Douglas Elliman Development Marketing hired Laura Tomana as senior vice president of market data and research.
The brokerage brought in the former Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) senior economist to oversee research and analysis for Florida, according to a press release. In her new role with Elliman, Tomana will consult on all elements of pre-development planning, including pricing, floor plans, finishes and amenity offerings.
Tomana’s data work will look at, “Where to build, what to build, and what to include in [the] buildings,” she said.
She joins the brokerage from Brown Harris Stevens Development Marketing, where Tomana was senior vice president of research and market analytics for three years. She was a senior economist with REBNY from 2019 to 2020, according to LinkedIn.
“We’re looking to really enhance our research arm,” Tomana said of Elliman. She is looking to grow the portfolio of trend reports the brokerage releases, and deepen the bench of Elliman’s data sources.
Elliman’s Florida CEO Jay Parker noted that the region has much less publicly available information on new developments than in New York City.
“There is a real material difference between the way information is shared in our market,” he said. But for those who know where to look, “there is information that is available to anyone to help understand opportunities and pipeline.”
Tomana sees room to improve the landscape of data reporting in South Florida. “I’m viewing this as an opportunity to elevate the level of reporting that we see across the market here in Florida,” she said.
Elliman has been expanding its presence across Florida for years. The new development marketing arm launched its rental division in South Florida two years ago. In October, Elliman opened its first Gulf Coast office with an expansion into Sarasota. Three months later, the brokerage announced it was moving into the Panhandle and opening an office in Santa Rosa Beach.
Earlier this month, Damac hired the brokerage to lead sales for a planned 52-unit condo project at the site of the deadly Surfside collapse.