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Compass agent Joe Azar jumps to Douglas Elliman’s leasing arm

Azar to take senior role on Elliman’s new dev leasing team, which expanded to Florida in July

Joe Azar with rendering of Clara Bay Harbor and Chetrit Group’s project in the Miami River district (LinkedIn, Clara Homes, Getty images)
Joe Azar with rendering of Clara Bay Harbor and Chetrit Group’s project in the Miami River district (LinkedIn, Clara Homes, Getty images)

Compass agent Joe Azar is jumping to Douglas Elliman, and taking four of his agents with him.

Azar, who runs Compass’ New York- and Miami-based Azar Team with his sister Renee, will join Elliman as managing director of its new development leasing team, which recently expanded into South Florida.

Coming with him are Miami agents Richard Fernandez, Jesse Lehman, Santos Quinones, and Walter Gomez. Renee Azar, who leads the Azar Team’s New York operation, will remain with Compass, Joe said, adding that he plans to double the size of his team at Elliman.

Azar has spent his career brokering both residential sales and heading large-scale leasing projects. His career sales volume hit $350 million this year, he said. His past leasing work includes the co-living project X Miami and Blu27 at Edgewater.

Azar and his team are the first outside hires on Elliman’s new development leasing division since its expansion to Florida. The brokerage launched the division in July, with Matthew Villetto at its helm as executive vice president.

The division’s first leasing assignments include James Curnin’s Clara Bay Harbor and Joseph Chetrit’s billion-dollar mixed-use project on the Miami River.

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The Clara Bay Harbor development includes three six-story buildings totaling 150 units, the first 28 of which are expected to come online next summer.

Chetrit’s project is many years in the making, and according to Azar is expected to include about 1,200 rental units. The developer secured a $310 million construction loan for the 6.2-acre site in November.

Azar said the opportunity to move to Elliman arose when a developer name-dropped him early in the firm’s move south.

The role was “basically created for me,” he said.

Azar joined Compass in January 2020, when the brokerage was aggressively expanding into both Miami and New York. He exits the firm as it shifts its focus to reducing expenses and pursuing profitability, its stock having declined more than 60 percent since the start of the year. Elliman’s stock is down more than 50 percent in the same period, though it reported a narrow profit in the second quarter, compared to Compass’ $101 million loss.

Azar said he wasn’t looking for new opportunities when Elliman came knocking. Asked whether he would have stayed at Compass, he declined to comment.

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Douglas EllimanMiami