Compass poaches 10-agent @properties team

Pam MacPherson, Hayley Westhoff and Robert Reffkin
Pam MacPherson, Hayley Westhoff and Robert Reffkin

UPDATED Dec. 16, 2021, 6:35 p.m.: Compass just snagged one of @properties’ top broker teams in the Chicago suburbs.

Pam MacPherson, Hayley Westhoff and their team of eight agents started at the venture-backed real estate brokerage on Monday, Compass said.

The MacPherson Westhoff Group have worked $225 million worth of transactions in the last six years, including $80 million in the past year, Compass said in a statement. Most of their deals are in the north side of the city, the Western suburbs and northern suburbs of Glenview, Golf, Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka and Kenilworth.

In August, the team sold the CA Hemphill residence in Evanston for $2.6 million, one of the biggest sales of the last few years in the city.

MacPherson and Westhoff have carved out a niche in working with clients who wish to sell their homes and move to the suburbs.

They have about $7 million in listings, according to their now-deleted @properties page, including a single-family home in Lincoln Park listed at $1.9 million, and a sprawling mansion in St. Charles with an asking price of $1.7 million.

A representative with @properties did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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MacPherson and Westhoff’s move to Compass represents the latest escalation between the two brokerages.

Since its Chicago launch in late 2017, Compass has lured away a few of @properties’ top producers, including new development specialist Heather Gustafson. It’s also scooped up agents Cindi Sodolski, Jordan Euson and Rafael Murillo from @properties.

Compass used a familiar playbook in its recruitment efforts in Chicago: offering stock options and bonuses. Despite the money and buzz, @properties remains the undisputed leader in a $15 billion residential market.

Still, the company hasn’t kept its thoughts about Compass to itself. In early 2018, the firm put up a billboard near Compass’ Lakeview offices cautioning locals not to “ask for directions from a tourist.”

In The Real Deal’s January rankings, @properties had $6.5 billion in Cook County sales across 2018. By contrast, Compass handled over $1.4 billion in total sales, placing it sixth.

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Compass had offered 100 percent commissions. While the company offered various recruitment perks, that wasn’t one of them, according to Compass.