Compass vs Elliman vs Corcoran: who actually sells the most in NYC?

April 22, 2026 · 7 min read

Three names come up in every NYC real estate conversation: Compass, Douglas Elliman, and Corcoran. But “biggest” depends on whether you mean roster size, sales volume, luxury concentration, or agent tenure. Here's how they actually compare in 2026.

Roster size (NYC only)

Pure headcount — who has the most agents actively licensed in the five boroughs.

• Compass: ~2,100
• Corcoran Group: ~1,600
• Douglas Elliman: ~1,500

Headcount doesn't map to dollars. A shop with 200 heavy hitters can outsell one with 2,000 average performers.

Sales volume (2025 deal value)

Compass leads by a wide margin nationally — they're the largest US brokerage by volume since 2022. Elliman is strongest in luxury, especially in the Hamptons and Palm Beach. Corcoran is concentrated in Manhattan residential and has an outsized Brooklyn presence.

Luxury concentration

By average sale price among closed deals:

• Elliman: highest average sale price among the three. Their top 50 producers do the lion's share of the $10M+ market.
• Compass: broad dominance at the $1M-5M range.
• Corcoran: dominant in the $1M-3M first-time-buyer market plus a strong Hamptons second-home operation.

The 2026 merger changes the map

In January 2026, Compass closed its acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate. Anywhere owned Corcoran, Sotheby's International Realty, Coldwell Banker, Century 21, and several other brands. That means:

• Compass now controls (at the corporate level) a combined ~4,500–5,000 NYC agents across its own brand + Corcoran + Sotheby's NYC + CB + C21.
• Day-to-day, each brand still operates separately — a Corcoran agent is still a “Corcoran agent” for marketing and commission purposes.
• Agent movement between those brands is now intra-company, which is lowering churn between them but may increase movement TO Elliman and BHS from agents who don't like the consolidation.

If you're building an outreach list, this matters: covering “all three majors” used to require three separate scrapes. Now Compass is the single biggest parent company in NYC residential real estate, and Elliman is the largest true independent.

Who to reach for what