Agent moves: Which brokerages won the talent battle in May

TRD analysis finds Compass gained the most while Elliman struggled

The following is a preview of one of the hundreds of data sets that will be available on TRD Pro, a one-stop real estate terminal with all the data and market information you need in one place. Arriving summer 2021.

New York City’s real estate agents are on the move, bouncing between brokerages as the economy continues its recovery.

The Real Deal compared Department of State agent licensing data to see how many New York City residential agents switched firms and which brokerages won the war for talent in May. Compass, Corcoran and EXP Realty made the biggest net gains for the month, though the numbers were modest.

Some 1,926 agents transferred their licenses to different brokerages (or, in some instances, separate entities within an umbrella organization) during the 31 days, the analysis showed. A big chunk of those license transfers — just over 60 percent — was attributable to Coldwell Banker Realty and Century 21 American Homes merging their Long Island operations.

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Compass led all firms with a net gain of eight New York City agents last month. The Softbank-backed company has seen its agent count rise since Covid shut down the city last year, with just over an 18 percent increase in NYC agents from March 2020 to May 2021. Its current headcount stands at about 2,450.

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The publicly traded brokerage brought in 14 agents in May including three from rival Corcoran and two each from Elliman and Nest Seekers, but lost six.

Elliman, meanwhile, posted a net loss of one agent, gaining 17 but saying goodbye to 18 between May 1 and June 1. The firm also lost Garret Lepaw, its executive manager of sales for over five years, when he returned to Corcoran in mid-June.

Elliman’s South Florida branches, however, were able to add some heavy-hitter agents, with Thor Brown joining the firm in Palm Beach and Lana Bell in Bay Harbor Islands.

The May merger of Coldwell Banker Realty with Century 21 American Homes resulted in a gain of 1,195 licensed NYC agents for the month under the new banner of Coldwell Banker American Homes, serving Nassau and Suffolk counties as well as Queens and Brooklyn. Because the growth was the result of a strategic merger, TRD did not include it among the firms with the biggest gains.

Click here to see the complete list of individual licensing records.