Oh, mother: David Solomon leaves Agency for Elliman

Agent takes mom and three others with him

Anna and David Solomon with the Douglas Elliman's Beverly Hills offices at 150 El Camino Drive (Credit: Solomon Property Group, Google Maps)
Anna and David Solomon with the Douglas Elliman's Beverly Hills LA HQ at 150 El Camino Drive (Credit: Solomon Property Group, Google Maps)

David Solomon is jumping ship to Douglas Elliman after five years as a partner at The Agency.

Solomon, who claimed $170 million in home sales in 2019, is leaving The Agency after working at the brokerage’s Brentwood office since 2014. He is taking with him to Elliman a team that includes his mother, Anna Solomon, along with Margaret Bradley, Shauna Logie, and Jessica Solomon, and has joined Elliman’s Brentwood office.

Solomon’s deals from the past year include a $13.8 million home sale at Amalfi Drive in the Pacific Palisades, and two deals in Santa Monica for more than $5 million each. He is also shopping a Malibu home formerly owned by crooner Barry Manilow.

Solomon joined The Agency when the Beverly Hills-headquartered brokerage was in its third year, jumping at the time from Berkshire Hathaway Home Services. “I was one of their first guys in their Brentwood office on San Vicente,” Solomon said. “But my business has shifted a bit.”

Specifically, Solomon says that he wants to do more work outside Los Angeles, and that Elliman affords him those resources. While The Agency “has a lot of these small, little boutique offices spread out, they are not really in as many markets as Elliman is,” Solomon said.

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Elliman is more of a “national platform,” Solomon said, which will enable him to expand into markets including New York City and Florida.

Agency chief executive Mauricio Umanksy responded to Solomon’s departure with a written statement. “We are very proud of what David Solomon and his team achieved at The Agency and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”

The Agency has progressively grown its number of agents, but it has also weathered turnover. For example, the brokerage gained 140 agents but lost 45 from January 2018 through June 2019, according to numbers TRD compiled from the California Department of Real Estate. It has also been expanding nationally, and opened a new office in Aspen, Colorado last month.

New York City-based Elliman moved into the Los Angeles market in 2015. Last year, Elliman snagged agents Sean Landon and Brandon Fitzpatrick from The Agency.