Gary Pohrer, one of Douglas Elliman’s top agents in Palm Beach, left the brokerage to join Ryan Serhant’s namesake firm, The Real Deal has learned.
Pohrer, who was part of the Exclusive Group at Elliman, had been with the company for nearly a decade. His move to Serhant marks the brokerage’s first significant recruiting success in Palm Beach since it expanded to Delray Beach two years ago.
Pohrer said he was drawn to the Serhant brand, its exposure and social media presence.
“There’s a chance to create something, and I’ve just been desiring that opportunity, whether it was starting my own firm or opening up an office for somebody,” he said.
The brokerage plans to open an office in Palm Beach, founder and CEO Ryan Serhant said.
“We are not a brick and mortar company like everyone else, but there are certain markets where having a physical space, like the Hamptons, it’s important,” Serhant added.
Pohrer, a Palm Beach resident, is active from Boca Raton to Jupiter, including North Palm Beach and Manalapan. He’s been involved in deals totaling more than $2.5 billion throughout his career, according to a release. In 2019, Pohrer was part of the team of agents representing the seller of the property at 1295 South Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach, which traded for $105 million.
Serhant, a celebrity broker and star of Netflix’s “Owning Manhattan,” has worked on a number of big deals on the island. In 2021, he worked with Elliman’s Chris Leavitt to represent the buyer, private equity titan Scott Schleifer, in the $122.7 million sale of an oceanfront estate that marked a record at the time for home sales in Florida.
He is also poised to possibly break a record on the island. In February, billionaire beauty heir William Lauder went into contract on the sale of 2.3 oceanfront acres he had listed for $177.8 million. If the property sells for more than $170 million it will set a price record for Palm Beach. The deal has yet to close, and the buyer is unknown, but Serhant is representing them, sources say.
Palm Beach is a notoriously difficult market to break into. A small circle of agents control the majority of the island’s ultra-luxury activity. The market ballooned during the pandemic, and sustained its momentum as one of the top trophy markets in America, enticing a new wave of brokerages and agents to try their luck. Market insiders agree that for a brokerage to “make it” in Palm Beach requires wooing one of its top producers, like Pohrer –– which is no easy feat.
It’s a triumph other newcomers have yet to achieve. Santiago Arana and Mauricio Umansky’s the Agency opened shop on Royal Palm Way in 2023, with the office anchored by local partners Brian Fairweather and Howard Elfman. Still, ultra-luxury deals on the island have eluded the Agency, and Fairweather decamped to One Sotheby’s International Realty earlier this month.
A Douglas Elliman spokesperson said the company is “proud of the agent Gary became under the Elliman banner.”
It’s been a turbulent year for Elliman. Longtime chairman Howard Lorber retired abruptly in October and was replaced with CEO Michael Liebowitz. The company’s stock price also struggled, and it has seen top agents in other markets exit the company. Leaders knew competitors were courting its Palm Beach talent.
“We have a very, very powerful leadership team that has remained unified and committed. I don’t think our agents are going to be prey to the offers of competitors,” Elliman’s Florida CEO Jay Parker told TRD last year.
Pohrer joined Serhant on Wednesday, state licensing records show. He’s bringing his listings at Elliman and has three deals under contract. His listings include the $26 million listing of the waterfront mansion at 200 West Coconut Palm Road in Boca Raton, and the $17.8 million listing of unit 1704 at the Bristol in West Palm Beach.
The timing, he said, “couldn’t be better” for him to join Serhant as the season is ending.
“It gives us the perfect opportunity to ramp up this summer and start getting listings for the upcoming season,” Pohrer said. “I have five months to get this thing rolling.”
Pohrer formed the Exclusive Group with Elliman agents Nick Malinosky and Devin Kay in 2023. Together, they ranked as Elliman’s top medium-size team nationally in the brokerage’s 2025 awards, closing $733.9 million in dollar volume across South Florida in 2024, according to Elliman. The team closed $517.5 million in on-market dollar volume in Palm Beach last year, earning the No. 3 spot in TRD’s ranking of Palm Beach agents.
Pohrer said he will continue to work with his former Exclusive Group teammates on future deals. Kay said the team wishes Pohrer well, but has no plans to leave Elliman.
Serhant is full steam ahead. He aims to secure $1 billion worth of business in Palm Beach a year, he said.
“It’s an important wealth driver,” Serhant said. “We are growing in the markets where our customers are asking us to be.”
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