Brokerage Beat: News from Realty ONE, Compass, Coldwell Banker, C21 

Editor's note: The brokerage business is a busy one, with frequent moves, mergers and milestones. Here we highlight some of the latest activity among brokerages across the U.S. and globally.

Realty ONE nabs large Florida firm, names Derek Carlson CEO of 10 franchises

MVP Realty, a major independent brokerage in Florida, has joined Realty ONE, while MVP's founder has moved into a new role.

Derek Carlson founded MVP Realty more than 10 years ago and led the company as CEO and broker, growing it into one of the nation's top 100 real estate firms. In August, Carslon announced that he has moved his brokerage to Realty ONE and will be CEO and broker of 10 Realty ONE franchises across Florida, known as Realty ONE Group MVP.

While Carlson is excited about this new step in his own career, he also looks forward to providing agents with tools, technology and branding to increase their individual success.

"Joining Realty ONE Group MVP is … a strategic move towards empowering Realtors in a dynamic and forward-thinking environment," Carlson said in a news release. "This role allows me to offer unparalleled resources and support in an independent setting, dedicated entirely to helping Realtors excel and achieve their dreams."

Realty ONE Group is an international firm with more than 400 franchise offices worldwide. The firm reported that it has achieved 57,000 closings so far this year, totaling approximately $23 billion in sales volume.

Compass welcomes two Elliman agents in NYC

Tim Malone and Maggie Marshall, both high-producing agents in New York City, have moved to Compass from Douglas Elliman. 

Malone, who has been an agent since 2018, was rated for nearly five years as the No. 1 agent on Steven Cohen's team, which achieved a sales volume of $168 million. He's now leading the Malone Team and hopes to continue his past success in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Hamptons while expanding his team. 

Malone worked in media and advertising sales before finding his calling in real estate. He is married to journalist Don Lemon, and has handled sales for his husband, along with other celebrities, including Keegan Michael Key, Jeff Zucker and Jay Sures.

"The marketing, management, and tech teams at Compass are unlike anything I've encountered before," Malone said in the news release. "They consistently prioritize my needs and offer support that no other brokerage has provided. The technology is truly cutting-edge, surpassing anything I've experienced elsewhere."

Maggie Marshall also has joined Compass in New York City. She was previously a founder of the Barton Barrett Marshall Team at Douglas Elliman and director of operations for Elliman's DeNiro Team, two top-performing teams by volume. Marshall worked independently most of the last year.

"Maggie is an accomplished professional who has consistently made a positive impact on everyone around her," said Golub. "We could not be more excited for her to bring her incredible talent to Compass while making sure we support her in achieving all of her goals."

For her part, Marshall expressed enthusiasm for Compass' technology, which she plans to use "to enhance my branding, streamline time-consuming tasks, and spend more quality time focusing on my clients."

Boca Raton agent moves to Coldwell Banker 

Luxury specialist Derek Barra has joined the Coldwell Banker Realty Boca Raton, Florida, office. He also comes from Douglas Elliman. 

The Florida native has been selling real estate since 2016, accumulating more than $100 million in career sales, and draws his clients from the ranks of professional athletes, celebrities, CEOs, investors/developers, international clients, business owners and others.

"I joined Coldwell Banker Realty for several reasons, including the impressive global reach, agent support and it being a respected household name for decades," Barra noted in a news release. "Teaming up with Coldwell Banker is going to help me take my business to the next level, while continuing to give my clients white glove service."

"We are thrilled Derek has decided to partner with Coldwell Banker in Boca Raton," Managing Broker Joseph Santini said in the news release. "We can't wait to see what he can achieve in the future, backed by our global luxury brand and full-service support."

No. 1 Century 21 team joins SoCal powerhouse

The Marty Rodriguez Team from Glendora, California, has joined the 720-agent Century 21 Masters group. The Rodriguez team was Century 21's top team by annual gross commission in California in 2023, according to a news release, and was previously known as Century 21 Marty Rodriguez.

Rodriguez started her real estate career in San Gabriel Valley in 1978, reaching $1 million in sales during her first year. Her team has ranked among C21's top-producing teams for 10 consecutive years. Rodriguez was honored this year as a Glendora Historical Society Woman of Distinction.

"As a brokerage affiliated with the Century 21 brand for many years, we have been able to achieve high levels of success," Rodriguez said. "As a small firm, we were not taking full advantage of all the powerful offerings we had at our disposal as part of the Century 21 network. From our perspective, joining a regional powerhouse with significantly more resources devoted to agent learning, mentoring, marketing, and technology made a lot of sense."

Century 21 Masters was founded by Neil Schwartz in 1989. It was acquired in 2022 by Randy Thompson, who had his own Century 21 franchise, and the combined group uses the Masters' name. The firm has more than 720 agents and 50 staff members in 13 offices from Pasadena to San Diego.