Robert Reffkin rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday morning surrounded by agents he’d poached from Douglas Elliman.
Among them were Jennifer Leahy, a top producer in Connecticut; Paul Zweben, former restaurateur and longtime Elliman agent; and Maggie Marshall, who previously co-led a top team at the brokerage.
But an unexpected addition to the crowd was Holly Parker, who appeared to mark her defection to Compass by standing alongside the firm’s CEO.
Before this week, Parker led one of Elliman’s top teams, operating in markets in New York and Florida. Now after 24 years, the veteran broker is bringing her 10-person cohort to Compass.
Parker said she’s been thinking about the switch for the last few months in hopes for “new energy and change.”
“You know what you need, and I needed oxygen,” Parker said. “I was too comfortable.”
Parker’s team was among the top 25 resale agents in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens last year with $77 million in sales across 25 sell-side transactions, according to The Real Deal’s annual rankings. On the new development front, the team landed in the top 40 in the city with $62 million in sales.
Under the Elliman banner, Parker routinely claimed the No. 1 and No. 2 spot among the firm’s top producers. She expanded her team to Florida in 2021, adding Palm Beach agent Samantha Curry to the fold. In New York, Parker brought on David Juracich, the longtime partner of JDS Development’s Michael Stern in 2023.
Parker noted that she was the top agent at Elliman in 2020, one of the city’s toughest years for residential sales as the pandemic scattered New Yorkers, and she sold the most new construction for her former firm in 2010, a year when the new development market was ravaged by the financial crisis.
“It’s a lot to push forward and put yourself in a totally new environment,” Parker said. “I tend to soar in crisis moments.”
Parker is leaving behind two members of her team in New York, as well as her Florida cohort, which is staying on with her business partner, Lourdes Alatriste.
“We will always be grateful to Holly for her contributions to Douglas Elliman,” a spokesperson for Elliman wrote in a statement. “We wish her the very best in her next endeavor.”
Parker said she’s still working out which listings she’s bringing with her to Compass, though she estimated the volume to be about $160 million, including properties in New York and Florida.
Parker’s move adds to a growing number of Elliman agents who’ve left the firm that has been under a spotlight following sexual assault allegations against two of its former top agents. The accusations against Tal and Oren Alexander, who left Elliman in 2022, span decades, including during their time at the brokerage. The New York Times previously reported two alleged incidents of drugging involving the brothers and agents at Elliman.
The Alexanders have denied the allegations. A spokesperson for Elliman has denied that the firm was aware of the alleged behavior and said that no formal complaints had ever been filed.
The brokerage’s longtime CEO and chairman, Howard Lorber, abruptly retired from his post in October. Bloomberg later reported that the executive had admitted to having intimate relationships with two Elliman brokers during an internal inquiry into the company’s culture.
Between January and September last year, 39 agents jumped from Elliman to Compass across markets in New York, California, Florida and Texas. The agents claimed self-reported sales volumes totaling roughly $1 billion, according to data from Compass.
Since then, the brokerage has added more star power, including on the West Coast. “Million Dollar Listing” star and top Elliman broker Tracy Tutor departed for Compass last month. Before her departure, Tutor told the Times that she blacked out after sharing a drink with Oren at a cocktail party in 2014.
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