Luxury brands are snatching up Global Living teams after breakup with Corcoran 

When Corcoran Global Living's franchise agreement with The Corcoran Group was terminated amid a messy breakup involving lawsuits and countersuits, the affiliate's agents suddenly found themselves in need of a new brokerage. 

For some, that meant cutting ties with the Corcoran brand and starting fresh — and several brokerages were happy to welcome them into the fold. 

One of the more notable moves involved more than 125 agents joining up with First Team, the Christie's International Real Estate affiliate for Orange County. The former Global Living agents, with a combined $360 million in annual production, will increase the First Team's footprint in the massive Southern California market.

"We believe there's a tremendous opportunity to gain market share," said Michele Harrington, First Team's chief operating officer. "Agents realize that they're going to need additional resources to be successful in this changing market. Our legacy brand, training programs and technology options make us the perfect fit to provide agents with the tools they need to grow their business," Harrington said in an email.

Industry connections helped make the move happen. Most of the former Corcoran Global Living agents joining First are coming from two offices in Temecula and Cerritos. The leadership teams of both offices knew Harrington, and two of the leaders — Jana Goncalves and Mauricio Monteleagre — previously worked at First Team.

When the teams initially expressed interest in joining the First Team, Harrington said she was thrilled to have them because they are well established in the market and share the same values and goals.

"We are very excited to offer these agents a great home with a stable company and give them all the support they deserve. These agents could have gone anywhere, but the fact that they chose First Team Christie's says a lot about the quality of our company and our leadership, and I couldn't be more proud of how our company is growing and evolving."

Harrington said the transition is going very well; with the leadership teams of both offices joining First Team, it's made the onboarding process much easier.

In addition to the Corcoran agents, First Team recently recruited several other high-profile offices and teams, including the $75 million Archuletta Team from Compass in Mission Viejo.

Christie's will continue to look for opportunities in former Corcoran Global Living markets, said Chris Lim, president of Christie's International Real Estate.

"Christie's International Real Estate is the logical choice for any agent looking for a new independent brokerage," Lim said. "Our expansive affiliated network of brokerages provides a stable home and we will strategically consider any opportunity that supports the needs of Christie's auction house clients and our global broker network."

Other former Corcoran Global Living teams that have moved on from Corcoran include Robyn Yates-Gajjar and Sid Gajjar and their Las Vegas-based team, which joined Las Vegas Sotheby's International Realty. 

For Christie's, Sotheby's International Realty and other brokerages, it's a chance to expand their footprint given the size of Corcoran Global Living. Before its franchise agreement was terminated, Global Living ranked 29th among the top 1000 brokerages based on 2021 sales volume, with more than $8.1 billion, according to the T3 Sixty Mega 1000. The agent count in 2021 was 2,358. (Note: Real Estate News and T3 Sixty share a founder, Stefan Swanepoel.)

For its part, The Corcoran Group is trying to hold on to its agents and teams. On Dec. 16, it announced the launch of new affiliate Corcoran Icon Properties, which is headquartered in Northern California. It will retain more than 900 agents and staff in 24 offices in markets that include the San Francisco Bay Area.