UPDATED Tuesday February 4, 2:56 p.m.: After 20 years, Steven Cohen is leaving the Corcoran Group.
The broker is moving to Douglas Elliman and bringing his four-agent team with him, he confirmed Tuesday. Agents on Cohen’s team include Tim Malone, Sarah Silva, Taylor Grand Pre and Serine Labidi. Elliman confirmed the hire.
Cohen said his decision to switch firms was prompted by the new decade — though he admitted that top Elliman executives had casually floated the idea of his move for awhile.
“Over the years I would run into Howard [Lorber, Elliman’s chairman] at different places,” said Cohen. “He’d always say when are you coming over.”
When asked why now, Cohen said it was a matter of “right time, right place, right firm.”
“It’s just time for a change. Sometimes change for change’s sake is good,” he said. “It’s not that anything’s wrong.”
A spokesperson for Corcoran said “we appreciate the many years we spent together and wish him the best in the future.”
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Cohen said he chose Elliman for its partnership with Knight Frank Residential because he expects to be able to tap its global referral network. Though the stream of foreign buyers has slowed, Cohen said it continues to be a steady part of his business.
He said he expects to bring $80 million in listings with him to Elliman. One of his clients is the Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations, which he represented in its $27 million purchase of an Upper East Side townhouse. One of his high-profile listings includes billionaire producer Sidney Kimmel’s full-floor penthouse at the Ritz-Carlton Residences, asking $29.5 million.
Corcoran and other firms have introduced clawback policies to deter agents and their business from departing. Cohen declined to comment on specific policies but said “we’ve really planned carefully for this.”
Corcoran has had big producers leave in recent months. Brian Meier left for Christie’s in November, while Charlie Attias went to Compass in September. In October, internal documents leaked to agents revealed that one third of Corcoran’s gross commissions in 2018 came from just 37 of its 1,239 brokers.
Editor’s note: Cohen’s team member, agent Serine Labidi, was added to the second paragraph.
Write to Erin Hudson at ekh@therealdeal.com