Elliman’s top Brooklyn Heights agent Chris Sheller joins Corcoran

Chris Sheller, a top agent at Douglas Elliman’s Brooklyn Heights office, has joined the Corcoran Group, as the firm looks to shore up its sales force in the borough.

Sheller, who started in real estate at Corcoran 11 years ago, moved to Elliman in 2007, where he was named the top Brooklyn Heights sales agent in 2013, an accolade he’s set to earn this year, too, Corcoran said.

“He is a consistent top performer,” said Corcoran CEO Pamela Liebman in a statement. “We are thrilled to have Chris re-join us.”

Corcoran, which has had a presence in Brooklyn since the 1990s, is rebounding after a rough year that saw its Park Slope office hit hard by agent defections to startup firm Compass. Former Park Slope manager Patrick Brennan joined Compass last summer, prompting Corcoran to sue the rival firm.

In August, Corcoran and Compass reached a settlement in the lawsuit, in which Corcoran had alleged Compass “brazenly and intentionally” raided Corcoran’s offices.

Sheller, a Brooklyn Heights native who currently lives in Red Hook, recently sold an $11 million live-work space at 259 Banker Street in Greenpoint and a $4.45 million single-family home at 113a Columbia Street on the Brooklyn waterfront.

Overall, residential firms – including Corcoran – have been angling for business in Brooklyn, where the median sales price jumped 15 percent to $676,250 in the third quarter, according to Miller Samuel. The pace of sales was also the fastest in eight years.

Last month, Elliman tripled its space in Park Slope, an office that handles $190 million in sales a year. And in October, Citi Habitats bought Brooklyn-based firm Aptsandlofts.com in order to gain a foothold in the borough.

Corcoran is also expanding its network in Manhattan. Last month, the firm added a 13,500-square-foot office at 218 West 18th Street in Chelsea, as well as a storefront at 221 Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side.