In the ongoing tug-of-war for top agents, Corcoran Group has wrestled back eight boomerang agents from Compass and recruited an additional eight agents from Compass to the New York City-based brand.
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After a four-year stint at Compass, The Marcus-Wells Team, formerly known as the Pam Marcus Team, has boomeranged back to the Corcoran Group, the brokerage has informed Inman exclusively.
Led by top 1.5 percent-nationwide agent Pamela Marcus and her partner Philip Wells, the team also includes Liz Schwartzberg, Siena Green and Savannah Likitsakos. They are now all affiliated with Corcoran’s East Side office, which is led by Senior Managing Directors Helen Monti and Tim Rettaliata.
Pamela Marcus | Corcoran
“I’m thrilled to be back at Corcoran,” Marcus said in a statement. “I’ve received such a warm welcome, and with so many familiar faces, this return feels like a homecoming. Between the confidence that the renowned Corcoran brand instills in not only me, but also my clients, and the brokerage’s unwavering commitment to their agents’ success, I could not be more certain that I’m in the right place to amplify my business.”
Marcus was named a top 1.5 percent agent nationwide by RealTrends in 2022 and 2023, and was awarded REBNY’s Deal of the Year in 2019. She has repped a number of high-profile transactions throughout her career, including the late actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr.’s Park Ave apartment, and co-represented the Upper East Side townhouse featured in Harriet the Spy in 2021.
Philip Wells | Corcoran
Marcus, Wells and Schwartzberg are all agents who were previously with Corcoran and are now making a return to the brokerage. The move marks Green’s and Likitsakos’ first time at Corcoran.
While at Compass, the team, which was founded in 2020, was known as the Pam Marcus Team. With the return to Corcoran, the team has changed its name to The Marcus-Wells Team.
In addition to those returning members of The Marcus-Wells Team, a number of other agents are marking a boomerang back to Corcoran from Compass, including Haruno Arai (previously at Corcoran for 20 years) and Ippei Iwashiro (previously at Corcoran for seven years) of the Iwashiro Arai Team; Johanna Beiter, who was previously with the firm for over 10 years before 2018; Dina Sontag, who was with the firm for five years; and Andrew Schwartz of the James Weiss Team, who was previously with Corcoran for about six years.
Pamela Liebman | Corcoran Group
“I’m so pleased to see all of these impressive agents back at Corcoran and love the opportunity to welcome new members to our team,” Pamela Liebman, Corcoran president and CEO, said in a statement. “Corcoran is the No. 1 brokerage in New York City with a formidable presence in some of the country’s most discerning markets. I am confident that these agents and teams will achieve even greater success with the resources and power of the Corcoran brand behind them.”
Corcoran has also brought on a substantial roster of Compass agents entirely new to the Corcoran brand:
- The James Weiss Team, led by James Weiss, also includes Ty Mabry, Alex Grapstein and the aforementioned Andrew Schwartz.
- Jennifer Bowden, who had a career on Wall Street before launching her now 20-year real estate career, also joins Corcoran.
- William Stafford, who represented developer The Moinian Group in sales of 123 Washington Street.
- Nicholas Andreassi comes to the brand with Juan Benitez from Mont Sky Real Estate to form The Andreassi Benitez Team.
- Sonia Brown, who has worked in real estate in New York City for about 10 years and represented Norah Jones in the 2019 sale of her $8 million townhouse.
On top of these moves to Corcoran Group, one of the brand’s franchisees, the Greenwich, Connecticut-based Corcoran Centric Realty, has also welcomed former Compass team The Tri-Star Team to its ranks. The team, which includes team leader Ronald Nyman and agents Susanne Lapsien and Alec Nyman, has brought in about $20 million in sales volume consistently over the last three years. The team’s client base features both locals to Fairfield County and visitors looking to invest in a vacation property.
The series of moves is yet another play for top talent as brokerage rivalries amp up while weathering a more challenging market. Compass has also done its part to recruit top agents and has brought on a top Rhode Island-based Sotheby’s International Realty team and the No. 1 indie brokerage in Central Texas in recent months.
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