Douglas Elliman, Manhattan’s largest residential brokerage, announced at a firm-wide event at Cipriani on Wednesday evening that super agent Melanie Lazenby was the firm’s top individual producer last year, according to a representative for Elliman. Meanwhile, the Eklund-Gomes team took the top team spot, the rep said.
Lazenby, a top broker for many years but never No. 1 before now, said she had aspired to the title since joining the field 14 years ago. “It’s so dorky, but I never won anything in school, so this is really validating,” she told TRD. “It was a lot of hard work … and I’ve been number five, four, two and seven,” at the firm previously, she said.
Finishing second was Frances Langbecker, while Marcos Cohen nabbed the number three slot, a statement from Elliman shows. The awards are based on gross commission income, the representative said.
The Eklund-Gomes team, headed by television star Fredrik Eklund and his partner John Gomes, beat out the Leonard Steinberg-Luxury loft team for the top spot. The De Niro team, headed by Raphael De Niro, offspring of actor Robert Deniro, finished the year in the No. 3 spot.
“It’s so amazing,” said Gomes. When asked how much business he did last year, he said only “a lot.” He said he believed it was the most ever made by a team in the history of the company, but he did not have exact numbers immediately available.
Gomes said he and Eklund were currently looking to expand their purview to Los Angeles and Miami, “the perfect trifecta,” when combined with their New York City business. Elliman just leased space for a Beverly Hills office last month, as The Real Deal reported.
“Next year, we are gong to be spending some time on airplanes. I have already looked into some private jet companies,” Gomes said. “That’s when you know you’re serious.”