space in Williamsburg to expanding internationally in Portugal, I've been able to identify opportunities at each stage. Whether it was recognizing the real estate arbitrage potential in those early warehouse spaces, or seeing the international market opportunity when we started getting calls about hospitality deals, or understanding that Portugal would become a major part of our business - it's always been about developing that skill to recognize an opportunity and then act on it.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering this industry is to approach your goals with clarity and unwavering belief in your direction, viewing setbacks not as failures but as part of the process. I have always visualized where I wanted to be as though it were already accomplished, which allowed me to move forward with confidence and purpose rather than doubt. When obstacles arose, I adapted and continued progressing without losing momentum. That level of certainty is powerful—it shapes your actions and influences how others perceive you. When you are fully committed to your path, external barriers, including financial challenges, become far less limiting because your focus remains firmly on achieving your goals.
Locations
Atrium Real Estate / Atrium Global Visa
Avenida Clotilde 52B, Estoril, Cascais, 2765-211, Portugal, Nyc, NY 11206