From left: Heidi Cole, who was brought in to expand Mirsky Cole & Company this year, Jonathan Duerr, a recent Fite Shavell & Associates hire and Charlotte Curran, who was brought on by Brown Harris Stevens this month

Palm Beach brokers had a busy 2009, if not in terms of sales, then in terms of moving. Mergers, high profile departures and hirings as well as expansion all characterized a year that saw lots of market drama.

At the start of 2009, the Mirsky Realty Group brought Heidi Cole into the company and expanded its operations. Now called Mirsky Cole & Company, it has 79 agents in two Palm Beach offices and one Jupiter location.

Sheri and Paul Reback, whose family-owned company has serviced high-end properties in North Palm Beach for 35 years, bought an Engel & Voelkers franchise and converted that firm’s North Palm Beach office, with eight agents, in late 2008. Then, they bought a Palm Beach franchise and opened an office on Peruvian Avenue with three agents in April 2009. [more]

From left, new Brown Harris Stevens hires: Charlotte Curran, Elaine Edwards, Gregory Weadock, Mahnaz Whelton and Carla Coser

As the real estate market swings up in Palm Beach, leading brokerage firms are looking for and landing top talent.

Brown Harris Stevens of Palm Beach, one of the oldest and largest luxury residential real estate brokerages on the tony island, announced Monday the hiring of five associates. Linda A. Gary Real Estate is looking to hire new agents, and the Corcoran Group, which has brought on a number of agents over the last year, expects to hire agents as the market starts to look up.

At BHS of Palm Beach, Elaine Edwards came on board as a broker associate and Mahnaz Whelton, Gregory Weadock, Carla Coser and Charlotte Curran as sales associates.

“Individually, they’ve been very, very successful,” said Ava Van de Water, executive vice president and broker of BHS of Palm Beach. “Now, we’re pooling their talent together.” [more]