Seven agents splinter off from Eklund-Gomes team

Newly founded Peters Breese Team remains at Douglas Elliman

From left: Fredrik Eklund, John Gomes, Jessica Peter and Monica Breese (Credit: Eklund & Gomes by Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images, Elliman, iStock)
From left: Fredrik Eklund, John Gomes, Jessica Peter and Monica Breese (Credit: Eklund & Gomes by Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images, Elliman, iStock)

After 17 months on the Eklund-Gomes team, Jessica Peters is striking out on her own.

Peters, who has built her career on Brooklyn’s new development and townhouse markets, has co-founded a new team with Monica Breese.

The Peters Breese team has six other agents on board and will focus on markets in Brooklyn and Long Island City. It remains at Douglas Elliman.

Read more

“The experiences and lessons learned working within the Eklund Gomes team have truly coalesced our vision to focus our new team on the markets we know and love,” Peters and Breese said in a statement.

The new team leaders added that they look forward to seeing their former Eklund-Gomes teammates “on the other side of a deal soon!”

A spokesperson for Eklund-Gomes said the team “wish Jessica and Monica well.”

Breese said by email that they decided to launch the team during the pandemic “because we have the time to do it now.”

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

Both teams declined to elaborate on the reasons behind the split.

The Eklund-Gomes team has been recruiting as it expands nationally in Los Angeles, Miami and New York City. At the start of this year the team had 80 agents. Peters, who previously led a team at Elliman with broker Stephanie O’Brien, was tapped to lead a push into Brooklyn last year.

In that move Peters brought six other agents to the Eklund-Gomes team including Breese, Allison Dubuisson, Justin McMahon, Daniel Fried, Jennyrose Halupka and Vanessa Rodriguez. The majority are now following Peters to her new team, though Dubuisson is staying at Eklund-Gomes and Halupka left last year to join the Serhant team at Nest Seekers International.

When asked why she left, Halupka said her decision was personal.

“It was time,” she said. “It was a very positive experience working on the EG team and with Jessica. I learned more during my two years working with her and the EG team than most agents and brokers experience in their whole careers.”

Peters and Breese also have two new teammates from Eklund-Gomes joining them: Vavrinec Fecko and Rita van Straten.

A spokesperson for Eklund-Gomes said its Brooklyn business will now be led by agent Erin Lichy on new development and broker Grace Steel on resales listings.

Write to Erin Hudson at ekh@therealdeal.com