Howard Hanna Real Estate Services has entered the Manhattan market with the acquisition of Elegran Real Estate, marking the arrival of the nation’s largest independent brokerage in New York City.
The move brings a fundamentally different ownership model to a market where the majority of market share is controlled by publicly traded companies and private equity–backed firms. It’s also the culmination of a years-long strategy by Howard Hanna to create the largest firm in the tristate area. We sat down with the leadership from Howard Hanna and Elegran for a look at what this monumental acquisition means for Manhattan real estate.
The Manhattan Move
The October acquisition of Elegran came after a decade of growth across New York State that saw Howard Hanna close nearly 103,000 transactions company-wide in 2024, generating close to $37 billion in total sales volume. The company is now the largest brokerage in New York, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
“We’re the largest brokerage in five states,” says Howard W. “Hoby” Hanna IV, Chief Executive Officer. “Now it’s time to be who we are in Manhattan, the epicenter of the country’s real estate.”
The Elegran acquisition is the final step in Howard Hanna’s tristate strategy. The brokerage has 50 offices with nearly 3,500 agents in the region, the largest such firm in the tristate area, but the hole in the middle was always Manhattan.
“It’s the city that connects all those markets,” says Matt Rand, President of Howard Hanna New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
For Elegran’s Michael Rossi, the decision to join Howard Hanna was straightforward. “Howard Hanna was very intentional in how they surrounded the city,” he says. “We were the infill.”
Standing out from the crowd
The deliberate planning and execution of this years-long regional strategy sets Howard Hanna apart in an industry that is increasingly defined by mindless consolidation.
While the Compass acquisition, which brought Manhattan’s top ten brands under a single brokerage, may have grabbed headlines, it left agents in the lurch. Antitrust considerations aside, a top-heavy, competition-light market does a disservice to consumers and agents alike.
“Everyone else at the top end is either publicly traded or owned by private equity, and they run their decisions in a very different way,” says Rand. “They’re making decisions for the capital market. We’re making decisions for real estate cycles and for what’s in the best interest of our buyers, sellers and agents.”
Rossi, who chose to bring his Manhattan firm under the Howard Hanna umbrella, puts it even more bluntly.
“At the end of the day,” he says, “the leadership of those companies is accountable to shareholders, not their employees.”
Howard Hanna offers clients and agents the resources and confidence of a leading firm backed by the stability of family ownership and decades of real estate experience.
“We’ve been around since 1957, and we have grown as a real estate brokerage and services company,” says Hanna. “We have CEOs who know the brokerage business.”
The company points to its retention track record as proof. Agents across their existing markets who produce at the highest levels tend to stay with Howard Hanna
“Talk to our agents and they’ll tell you that we help you grow your business,” he says. “Not just in the short term, but in the long term.”
Howard Hanna: built different
Beyond ownership philosophy, Howard Hanna has established an operational infrastructure that few brokerages can match. The firm offers an integrated suite of mortgage, title and insurance services, giving agents everything they need to move a deal from contract to close under one roof.
The company was named the Most Innovative Brokerage in 2025 by Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, but leadership isn’t just adding to the firm’s tech stack to garner awards.
“It’s not technology for technology’s sake,” explains Rand. “We focus on best practices, streamlining and automating processes, developing content, and making systems simple so agents can integrate them into their daily business.”
Hanna describes an integrated platform that spans CRM, marketing solutions and AI-powered tools. The company has built what it calls a “data lake” from its mortgage, title, insurance and property management businesses. This resource feeds agents predictive insights and client propensity data so they know exactly which clients to contact each week.
In the works is a new listing distribution platform designed to increase exposure, reduce days on market and maximize final sale prices by giving buyers earlier visibility into new homes entering the market.”
Under a unified leadership across the region, licensed agents can now work seamlessly across offices in the city and suburbs, opening referral and co-broke opportunities that didn’t exist before.
“Our agents are independent contractors, but our relationship with the brokerage is a true partnership,” says Rossi. “Not only are we the largest independent firm, it’s family run. They understand the demands of this business, which brings both compassion and empathy to every interaction.”
The Howard Hanna vision comes to Manhattan
For Howard Hanna, the Manhattan market isn’t an experiment, but the result of years of careful expansion and cultivation.
Actively recruiting across the city and a potential Brooklyn expansion signal a company that’s building for the long term—exactly the way it has for nearly seven decades.
“We’re already seeing the difference in terms of agent attraction and opportunities,” says Hanna. “Agents and consumers are looking for a company to partner with that is built differently. Our vision for Howard Hanna is to provide that difference in the market.”