Ellies 2021: Celebrating Douglas Elliman’s Top Talent Nationwide

On Thursday, March 4 th  Douglas Elliman announced the winners of the 2021 Ellie Awards, which honor the firm’s top performing agents throughout the nation for 2020. “While this past year was extremely challenging, our talented agents persevered. Through their hard work and dedication, our brokerage was able to surpass its 2019 sales volume despite a global pandemic,” said Douglas Elliman Executive Chairman Howard M. Lorber. Nationwide sales for Douglas Elliman in 2020 totaled $29.6 billion as the company continued its nationwide growth into new markets. The firm was responsible for 46,303 sales and rental transactions. The following are the top individuals, top teams, Rookies of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Award winners in Manhattan , Brooklyn , Long Island , The Hamptons , Westchester , Connecticut , Massachusetts , Florida , California , Colorado and Texas . MANHATTAN  “Even in unprecedented times, our agents continued to perform at the top of the market in New York City due to their hard work and determination.” – Steven James, President and CEO of Douglas Elliman New York City Earning first place for Top Teams by Gross Commission Income (GCI) in Manhattan was The Holly Parker Team out of the 690 Washington office. Taking home this year’s #1 spot for Top Individuals by GCI was Jennifer Kalish , who is based out of the 1995 Broadway office. Rounding out the awards for Top Teams by GCI were  The Noble Black Team (#2), The Rubin Team (#3), The Shemesh Team (#4), The Lindsay Barton Barrett Team (#5), Alexander Team (#6), The Eileen Hsu Team (#7), The Anderson-Ehrmann Team (#8), The Jacky Teplitzky Team (#9), Lauren Muss and The Katzen Team (tied #10), The Michael Lorber Team (#11), The Tavivian Team (#12), The Rosa Pereira Team (#13), The Mackay Dixon Team (#14), The Lense Team and Doug BowenZia O’Hara Team (tied #15), The Patricia Vance Team (#16), Sabrina Saltiel Team (#17), Janice Chang Team and T he Peraino & Lawrence Team (tied #18), The Zweben Team (#19) and Nickman | O’Neal Team (#20). In the number two spot for Top Individuals by GCI was Ann Cutbill Lenane (#2), Andrew Azoulay (#3), Emily Sertic (#4), Elena Sarkissian (#5), Sarah Burke (#6), Rachel Medalie (#7). Joshua Lieberman (#8), Neal Sroka (#9), Jason Walker (#10), Lila Nejad (#11), Diane Johnson (#12), Madeline Hult Elghanayan and Marcos G. Cohen (tied #13), Suzan Kremer (#14), Jane Powers and J. Roger Erickson (tied #15), Cybele Kadagian (#16), Gisela Vergara (#17), Eleonora Srugo (#18), Janna Raskopf (#19) and Elana Schoppmann (#20). The award for Top Team by Transactions was won by The Rubin Team . The award for Top Individual by Transactions went to Ann Cutbill Lenane . Additional Top Teams by Transactions were The Tavivian Team (#2), The Shemesh Team (#3), The Rosa Pereira Team (#4) and The Holly Parker Team (#5). The Top 5 Individual Agents by Transactions were rounded out by Rachel Medalie (#2), Jennifer Kalish (#3), Joshua Lieberman and Maria Capotorto (tied #4), Rafael Silva , David Glick and Patricia Levy (tied #5). For Manhattan, the Top Retail and Commercial Award by GCI and units was given to The Dana Commercial Team (#1) followed by The Puopolo Team (#2). The Mindreau Team was named the firm’s Top Rental Team by Transactions in Manhattan and were followed by The Rothman Team (#2), The Sicari Team (#3), The Azaria Team (#4) and The Tavivian Team and The Leibowitz Team (tied #5). Keyan Sanai based out of the 575 Madison Avenue office, was named the firm’s Top Rental Individual by Transactions in Manhattan. He was followed by Janna Raskopf (#2), Andrea Anzaldo (Weksler) (#3), Jonathan Aka (#4) and Jessica Wolf (#5). A Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Belinda Brackenridge of Manhattan’s 575 Madison Avenue office for her career-long contributions to the business, and Peco (Pete) Angjeleski and Dana Romita tied for Rookie of the Year for Manhattan. BROOKLYN In Brooklyn, T he Scott Robles Team , led by Aran Scott and Anthony Robles of the 190 Fifth Avenue office, were named Top Team by Gross Commission Income.  Additional top teams included The Maroni Team (#2), The Peters Breese Team (#3), The Rebecca Goldberg Team (#4) and Altschuler Bartolucci Team (#5). Bren Salamon  of the 43 5 th Avenue office was named Top Individual by GCI in Brooklyn, followed by Rebekah Carver (#2), Daniel Soldano (#3), Adam Kramer (#4) and Myrel Glick (#5). The Top Team by Transactions in Brooklyn also went to The Scott Robles Team. They were followed by The Peters Breese Team (#2), The Maroni Team (#3), The Rebecca Goldberg Team (#4) and Altschuler Bartolucci Team (#5). The number one spot for Top Individuals by Transactions in Brooklyn was awarded to Robert Nicoletti of the 187 7 th Avenue office, followed by Bren Salamon (#2), Rebekah Carver (#3), Daniel Soldano (#4) and Gavriel Ilyabayev (#5). Altschuler Bartolucci Team was named the Top Rental Team by Transactions in Brooklyn. Klevi Tomcini won the same distinction for Brooklyn’s Top Rental Individual by Transactions. Other Top Rental Teams by Transactions included The Golovko Team (#2), The Sepulveda Team (#3), The Mazurek Team (#4) and The Minsky Abrishami Team (#5). Additional Top Rental Individuals by Transactions included Diana Hermanowski (#2), Allan Gerovitz (#3), Bren Salamon (#4) and Michael Gidaly (#5). Christina Kremidas , based out of the 664 Fulton Street office, took home Elliman’s Rookie of the Year award for Brooklyn. LONG ISLAND “I am incredibly proud of our Douglas Elliman Long Island team, who worked diligently throughout a difficult and disruptive year to maintain strong market leadership.” – Ann Conroy, Chief Executive Officer of Douglas Elliman’s Long Island Division Taking home the Top Individual prize based on Gross Commission Income (GCI) for Long Island was Maggie Keats from the Port Washington office.  The award for Top Team by GCI for Long Island went to The Maria Babaev Team from the Roslyn office. Additional Top Individuals by GCI on Long Island were Annette Mina (#2), Irene Rallis (#3), Lynda Olita (#4), Regina Rogers (#5), Joyce Coletti (#6), Ronnie Gerber (#7), Linda Freedman (#8), Barbara Leogrande (#9), Kristy Naddell (#10), Jing Sun (#11), Michelle Keegan (#12), Jill Berman (#13), Scott Bennett (#14), Jason Orsini (#15), Maria Orlandi (#16), Paul Mateyunas (#17), Joseph Scavo (#18), Christine Malloy (#19) and Stephanie Calinoff (#20). Rounding out the Top Long Island Teams by GCI were The Korman Frade Team (#2), The TripodiShemtov Team (#3), the Louise Pitlake Power Team (#4), Team Scarito (#5), The Lina Lopes Team (#6), The Gutermuth Copersino Team (#7), The Pascullo-Salegna Team (#8), The Alex Rubin Team (#9), the Bryn Elliott Team (#10), the Tina Canaris Team (#11), The Joyce Roe Team (#12), T he Jo Ann Boettcher Team (#13), The Evans Llorens Team (#14), The Paul Conforti Team (#15), The Lisa Jaeger Team (#16), the Carr Falabella Team (#17), The Evangelista Team (#18), The Donofrio Team (#19) and The Drucker-Fishbein Team (#20). Annette Mina , of the East Islip office, was recognized as the Top Individual Agent by number of transactions on Long Island, and  The Korman Frade Team took home the team award in the same category. Other individual Long Island agents recognized in the top five based on closed units were Michelle Keegan  (#2),  Joyce Coletti  (#3),  Lisa Hendrickson  (#4) and Barbara Leogrande  (#5). Completing the list of Long Island’s Top 5 Teams by transactions were The TripodiShemtov Team (#2), The Lina Lopes Team (#3), the Louise Pitlake Power Team (#4) and Team Scarito (#5). Wendy Sanders (#1) of the Great Neck office and Andrea Tafuri (#2) of the Long Beach office took home the awards for Top Rental Agents on Long Island, and the DE Title Service Award for highest gross premium was given to Sherri Mirando . Christopher Pesce received the award for Top Commercial Agent for Long Island followed by Benedetto Indiviglia and Rozita Soomekh tied in the #2 spot. Glen Fox of Elliman’s Long Beach office took home the Rookie of the Year Award for Long Island, and Elyse Mayer of the Syosset office was recognized for her career-long contributions to the business with the Lifetime Achievement Award. THE HAMPTONS “Undoubtedly, we navigated uncharted waters in 2020 and experienced a market that we’ve never before seen in The Hamptons.” – Todd Bourgard, Douglas Elliman’s Senior Executive Regional Manager of Sales for the Hamptons In the Hamptons, Elliman closed $2.9 Billion in sales volume in 2020 – a staggering $1.5 Billion over the previous year’s volume. “Our Hamptons agents rose to the occasion, expertly adapting to unforeseen changes in the way we do business, and in the end, we broke more records in the number of sales and in the volume of sales than we ever thought possible,” said Bourgard. In the Hamptons, the top individual prize based on Gross Commission Income was awarded to Michaela Keszler from the Southampton office. Additional individuals recognized by GCI were Erica Grossman (#2), Martha Gundersen (#3), Paul Brennan (#4), Adam Hofer (#5), Lynda Packard (#6), Thomas Cavallo (#7), Susan Ceslow (#8), Brian Hagadorn (#9), Priscilla Garston (#10), Sara Goldfarb (#11), Dawn Neway (#12), Marc (Aaron) Curti (#13), Brenda Giufurta (#14), Susan Hovdesven (#15), David Donahue (#16), Denise Wilder (#17), William Wolff (#18), Lauren Spiegel (#19) and Patrick McLaughlin (#20). The Hamptons award for Top Team by GCI went to The Atlantic Team of the East Hampton office, led by Justin Agnello , Hara Kang and James Keogh . Other Top 10 Teams by GCI in the Hamptons included The Enzo Morabito Team (#2), The BraunRosko Team (#3), The Terry Thompson Team (#4), and The Tunick Team (#5). The Atlantic Team was also named the Top Performing Team by number of transactions for the Hamptons, followed by The Enzo Morabito Team ( #2), The Terry Thompson Team (#3), The BraunRosko Team (#4) and The PortoFrancavilla Team (#5). The Top Individual prize based on transactions went to Angelica Cocha , from the Hampton Bays office. Other winners were Susan Ceslow (#2), Michaela Keszler (#3), Thomas Cavallo (#4), and Robert Landsiedel (#5). The coveted award for Hamptons Rookie of the Year went to Paulina Keszler . WESTCHESTER In Westchester, earning first place for Top Teams by Gross Commission Income was  The Strong Oestreich Elwell Team . Other top teams included  The DeBellis Team (#2), The Oliveira Team (#3), The Akin Pinkas Team (#4) and The Sarlo Sales Team (#5). Westchester’s Top Individual by GCI was Margaret Harrington of the Katonah office. Other top individuals included  Glorianne Mattesi (#2),  Sally Slater  (#3), Melissa Frank-Lutz (#4) and Maura McSpedon  (#5). The Top 5 Teams by Transactions in Westchester were led by  The DeBellis Team and included  The Strong Oestreich Elwell Team (#2), The Oliveira Team (#3) and The Miguel Cabrera Team (#4). The Top 5 Individuals by Transactions in Westchester were led by  Margaret Harrington  and included  Glorianne Mattesi  (#2),  Maura McSpedon  (#3), Eileen McGrath  (#4) and Vincent Vetrano  (#5). CONNECTICUT In Connecticut, earning first place for Top Teams by Gross Commission Income was The Jennifer Leahy Team . They were followed by The Magnuson-Tamigian Team  (#2) and The Malloy Group  (#3). The Top Individuals by GCI in Connecticut were led by  Monica Webster  and included  William Martin  (#2),  Jennifer Ho  (#3),  Mary Ann Clark  (#4) and  Clare Guest  (#5). The Top 2 Teams by Transactions in Connecticut were led by  The Jennifer Leahy Team  (#1) and The Malloy Group (#2). The Top Individuals by Transactions in Connecticut were led by Monica Webster . She was followed by  William Martin  (#2), Jennifer Ho  (#3),  Clare Guest  (#4) and  Mary Ann Clark  (#5). MASSACHUSETTS “We are thrilled to congratulate and thank our agents for their well-earned achievements. Their hard work has paid off, and we look forward to the same high-level success in 2021.” – Lisa Rainis, Executive Manager of Sales for Douglas Elliman’s Boston Division In 2020, Douglas Elliman’s Boston Division achieved $321,900,000 in sales volume and earned the highest recorded residential sale in Massachusetts for the year, with Paul Fireman’s Brookline estate at 150 Woodland Road and adjacent acreage selling for a total $41,000,000. Earning first place for Top Team by Gross Commission Income was  The Sarkis Team . Other top teams included the Live in Luxury Team (#2) and the Bowers-Jedlin Team (#3). Boston’s Top Individual by GCI was  Elaine Dolley . Other top individuals included  Myrna Rothman  (#2),  Mario Massimino  (#3),  Fred Alibrandi  (#4) and Karen J. Christie  (#5). The Top 3 Teams by Transactions in Boston were led by  The Sarkis Team and included the  Live in Luxury Team (#2) and the  Bowers-Jedlin Team (#3). The Top 5 Individuals by Transactions in Boston were led by  Eric Labarre  and included  Myrna Rothman and Fred Alibrandi (tied for #2), Mario Massimino  (#3), Candace Klapman (#4) and Elaine Dolley (#5). Roy Bahnam  received Elliman’s Rookie of the Year award for Boston. FLORIDA “Our agents showed a tremendous amount of resilience, creativity, determination, sensitivity and perseverance, triumphing over adversity which resulted in Douglas Elliman’s continued legacy of achieving record breaking deals.” – Jay Phillip Parker, CEO of Douglas Elliman Florida Douglas Elliman Florida marked a banner year in 2020, expanding into new markets including Jacksonville’s Ponte Vedra Beach, closed on numerous record breaking sales, launched several new developments and welcomed multiple top agents into the firm. Furthermore, the Florida brokerage closed just shy of $7 billion in total sales for 2020, up 32% from last year. The Top 10 Teams for Florida by Gross Commission Income were led by the Alexander Team , followed by the Leavitt McIntosh Team (#2), Carmenate Duchon (#3), The Senada Adzem Team (#4), David Siddons Group (#5), Bill and Bryan Team (#6), The Randy & Nick Team (#7), DMK Group (#8), Pablo Alfaro Group (#9) and The Bretzlaff Group (#10). The Top 10 Agents for Florida by GCI were led by Gary Pohrer , based out of Palm Beach. He was followed by Dina Goldentayer (#2), Samantha Curry (#3), Martha Jolicoeur (#4), Maria Mendelsohn (#5), Matthias Fretz (#6), Diana Garchitorena (#7), Cyril Matz (#8), Miltiadis Kastanis (#9) and Leeor Bar-Haim (#10). Oliver Lloyd , based out of Miami, received Florida’s Rookie of the Year award. Dan Colangelo , based in Palm Beach, received the Lifetime Achievement award. CALIFORNIA “Despite COVID-19, it was a strong year for Elliman across the country and I am extremely proud of our brokers here in California for their accomplishments during the most unusual and challenging year of our time.” – Stephen Kotler, CEO of Douglas Elliman’s Western Region In California, where sales volume surged to $5.4 billion in 2020 (up 15% YoY), The Altman Brothers Team was named the firm’s Top Team by Gross Commission Income. The Altman Brothers were followed by Carswell and Associates (#2), Solomon Property Group (#3),  The Jason Streatfeild Team  (#4), The Werth Group (#5), the Tracy Tutor Team  (#6), The Brad Feldman Group (#7), The Chad Lund Team  (#8), The Durkovic Group (#9), Scott Moore Group (#10),  Discher Group (#11), Heather & Learka  (#12), The Scrocco & Isaacs Team (#13),  Szigeti & OC Luxury Group (#14), The Tom Unvert Team (#15), McCormick Group (#16), Pugh-Thompson & Associates (#17), Ross & Ryan Group (#18), The John Iglar Group (#19) and The Denine Kerns Team (#20). The award for Top Individual Agent by GCI in California went to  Juliette Hohnen  for the third consecutive year. Other winners in this category included  Pegi DiRienzo  (#2),  Mark Kitching and Rachelle Rosten  tied for the third position (#3), Holly Danna  (#4), Scott James  (#5), Ivan Estrada  (#6), Bree Hughes and Olga Lavalle  tied for the seventh position (#7), Melissa Alt (#8), Marshall Peck (#9), Leslie Romenesko  (#10), Brendan Fitzpatrick (#11), Dena Luciano and Josh Reef tied for the twelfth position (#12), David Stoll (#13), Justin Bodien (#14), Andy Stavros (#15), Christopher Parr (#16), Alissa Cunningham (#17), Ani Dermenjian (#18), Nancy Hochman (#19) and Naomi Selick (#20). Manhattan Beach agent Laura Chavers was named California’s Rookie of the Year. COLORADO Voted “Best Real Estate Firm in Aspen” by  The Aspen Times  in its annual “Best of” survey for 2020., the Douglas Elliman Colorado Division saw an exponential 138% increase in sales volume in 2020. “I am incredibly proud of our brokers in Aspen and Snowmass for displaying tenacity and resiliency during this time of uncertainty,” said Stephen Kotler, CEO of Douglas Elliman’s Western Region. “Their extraordinary dedication and commitment contributed to our strong financial performance last year and is carrying us into 2021 with momentum. Congratulations to the best crew in the business.” In Colorado, the Saslove and Warwick Team was named the firm’s Top Team by Gross Commission Income (GCI). They were followed by The Bass Wogan Team (#2), Guilander Farrell Team (#3), The Rulon Kelly Team (#4) and the Engel Lansburgh Team (#5). The award for Top Individual Agent by GCI in Colorado went to  Brittanie Rockhill for the second consecutive year. Other winners in this category included  Michael Latousek  (#2),  Melanie Muss (#3), Susan Hershey  (#4), Gary Kelly  (#5), Ashley Chod  (#6), Layne Shea (#7), Max Taam  (#8), Danny Becker (#9) and Julia Herman (#10). TEXAS “It has been fascinating to watch the rapid migration into Texas from states like California and New York. Tack on Texans moving around the state and it makes for a ridiculously hot market. We’re on fire and all signs are pointing in an upward direction.” – Jacob Sudhoff, CEO of Douglas Elliman Texas In 2020, sales in Texas more than doubled to a new record, fueled by record-low mortgage rates and tax-driven inbound migration. In its first year, Douglas Elliman Texas secured 40% of the $10 million+ listings in the ultra prime market across Houston. Earning first place by Gross Commission Income (GCI) in Houston was Cathy Cagle and Sarah Callaway Sulma . In the number two spot for Top Individuals by GCI was Adriana Banks (#2), Renay Cohen (#3), Kathy Hamilton (#4), Moni Bohnisch (#5), Jeanine Kaminski-Ditzel (#6), Patricia Reed (#7), Richard Ray (#8), Rosie Meyers (#9), Marc Ziegler (#10), Sharon Dreyer (#11), Stephanie Aron-Weiss (#12), Cindy Caryl (#13), Jamie Barrere (#14), Leigh Stubbs (#15), Beth Cassidy (#16), Gigi Huang , (#17), Nicholas Moncada (#18), James Kwon (#19) and Agatha Brann (#20). The award for Top Individual by Transactions went to Renay Cohen . Additional Top Agents by Transactions were rounded out by Rosie Meyers (#2), Richard Ray (#3), Adriana Banks (#4), Cathy Cagle & Sarah Callaway Sulma (#5). The Avi Sheleg Team was named the firm’s Top Rental Team by Transactions in Texas. A Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Dora Ramirez for her career-long contributions to the business, and Susan Martin was named Rookie of the Year. Visit elliman.com to find your next home today.