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New York City luxury team Carte Blanche is heading back to Compass after nearly three years with Triplemint and The Agency.
Team leader Aaron Seawood said his return to Compass is to further expand into luxury markets and take advantage of the company’s technology offerings, which were still being built when the team switched affiliation nearly three years ago.
“I’m grateful for my time at The Agency, a killer brand, and even better people,” Seawood said in a statement. “Now, to have Carte Blanche powered by Compass makes for a seamless experience for our clients, expands our reach into key luxury markets, and reunites me with OG Compass colleagues I call family. A true trifecta.”
Seawood and his three-person team consisting of himself, Andrew Pritchard and Priscilla Diaz were affiliated with Compass for five years before leaving for Triplemint, which was acquired by The Agency last year. The team was initially tapped by Triplemint to spearhead the brokerage’s expansion into Brooklyn.
Seawood formerly worked in the entertainment industry, including as an executive at Virgin Records and as the founder of Risk Music Group. He was a founder of Compass’ sports and entertainment division and said he brings over $55 million in listings to Compass — including the West Side loft former Knicks star Carmelo Anthony paid $11 million for in 2015.
Carte Blanche isn’t the only team to make the switch back to their old brokerage recently. As the battle for agent count loses steam amid a slowing market, agents who “boomeranged” back to their former brokerages are attracting more attention, with former Compass agents, in particular, finding themselves drawn back by the brokerage’s technology offerings.
“The tech platform is really beyond compare,” Compass agent Lori Abbey, who left the brokerage for a few months before returning in April, recently told Inman.
Jenny Bustillo, a Chicago-based agent, left Compass in 2020 and did stints at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and Coldwell Banker, before finally returning to Compass this February.
“Their technology is just out of this world,” Bustillo recently told Inman of Compass. “That was the No. 1 draw to come back. Compass just has everything all in one area. It’s so easy to navigate, I can work all in my phone from one app.”
Compass was ranked the largest brokerage by volume in 2022 by RealTrends but has seen its agent count growth flatline over the past three quarters after years of steady growth.
The brokerage lost $600 million last year but predicted it will be cash-flow positive by the second quarter of this year. It is expected to announce its first-quarter earnings next week.
