Five agents leave Elliman for ONE Sotheby’s, including one boomerang hire

Competitors Douglas Elliman and ONE Sotheby’s International Realty have been hiring each other’s agents and executives for months, with the latest round leaving Elliman.

ONE Sotheby’s brought back Joelle Oiknine as a global real estate adviser and agent. Oiknine told The Real Deal she left the Miami-based firm after about five years for Elliman in January, only to return last week. Betsy Lee Turner, Sandra Osorio, Avidan Edelsberg and Oliver Ruiz also joined ONE Sotheby’s.

Oiknine declined to disclose why she left Elliman, but said it wasn’t the right fit for her. “I felt comfortable [at ONE Sotheby’s]. I’d been a top 10 agent with them and they treated me like a top 10 agent,” she said.

Turnover is common in the industry, where about two weeks ago Elliman announced it hired seven former ONE Sotheby’s agents to join the company’s new Coconut Grove office. Those agents told TRD that Douglas Elliman will provide them with the support to grow.

ONE Sotheby’s President Daniel de la Vega said that the recent hires are a net gain for the company based on sales production. While ONE Sotheby’s brought on fewer hires in recent months than Elliman, those agents have a higher sales production, he said.

Avidan Edelsberg was brought on to expand the firm’s commercial division. He was a commercial adviser at Douglas Elliman and is now a senior commercial adviser at the Miami-based firm. Edelsberg told TRD he felt stagnant in his previous role, where he completed $80 million worth of transactions in 2015. At ONE Sotheby’s, he is focusing on creating momentum within the commercial division, especially with the multifamily and office sectors of the market.

Sandra Osorio was a producer at Elliman, where she closed about $10 million in sales last year. She is now a sales associate at ONE Sotheby’s, according to a company bio.

Oliver Ruiz, now a senior global real estate adviser at ONE Sotheby’s, was a managing broker at Elliman, and managed the firm’s Miami Beach office. He has also worked at Fortune International Realty and Engel & Voelkers, where he expanded both brokerages.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that Oliver Ruiz opened Elliman’s Brickell, Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton offices. Ruiz managed Douglas Elliman’s Miami Beach office.