Houston, Douglas Elliman has landed.
The New York City-based luxury brokerage announced on Tuesday a partnership with Sudhoff Companies, a 9-year-old brokerage that specializes in selling and marketing newly constructed luxury condominiums, townhomes, and single-family homes.
“Like Los Angeles, Houston is experiencing a vertical living phenomenon, and because many of our clients in Colorado, California and Florida hail from Houston, we felt the time was right for a strategic move to Texas,” said Douglas Elliman executive chairman Howard M. Lorber in a press release.
“It was important to find a company whose integrated approach to real estate development mirrored that of Douglas Elliman, and we have found a true partner in Sudhoff Companies.”
With the partnership, Sudhoff will now operate as Douglas Elliman Texas — making Douglas Elliman the leader in condominium developments in Houston with an 85 percent market share. Douglas Elliman Texas currently represents $500 million in current new developments, including Giorgetti Houston, The River Oaks, The Sophie, The Revere, and The Hawthorne.
Jacob Sudhoff will remain the CEO of Douglas Elliman Texas and Catherine Lee will keep her role as the company’s president and COO, leading a team of 50 brokers who are expected to rake in $1.4 billion in sales over the upcoming year.
“After nearly a decade of building this company and partnering with more than 60 top builders and developers this alliance with Douglas Elliman is going to make an even bigger impact on the Texas development landscape,” said Sudhoff in a prepared statement. “We are offering our clients even greater exposure through Elliman’s national reach and global alliance with Knight Frank.”
Jacob Sudhoff | Photo courtesy of Douglas Elliman
“This will further allow us to bring even greater value to developers and homeowners and optimize our customer satisfaction,” he added.
This partnership will expand Douglas Elliman’s network to 120 offices with 7,000 sales associates across the United States. That office count is sure to grow over the next year, as Sudhoff plans to expand Douglas Elliman Texas to Dallas and Austin, according to an interview with The Real Deal.
Beyond increasing its office and agent count, the venture with Sudhoff is sure to help the company bounce back from a slightly disappointing 2018, where the brokerage’s profits fell by 75 percent. Elliman did manage to rake in $754.1 million in 2018, a $31.8 million increase from the previous year.
During February’s earnings call, Lorber said the brokerage would “need to be more competitive” in recruiting more good brokers, and the former-Sudhoff Companies seems to fit the bill with 28.6 billion in total closed sales volume nationwide.
“We are thrilled to have formed a joint venture with Jacob and his team at Sudhoff Companies,” said Douglas Elliman president and COO Scott Durkin. “This move will offer Douglas Elliman a competitive edge as we enter into this new market.”
