UPDATED, June 2, 2:43 p.m.: Douglas Elliman is closing three South Florida offices due to the Covid-19 pandemic, The Real Deal has learned.
The closures come as the real estate industry reconsiders the need for physical office space.
Elliman will shutter the Eklund-Gomes team’s location at 1000 South Pointe Drive in Miami Beach, about a year after the brokerage revamped the Murano at Portofino retail office space for the “Million Dollar Listing” team. The team now has a private office at Elliman’s 1111 Lincoln Road space.
The New York-based brokerage will also close its Manalapan office at 270 South Ocean Boulevard, and its Brickell location at 801 Brickell Avenue, a spokesperson confirmed to TRD.
Elliman’s agents will relocate to nearby offices, including 1111 Lincoln, 5555 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, and a new space in Palm Beach at Royal Poinciana Plaza, 340 Royal Poinciana Way. Statewide, the firm now has 17 offices, down from 20.
“The real estate industry is not immune to the economic realities that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to almost every sector of the world economy,” the spokesperson said, adding that shelter-in-place orders showed that agents can work effectively outside the office.
During an earnings call last month for the brokerage’s parent company, Elliman Chairman Howard Lorber said the firm cut staff by 25 percent, reduced all salaries by 15 percent and is seeking to consolidate offices and negotiate rent reductions, deferrals or holidays with landlords nationwide.
Elliman had a net loss of $69 million during the first quarter, after losing $10.4 million in the same period last year, its parent company Vector reported. Quarterly revenue was $165.5 million, up 2.3 percent.