From left: Tamir Shemesh, Pamela Liebman, Howard Lorber and Dottie Herman
Another top team is leaving Prudential Douglas Elliman, the city’s largest residential brokerage.
Longtime Elliman broker Tamir Shemesh today announced that he is moving to the Corcoran Group — Elliman’s primary competitor — with his team of seven people. The move is the second high-profile departure for Elliman since the New Year. In January, super-broker Ilan Bracha — head of the top-ranked team at Elliman — left to launch the first Manhattan franchise of Keller Williams.
“I was ready for a change,” said Shemesh, who was a managing director at Elliman. “I found an opportunity at Corcoran, so we did it.”
The Israel native said he remains on good terms with his former bosses at Elliman. “I had a great 13 years at Douglas Elliman,” said Shemesh, a graduate of New York University’s Stern School of Business. “I consider them my family. Sometimes you need changes in life.”
The Shemesh Group was named Elliman’s number 5 team in 2010 and has been in the top 10 since 2003, Shemesh said.
“Tamir is an exceptional agent with a stellar track record and reputation for showing the utmost professionalism and total commitment to his clients,” Corcoran President and CEO Pamela Liebman said in a statement released by the firm. Shemesh will be working out of the East Side office, at 660 Madison Avenue. “We are proud to welcome Tamir and his team to Corcoran. Their established position as market leaders is a perfect fit for Corcoran.”
Shemesh, who has been named a senior vice president at Corcoran, said he started at the new firm today.
It’s “purely coincidence” that his announcement follows quickly on the heels of Bracha’s departure, he said, adding that he and Bracha had not discussed the relative timing of their departures. “There was no planning [on] my part or Ilan’s part.”
The New York City real estate industry has seen a reshuffling in recent months, with the closing of Century 21 NY Metro and the emergence of several new firms, including Keller Williams, Spire Group and Town Residential. Many of the new firms are trying out new business models, including several variations of the 100 percent commission model.
While several top agents have left large companies for fledging ventures, Shemesh said he wanted to remain at a well-established firm.
Corcoran and Elliman “are the two leaders in the industry,” he said. “Basically, I moved from one leader to another.”
For the foreseeable future at least, he said he believes those two will remain the city’s largest brokerages.
“I think Corcoran and Elliman will continue to dominate the market,” he said. “It takes years and years of experience and knowledge to get an organization to be like Corcoran and Elliman. It’s not something that is very easy to do.”
Elliman CEO Dottie Herman was not immediately available for comment.
