Fresh off a $370 million funding round, Compass has hired Brown Harris Stevens’ top Downtown broker.
Rachel Glazer and her four-person team have joined the SoftBank-backed firm and will work out of the 110 Fifth Avenue office starting today, the company said. As BHS’ top Downtown broker for several years running, Glazer consistently sells between $80 million and $100 million a year, Compass said. She logged $92.8 million in sales in 2017, according to research firm Real Trends.
Glazer, who spent 12 years at BHS, said she hadn’t been looking to move but was swayed after seeing Compass’ marketing resources. “They’ve proven they’re really changing the industry,” said Glazer, whose team includes Douglas Bellitto, Bridget Little, Cassie Glover, and Ilana Lee. “Because of all the funding they have, it’s just another level beyond what any other brokerage can offer,” she said.
Glazer said she told her sales manager, Steve Klym, that she was leaving on Wednesday afternoon. “It wasn’t an easy decision,” she said. In addition to Compass’ marketing resources, she said she was pulled by the opportunity to work on new developments — an area that Compass is ramping up following its acquisition of Stribling & Associates. And Glazer cited the benefit of Compass Concierge, which fronts the cost of home repairs for sellers. “It’s a huge thing, more so than the tech. It’s a way to win listings,” she said. “No other brokerage offers anything like that.”
Glazer said she timed the move to take place during the summer, when business is slower. Her current listings include a four-bedroom penthouse at 345 West 13th Street, asking $12.5 million, as well as a three-bedroom at One57, asking $10.95 million.
It’s unclear if she’ll take those listings with her; last month, the Corcoran Group’s parent company, Realogy, filed an explosive lawsuit accusing Compass of illegal business practices including overly aggressive agent poaching.
Since then, Compass has been back in the news for closing a Series G round that valued the brokerage at $6.4 billion and fueled IPO rumors.
Glazer’s move comes amid a heavy period of broker trading. Martha Gundersen, a top Hamptons broker, joined Douglas Elliman this week after 17 years at BHS.
But in recent weeks, BHS has hired several former Stribling agents who opted to cut ties with Compass. Last month, Dana Buckley joined BHS, as did the mother-daughter team of Patricia Beckwith and Charlotte Beckwith Quadri from Compass (via Stribling). Patricia Beckwith was one of Stribling’s eight founding members.
Compass, which has raised $1.5 billion to date, and BHS, which is privately owned by Terra Holdings, were the No. 3 and 4 residential firms in Manhattan, respectively, according to The Real Deal’s most recent ranking of brokerages. But BHS’ strong hold on the luxury market meant its 704 agents closed $2.01 billion in sell-side deals in 2018, compared to Compass’ 1,064 agents who sold $1.81 billion.