One of @properties’ top teams has moved to Compass, according to a report by The Real Deal Chicago published on Monday. Led by Pam MacPherson and Hayley Westhoff, the 10-agent MacPherson Westhoff Group specializes in serving buyers looking to move to Chicago’s suburbs.
MacPherson and Westhoff alongside team members Andrea Miller, Lauren Ganzhorn, Lori Stellwagen, Karen Morgan, Lori Hooten, Trish Herakovich, Laura Duckett, and Anna Theofanous have generated more than $80 million in transaction volume over the past year.
Pam MacPherson and Hayley Westhoff
“The MacPherson Westhoff Group is excited to announce that we’ve joined COMPASS,” the team announced on Facebook while unveiling a new logo. “We feel that Compass gives our clients a competitive edge by combining our team staging service with the Compass fully funded construction concierge service, bridge loan options, elevated marketing platform, and exclusive pocket listing service.”
Most recently, the team sold the Evanston mansion of well-known Chicago home building pioneer C.A. Hemphill for $2.6 million. The Real Deal estimated the team has $7 million in current listings, many of which are priced at the luxury end of the market.
Compass’ recruitment of The MacPherson Westhoff Group is another jab at @properties, the largest independent brokerage in Chicago. Since entering the market in 2017, Compass has poached several of @properties top talent, including Heather Gustafson, Cindi Sodolski, Jordan Euson and Rafael Murillo.
Compass and @properties have made it known there’s no love lost between the dueling giants, as evidenced by a billboard @properties placed near Compass’ Chicago offices in 2018 telling locals not to “ask for directions from a tourist,” TRD noted.
Thad Wong
At Inman Connect New York 2018, @properties co-founder Thad Wong shared his opinion on Compass’ recruiting tactics, which include offering sizable signing bonuses, access to a revamped stock option program, and 100-percent commission splits for the first year.
At the time, @properties hadn’t lost Gustafson, Sodolski, Euson or Murillo to Compass, but Wong said that some @properties agents admitted considering jumping ship to Compass, “but only because of the check.”
“When, for a lack of a better term, [you] have a lot of F-U money, and they just say, ‘I like you, you, and you, and they offer enough until that person goes, and it’s interesting to see what companies and which markets are the most vulnerable, and what relationships can be monetized, and which relationships can’t be monetized,” he explained.
Compass is unlikely to slow its recruiting of teams like The MacPherson Westhoff Group, as the company aims to reach 20 percent market share in Chicago and its other markets in 2020.
“Welcoming The MacPherson Westhoff Group to the team further strengthens our momentum in the greater Chicagoland markets like Glenview and the northern suburbs,” Compass Chicagoland regional president Rachael Rohn said in an emailed statement.
A spokesperson for @properties was not immediately available for comment.