National real estate firm expands into Sarasota

A national real estate brokerage has opened a new office in Sarasota with a leading team that has brought in over $300 million in sales since 2020. 

Douglas Elliman, an independent residential real estate brokerage, announced luxury real estate specialist Lisa Rooks Morris and her team The LRM Group, which is responsible for the $300 million in sales, would be joining the firm in leading the new office. Howard Lorber, executive chairman of Douglas Elliman Realty LLC, says in a release that Sarasota is a critical market for the firm. 

“Our strategic growth continues to attract the industry’s finest talent and Sarasota is no exception to that rule,” Lorber says. “Lisa Rooks Morris and her remarkable team are already leading the market in Sarasota — just imagine what they will achieve with the power of Douglas Elliman."

Morris and her team came to the firm from Naples-based Premier Sotheby's International Realty after eight years. A few of her notable sales, the release states, include the sellout of condominium projects 1350 Main, VUE Sarasota Bay, The Mark in Downtown Sarasota and Sage, Longboat Key’s boutique luxury development.

“I am honored to join Douglas Elliman as a founding member of the Sarasota office and to share the culture of exceptional service with our clients. The prestige of Douglas Elliman in leading luxury markets is a perfect complement to the distinguished properties and clients that the LRM Group is honored to represent. We look forward to launching this new chapter together,” Morris says in the release. 

With the new office, the brokerage now has 27 offices and about 1,300 sales associates within Florida. The firm, which became a publicly traded company in 2021, reported $1.15 billion in revenue in 2022.