The Corcoran Group’s dominance in Brooklyn helped it lure the six-person Barak/Blackburn Group away from Prudential Douglas Elliman last month. The group, led by Lior Barak and Christine Blackburn, will operate out of Corcoran’s 241 Bedford Avenue office in Williamsburg and expects to court new rentals outside its Williamsburg comfort zone. The team declined to talk about the financial arrangement with Corcoran. Since partnering in 2006, Barak and Blackburn have more than $400 million in sales, according to a Corcoran statement announcing the move.
Barak said that there are no hard feelings between his team and his former brokerage. A spokesperson for Elliman declined to comment.
Barak said he wanted to make the switch because he believes Corcoran is more active in the Brooklyn market. Corcoran finished at the top of The Real Deal‘s 2010 ranking of Brooklyn firms with the most listings, with more than 500 listings valued at a total of $377 million.
“We felt [that] Corcoran has a big market share in Brooklyn and Williamsburg and we liked what they do,” Barak said.