Douglas Elliman hires James Horne to help grow Houston office

Horne comes from real estate firm Compass where he helped to facilitate $5.2 billion in sales for the 2021 fiscal year, according to Douglas Elliman. As sales manager, he was responsible for supporting about 240 of Compass’ top Houston agents, along with mentoring, coaching, and supporting over 700 agents in total, he said. 

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Horne – who has a law degree and a broker’s license himself – will again act in a leadership role to provide mentorship, support and guidance for agents at Douglas Elliman. Previously Valerie  Decker acted as both sales manager and broker. But the firm has gotten so busy, its leadership wanted to free up Decker’s time to focus on brokerage, including keeping its agents current on education, trends and industry changes, the company said. Decker will now serve as broker of record and senior vice president for Douglas Elliman in Texas.

“I’m excited to take on the Houston role of growing this office,” said Horne, who said he joined Douglas Elliman because he was attracted to the corporate culture.

Douglas Elliman described itself as the sixth largest residential real estate brokerage in the U.S. with about 100 offices and 6,500 real estate agents and 930 employees at the end of 2021. Its profits hit about $98 million last year after a loss of $46.3 million the year earlier, according to its annual report. Total transaction volume soared by nearly 43 percent to 32,400 transactions closed in 2021, according to its annual report.

The firm wants to continue its momentum in Houston by continuing to grow both its transaction volume and head count.

“We want to bring in agents that really want to make their mark in the luxury market. They really want to work hard and they want to collaborate with us,” Horne said.

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Since entering the Texas market in August 2019, Douglas Elliman has started carving out a space for itself, first with a Houston office, then with offices in Dallas and Austin.  In Houston, the firm  represents notable new developments, such as the condominium projects Stolz Partners’ The Sophie at Bayou Bend as well as Pelican Builders’ The Hawthorne, The Revere at River Oaks and The Westmore.

Sales in the luxury condominium market were relatively flat in in April, but condos priced over $1 million are spending about 26 fewer days on the market than they did the same time last year, even as inventory remains elevated for luxury condos, according to Houston Association of Realtors.  However, when including single family homes, sales of homes priced over $1 million expanded by nearly 25 percent in April compared to the same time last year, according to HAR. Douglas Elliman agents work with all types of homes but focus on the luxury space, a niche Horne has created for himself over the years too.

“We are thrilled to welcome him to the Elliman family and are looking forward to expanding our Houston footprint together,”  Stephen Kotler, CEO of Douglas Elliman Realty’s Western Region.