Movers: Corcoran Expands in Houston With Nicole Freer Group

Corcoran Group is expanding its presence in Houston with a well-known team at the helm. Corcoran Genesis, owned and led by Nicole Freer and Doug Freer, will work in the Bayou City’s suburbs, according to a news release.

Nicole Freer started out flipping houses in 2009, and she has owned the Nicole Freer Group since 2013, according to LinkedIn. She sold over 70 houses in her first two years, according to a news release. The husband-and-wife partners are based in Katy. Corcoran, based in New York City, also has Corcoran Ferester Realty, serving North Houston and The Woodlands, and Corcoran Prestige Realty, for Greater Houston.

The Nicole Freer Group has 14 agents, plus support staff, and they sold $358 million of real estate in 890 transactions last year, the release said.

Here’s what else is shaking in Texas real estate.

A top producing luxury broker in Dallas has jumped to Compass. Emily Ray-Porter joined the publicly traded brokerage from local firm Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate, where she started in 2008. Ray-Porter is a highrise specialist with expertise in downtown Dallas, Turtle Creek, Park Cities and Preston Hollow. She is also an owner and co-founder of Berkley’s, an upscale boutique grocer with several locations in Dallas.

Dallas-based Stream Realty Partners hired industry veteran Ariella Middlebrook as its first chief financial officer. Middlebrook was previously U.S. CFO for Avison Young and held senior financial leadership positions at General Growth Properties, JLL and KPMG. She joins Stream from human resources advisory firm Kincentric, where she was chief accounting officer and global controller. Aside from spearheading financial strategy, Middlebrook will “play a vital part in the acquisition and structuring of brokerage teams,” and “help shape and drive Stream’s overall growth strategy,” according to a news release.

Real estate reality TV personality Washington Ho’s Houston-based brokerage, White House Global Properties, has hired a chief operating officer. Nicole Lopez joined the firm from eXp Realty affiliate Found Realty Group, the Houston Business Journal reported. She joins the C-suite with Ho, who is chairman, as well as CEO Christy Huckaby and CFO Angelica Smart.

Dallas-based Beck Group hired a co-founder of 5G Studio Collaborative, Scott Lowe, as chief revenue officer, the Dallas Morning News reported. Lowe left his previous job last year and had planned to go into development. But he returned to Beck, where he worked from 1998 to 2005, the outlet said.

Dallas architecture firm HKS is splitting its president and CEO roles among two people. Former president and CEO Dan Noble will become chairman and CEO, while ceding the title of president to former CFO Sam Mudro, the Dallas Morning News reported. The firm is the second-largest architecture firm in the United States, behind Gensler, reporting $500 million in revenue in 2022, the outlet said.

—Rachel Stone