This NYC Broker Tapped Elliman’s Agent, New Dev Networks to Close a Milestone Deal in Miami
by ELLIMAN INSIDER TEAM
July 2026
Earlier this spring, Mary Beth Adelson helped her longtime clients to purchase a penthouse at Rivage Bal Harbour, in Miami. While the transaction represented a major milestone for the luxury development, achieving the building’s highest price per square foot, it was also notable on two counts: the Rivage is one of the most coveted Miami addresses in the Douglas Elliman Development Marketing (DEDM) portfolio, and Adelson, an Elliman agent based in New York City, is not licensed in Florida.
In other words, this deal exemplified the unique opportunity that enables Elliman agents to tap into the brokerage’s powerful, parallel networks of exceptional colleagues and extraordinary new development properties across markets.
For Adelson, it began with the connections she’s made with fellow agents at the many gatherings Elliman organizes throughout the year and around the world.
“Over the years, I've gone on all the Elliman trips—to London, Dubai, Aspen, Vegas—so I’ve developed really deep relationships and close friendships with agents all over the world,” she said, noting that her longtime clients know this. “I’ve referred them to Elliman agents in other markets in the past, so they know I have those relationships.”
When Adelson’s clients told her they were ready to buy in Florida, initially in Palm Beach, she knew particular agents who would be a good match for the clients’ need for privacy and absolute discretion.
“I started with Cara Coniglio, who was fabulous — she dropped everything to put together great showings for us,” Adelson said. “They probably saw about 15 properties in Palm Beach over the course of two visits. On their second trip down, they stayed in Miami, at the Four Seasons in Brickell, and they realized how much fun it could be to actually live in Miami.”
In pivoting to focus on new developments in Miami, Adelson reached out to Elliman’s Tracy Galya, a member of the sales team at Rivage Bal Harbour, along with her husband, Ray Jacomo. And here is where the connections among the agents, DEDM and the development partners at Rivage proved invaluable.
“Ray did a fabulous job with them,” she said. “Working together with him, we essentially designed a bespoke residence that wasn’t even on the market. The developer was really willing to work with my clients, so they were able to lay out the rooms exactly as they wanted them and choose the number of bathrooms and bedrooms based on the square footage.”
None of this would have been possible, Adelson said, without the foundation of mutual trust that was already in place.
“My clients were not willing to commit to anything until the developer gave them exactly what they wanted,” she said. “If I was working with a developer cold, they would’ve told me to pound sand. But the brokers in Florida were able to say, ‘Mary Beth is a totally reliable and solid broker, she knows these clients really well, and we are willing to stake our reputations on the fact that she will deliver so long as we do the same.’”
Now officially a Rivage Bal Harbour Ambassador, Adelson encourages her fellow New York agents to reach out to learn more about opportunities at the building. In addition to noting that Elliman agents in other markets can refer clients to DEDM projects and collect referral fees, she emphasized that because Rivage was registered with the New York Attorney General, she was able to market the project to her local clientele. And with the trend of buyers seeking homes in both New York City and South Florida continuing unabated, she encourages her fellow Elliman agents in New York to collaborate with their colleagues down south.
“There's so many opportunities right now in Miami — and with the commissions that they're paying, it's really worth it to talk to your friends and figure out if anybody's considering a purchase down there,” she said. “We are so well-equipped with great brokers there, so we can plug into that Miami expertise and still use our New York licenses.”
Coming full circle, Adelson again stressed the importance of her connections with agents across markets — something she says is unique to Elliman’s culture.
“I know someone who was a real estate broker for many years and didn't understand why I was going on these trips because they’re a significant commitment of money and time,” she said. “But they have certainly paid for themselves in terms of the business referred to me and that I've referred out. Some firms do an annual trip. The fact that Douglas Elliman does lots of smaller trips, as well as our annual conference, is so helpful. If I didn't have my relationships within these markets, I don't think I'd be as successful as I am.”
Q: Can a New York-licensed real estate agent sell property in Florida?
A: New York-licensed agents can work on Florida new development transactions without a Florida license by partnering with locally licensed brokers and development marketing teams. In this deal, Douglas Elliman agent Mary Beth Adelson closed a penthouse purchase at Rivage Bal Harbour using only her New York license, working alongside Florida-based colleagues on the ground.
Q: Do Florida developers pay commission to out-of-state brokers?
A: Yes. Miami-area new development buildings, including those in the Douglas Elliman Development Marketing (DEDM) portfolio, pay full commissions to New York State-licensed brokers who bring buyers to a deal. This allows agents like Adelson to work directly with clients rather than simply referring them out and losing the relationship.
Q: What is Rivage Bal Harbour?
A: Rivage Bal Harbour is a luxury condominium development in Bal Harbour, Florida, and part of the Douglas Elliman Development Marketing portfolio. A recent penthouse sale there, brokered by New York agent Mary Beth Adelson with Florida-based Elliman colleagues Tracy Galya and Ray Jacomo, achieved the building's highest price per square foot to date.
Q: How do Douglas Elliman agents collaborate across different markets?
A: Douglas Elliman agents build cross-market relationships largely through company-organized trips and events — including annual conferences and smaller regional gatherings in cities like London, Dubai, Aspen and Las Vegas. These relationships create a trust network that lets agents in one market (e.g., New York) confidently refer or co-broker with agents in another (e.g., Florida), backed by mutual professional reputation.
Q: Why would a buyer work with an out-of-state broker instead of a local one?
A: Buyers often stay with a trusted agent they already have a relationship with, even when purchasing in a new market. That agent can then loop in a local specialist to handle market-specific logistics, like new development access, custom unit layouts or builder negotiations, while the original agent remains the client's main point of contact.
Q: How do Elliman agents get compensated for bringing buyers to projects in states where they are not licensed?
On projects represented by Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, agents from outside the project's market can refer their clients to the project and be compensated as cooperating brokers in the form of referral fees.
For DEDM projects that are registered in both markets (e.g., Florida and New York), agents in the secondary market can promote the project in the primary market, present their prospective clients to the project's on-site agents and receive cooperating brokerage commissions.
Q: Can buyers customize a new development unit before it's built or listed?
A: In some cases, yes. Developers may work with brokers to configure a bespoke, off-market layout by adjusting room counts, bedroom/bathroom configurations, and floor plans within the unit's total square footage — particularly for buyers who have an established relationship of trust with the sales and brokerage team.
Related STORIES
