Residential agent Richard Ehrlich joins startup Carolwood

Richard Ehrlich, a partner at prominent boutique firm Westside Estate Agency, has joined Carolwood, a startup firm which officially launched business this month, The Real Deal has learned.

Ehrlich will work at Beverly Hills-based Carolwood as an agent, said Nick Segal, Carolwood’s managing broker.

Ehrlich worked at WEA since 1999, first as an agent, and since 2013 as a partner.

“Sometimes you need a change, a little boost and a different perspective. That was something I was looking for,” Ehrlich said.

WEA Chairman Stephen Shapiro emailed a statement, saying “we thank Richard for 20-plus great years and wish him well in the future.”

Ehrlich has been known for selling estates and luxury homes in exclusive enclaves from Hollywood Hills to Malibu. One recent big deal was representing an unidentified buyer for the $48.7 million closing of 609 East Channel Road, a more than 3-acre Santa Monica estate that was owned by Vice Media co-founder Shane Smith. The deal made a 2021 record, according to media reports.

Married to Jenni Kayne, founder of self-named lifestyle brand Jenni Kayne, Ehrlich has been helping out with his wife’s business, which forecasts making $120 million in sales in 2022, according to fashion trade journal Women’s Wear Daily.

Along with making women’s fashion, homewares and other goods, Jenni Kayne also has designed interiors for homes. Ehrlich will represent the company when it sells Jenni Kayne-designed homes such as a 4,000-square-foot home in Santa Ynez, which was nicknamed The Ranch. In 2015, Ehrlich sold 622 Elm Drive, a home his wife designed, to actor Jason Statham and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley for about $17 million.

Carolwood is wrapping up its first month in business with a staff of 71 agents. Ehrlich is the only Carolwood agent to come from WEA. The majority, more than 50 people, came to the startup firm from Hilton & Hyland. Drew Fenton, Carolwood’s chief executive officer, had worked at Hilton & Hyland since 2007.