John Lawrence Returns to Douglas Elliman

Douglas Elliman Realty announced today that John Lawrence has rejoined the firm after a short stint at Compass. Along with 18 fellow agents and staff members of The Lawrence Team, the veteran agent and sales manager will be based out of Elliman’s flagship 575 Madison Avenue office, with a presence at the 1995 Broadway, Long Island City, and New Jersey offices. Lawrence is also building the team to include agents and staff members in Westchester, the Hamptons, and Florida.

John Lawrence

A leading presence in the New York City real estate market since 1988, Lawrence began his career by making his first sale on his very first day as a real estate professional. After going on to sell more than 75 townhouses and brownstones in less than two years, he went into sales management, for a large Manhattan based brokerage, where he oversaw the opening of multiple divisions in sales and rentals.

In 2006, Lawrence was personally recruited to Douglas Elliman and spent the next fifteen years overseeing billions in sales from more than 400 brokers across three offices. In 2020, he left sales management to go into sales when he brokered one of the biggest deals in Manhattan at 157 East 57th Street.

“As I’ve said since taking on the privilege of leading this great company, our agents and their expertise are the heart and soul of Douglas Elliman,” said Michael S. Liebowitz, President and CEO of Douglas Elliman Inc. “In this sense, John and the entire Lawrence Team are very much on brand with this brokerage.”

“In addition to being a top-performing agent, John is an exceptional manager and cultivator of talent,” said Richard Ferrari, President and CEO of Brokerage, NYC, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regions. “I look forward to working with him to bolster Douglas Elliman’s reputation as a home for great careers.”

Before deciding to leave Compass in June, John was on the trajectory of doing more than $100 million in estimated 2024 sales volume, The Lawrence Team specializes in Manhattan and the broader Tri-State area, and includes the following members:

Stella Chernoff Rosalie Liebman

Jasmine Daniels Lisa Monroig

Jeanie Danis Barbara Parks

Darren Desrameaux Linda Ruocco

Yosef Diazgranados Josh Sarnell

Bruce Friedberg Sergio Seche

Yosefa Galchen Taraneh Seta

Kimberlee Halligan John Forte

Cris Herrera Tina Wirth

Joelle Larroche

“Having spent much of my career in sales management at Douglas Elliman, I know first-hand that no other brokerage is as committed to the growth and success of its agents and teams,” said John Lawrence, Founder and Principal of The Lawrence Team. “My team and I could not be happier to make our home here at Elliman.”

A lifelong New Yorker and inveterate newshound, John serves on the board of REALM, a membership community representing the top 1% of professionals in the global real estate industry.