Top Aspen Agent Joins Douglas Elliman

After closing one of Aspen’s priciest-ever deals, a top agent in the Colorado town is jumping to Douglas Elliman.

Maureen Stapleton is leaving Coldwell Banker Mason Morse to join the New York City-headquartered brokerage, the firm announced on Wednesday.

Stapleton’s move comes after she helped broker the sale of a Red Mountain estate, which closed for more than $90 million earlier this month. Andrew Lessman, founder of ProCaps Laboratories, sold the property at 76 Pacer Lane to media mogul Byron Allen, marking the second most expensive trade in Pitkin County.

Stapleton represented Lessman in the deal, which fell short of the region’s record set by developer Steve Wynn and digital trading mogul Thomas Peterffy in 2024, when the duo spent $108 million on an Aspen estate.

Last year, Stapleton placed among the top 20 agents in Colorado with more than $99 million in sales, according to RealTrends’ annual ranking. Her most notable trades include the 2022 sale of a 19,000-square-foot mansion for $48 million and the $36 million deal for a 200-acre property, which Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought in 2008.

Stapleton is bringing to Elliman a listing for a 544-acre property in Snowmass, known as Lincoln Ranch, which has a $49 million asking price. She added that she has exclusive listing agreements pending with a few other property owners.

Once settled at the firm, she said she also hopes to build a team, starting with her daughter, who plans to join the company after spending eight years managing commercial real estate in Denver with Hines.

Stapleton launched her real estate career in the commercial sector in Florida before moving to Aspen in 1991, according to a press release. She joined the Coldwell Banker affiliate in 2021 after nearly 12 years with Sotheby’s International Realty.

Representatives with Coldwell Banker Mason Morse did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Stapleton is joining Elliman following a series of major hires at the firm, including Lena Johnson, who took over as the company’s national brokerage president. Johnson, previously the chief marketing officer with One Sotheby’s International in Miami, replaced Scott Durkin, who was terminated from his role as the head of the firm’s brokerage division in 2024.

Elliman first set up shop in Aspen more than a decade ago and has since set its sights on expanding across the “mountain region,” including Denver, Telluride, Sun Valley, Idaho, and Utah, according to its CEO, Michael Liebowitz.

“The whole corridor is ideal for us,” Liebowitz said, adding that the firm hosts an annual conference in Aspen, where he also spends his summers. “It’s a second home for me.”

Stapleton described Aspen’s high-end market as “very active,” though strapped for supply. Its “extremely low” inventory environment has pushed prices upwards, as the “people who really want to be here figure out a way to make it work.”

Despite Aspen’s recent sky-high deals, not every property in the area is flying off the shelf. In July, billionaire Bill Koch’s 52-acre ranch, known as Elk Mountain Lodge, is headed to an online auction. The property had a $99 million asking price in May when the auction was announced, a significant discount from the $125 million it asked when it hit the market in February 2025.