Luxury real estate firm John Daugherty Realtors has been sold to Douglas Elliman, a New York brokerage that shook the local industry when it expanded into Houston earlier this year.
The deal, confirmed by Elliman Saturday morning, closed just a week after Daugherty lost two of its best agents to competitor Compass.
Laura Sweeney, the Houston area’s top agent with sales of $130 million last year, and Lisa Kornhauser, the region’s No. 4 agent, joined Compass after each spending some 20 years at the stalwart Daugherty agency.
Elliman, led by New York investor Howard Lorber and known for its multimillion-dollar listings and celebrity agents, expanded into Houston over the summer through a partnership with Sudhoff Cos. Houston-based Sudhoff, which specializes in the high-end condominium market, has rebranded as Douglas Elliman Texas. The company said it intends to expand to other Texas markets.
Elliman operates 120 offices in the country’s largest luxury housing markets, including Beverly Hills, Calif., Aspen, Colo. and the Hamptons in New York.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.