Centurion American VP Leo Amaya Joins Douglas Elliman

A top member of Centurion American’s leadership joined Douglas Elliman.

Leo Amaya, vice president of Crescent Estates Custom Homes, joined the Dallas office of Elliman, according to a press release from the brokerage. Amaya will retain his role at Crescent, leading the development process, but he’ll work as a real estate agent under the Douglas Elliman brand.

“Hanging my license with DE gives me the ability to represent opportunities from the earliest stages through the sale,” Amaya said. “And this still allows me to continue to add strategic value rather than just function as a transactional engine.”

Real estate agents must operate under a brokerage, according to Texas law. Rather than hire an agent for project sales or property acquisitions, Amaya can now directly represent Crescent as a listing agent for the company’s spec mansions, and as a buyer’s agent for land purchases, he said.

Crescent Estates Custom Homes is the luxury homebuilding division of Flower Mound-based Centurion American, Mehrdad Moayedi’s prolific development company. Crescent’s high-profile single-family developments include a group of homes built on land that formerly belonged to the Crespi Estate on Walnut Hill Lane in Dallas.

Amaya joined the company nine years ago as a sales representative after befriending Moayedi, who encouraged him to get his real estate license. He was promoted to vice president of Crescent three years ago.

His career sales volume exceeds $200 million, according to Amaya.

Crescent Estates also started work last year on The Residences at Creek Hollow, a $35 million, 31-unit luxury townhome project near Marsh Lane in Dallas, and recently completed the Water’s Edge Condominiums on Lewisville Lake in Dallas. Sales are underway for The Residences at Routh, a luxury condo project that Crescent developed at 3610 Routh Street, also in Dallas.

Elsewhere in Texas, Douglas Elliman recently poached top Houston luxury agent Dana Johnson from Compass, and brought on Aspen agent Tommy Kanarellis to sell the Ritz-Carlton Residences of Houston. Douglas Elliman lost Austin agent Michael Reisor to Compass last month.

Nationally, Douglas Elliman suffered from several high-profile personnel losses last year, including executives Scott Durken and Richard Lampen.

Crescent Estates is in the process of rezoning 4 acres in Dallas for a single-family development of 42 homes, Amaya said.