It was there that Serhant, the 28-year-old star of Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing New York,” was introduced to the concept of hard work as a youngster by picking up sticks for $1.50 an hour every weekend under the watchful eye of his father, John, former vice chairman of State Street Global Advisors.

“It was awful. I hated him for it, and I had to learn manual labor,” Serhant told the Herald. “Now I can’t imagine not having those experiences and having him make me do that because it taught me hard work and the value of a dollar. That’s where I am able to kind of leapfrog over almost everybody else in my industry.”

Even after moving to New York City in 2006 to pursue an acting career, Serhant, now executive vice president and managing director at brokerage behemoth Nest Seekers International, said his father still made it a mission to check on his son’s progress.

“He would call me nonstop to make sure that I was working harder than my two roommates who were both lawyers,” he said. “It’s that behavior that defines success.”

And that behavior has rubbed off on the real estate titan. With Season 2 of his series already hitting the airwaves, Serhant said time off is the farthest thing from his mind as he pits himself against the show’s other two powerhouse brokers, Fredrik Eklund of Douglas Elliman and Luis D. Ortiz of Keller Williams NYC, and Manhattan’s 28,000 real estate agents.

“If you are not hungry, you get another career,” he said. “You have to be a hustler. You have to learn how to hustle. You have to learn how to stay hungry and how to be smart in more ways than just being able to read a book.”

Serhant added that now is a prime time for home owners or potential home buyers to take the plunge and invest in the housing market thanks to “skyrocketing” demand for “very limited inventory” and incredibly low interest rates.

“The market is on fire,” he said. “It is a good time to buy. It is a good time to sell.”

Like many, especially those with a Bay State connection, Serhant said he was affected by the marathon bombings and his younger brother Jack was among the spectators at this year’s race.

“Everyone that I knew was OK. I’m very thankful for that,” he said. “But living in New York being far away from a tragedy like that, all I could do was pray and sit and watch the tragedy unfold on television.”

A “die-hard” New England Patriots fan, Serhant has an autographed Drew Bledsoe jersey “under lock and key.” The former North Andover and Topsfield resident added the Hub could be on Nest Seekers’ radar in terms of future expansion plans.

“Our CEO Eddie Shapiro has a map in his office with stickers on everywhere he plans to go,” he said. “He’s moving all over. I would not be surprised if Boston was next.”