Ryan Serhant Expands Out West

Ryan Serhant is heading out West.

The celebrity agent’s eponymous brokerage is setting up shop in Arizona with more than 50 agents in Phoenix. The move marks the firm’s first foray away from the East Coast, where it’s been steadily expanding since 2023.

The expansion “has been an organic journey, not a race to be the biggest or the fastest for the sake of being big, or fast,” the firm’s founder and CEO wrote in a statement. “Our focus is on aligning with people who share our vision, and are committed to pushing boundaries.”

Among the new brokers are six founding agents and Todd Lee, designated broker for the region. Together, the agents notched more than half a billion in sales last year. The firm’s Western operation is launching with about 100 listings, including a five-bedroom home in the Scottsdale desert asking $4.9 million.

“I wanted to try something different,” said Linda Salkow, one of the agents joining the firm.

Salkow, whose listings include a $2.8 million home in Scottsdale, pointed to Serhant’s technology platform known as S.MPLE and the founder’s eye for social media and marketing as the reason for her move from a local Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, where she spent nearly a decade as a top producer.

“The real estate industry is changing. Everything in life is changing,” Salkow said. “We have to stay on top of it, and Serhant has a great feel for that.”

With the Arizona teams now in the fold, Serhant has more than 1,000 agents across nine states, including the Carolinas, Florida, New Jersey and Connecticut. The brokerage’s latest additions include a 10-person team operating in the Hudson Valley, Westchester and Connecticut’s Fairfield and Lichfield counties.

The firm’s competitors have pushed back against Serhant’s moves along the East Coast, with some brokerages filing lawsuits against the firm for allegedly poaching their agents and stealing confidential information.

Serhant notched a win in his legal battle for more territory in November, when a judge dismissed a $10 million lawsuit tied to its spread into Pennsylvania.

Keller Williams Black Label and its parent company, Condo Shop, sued the brokerage and its founder in April 2023, alleging Serhant tried to “loot” the firm. A Philadelphia judge rejected the companies’ arguments, citing its inability to prove it sustained damages following its agents’ departure.

Serhant, once a mainstay on Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing New York,” launched his brokerage in 2020 and quickly established it as one of the top-producing firms in New York City. Last year, the company placed sixth among brokerages in Manhattan with $580 million in sales, according to The Real Deal’s 2023 ranking.

Since its founding, the brokerage, bolstered by revenue from Serhant’s coaching business, Sell It, starred in a reality TV show called “Owning Manhattan,” which aired its first season on Netflix last summer. The firm also notched $45 million in venture capital funding geared toward developing its artificial intelligence-powered technology.

Netflix greenlit Season 2 of the series focused on the brokerage, according to Serhant. Filming last week and new episodes will air in the summer