One Sotheby’s Nabs Top Compass Fort Lauderdale Team

One Sotheby’s International Realty landed a top Fort Lauderdale-based team from Compass, joining the throng of brokerages targeting the so-called “Venice of America.”

Coconut Grove-based One Sotheby’s, led by president Daniel de la Vega, landed Jonathan Keith’s Team JK, according to a press release. Keith’s team includes 25 real estate agents with more than $1 billion in career sales, the release shows. Along with the team, One Sotheby’s will now have a brick-and-mortar office in east Fort Lauderdale.

Keith said he had been in talks with One Sotheby’s to transition two years ago, but backed out of the move. Then, while on a trip to visit friends in London this summer, he decided he wanted a brand with a more global reach.

“It hit me like a ton of bricks. I really wanted to be with an international brand,” he said. “When the international scene looks at real estate, they don’t look at Compass.”

Compass doesn’t have any real estate offices outside of the U.S., but partnered with the French firm Barnes International for referrals in July. 

With the move, One Sotheby’s becomes the latest Miami-Dade County brokerage to expand in Broward County. Edgardo Defortuna’s Fortune Christie’s International Real Estate opened offices in Fort Lauderdale in June, the brokerage’s first Florida offices outside of Miami-Dade. Compass and Douglas Elliman have also opened offices in the inland suburb Weston. 

Aside from brokerage activity, it’s been a hot year for Fort Lauderdale real estate. Lionel Messi, easily the most famous athlete in the world, moved to the city and bought a waterfront mansion in September for $11 million. Earlier this month, the ousted founder of Bang Energy, Jack Owoc, dropped a record $40 million to buy WeatherTech founder David MacNeil’s oceanfront mansion. The deal set a price record for both Fort Lauderdale and Broward County, shattering the previous record of $32.5 million from August of last year.