Top Long Island Producer Maria Babaev Joins Douglas Elliman

NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Douglas Elliman Real Estate announces that Long Island's top-producing agent, Maria Babaev, has joined the company along with her team. Recognized as one of the leading experts on the subject of global market trends, Ms. Babaev is also a top-grossing agent on Long Island, closing more than $40 million in sales in 2012. Ms. Babaev has achieved great success marketing properties to international buyers and investors through a series of innovative networking and web campaigns and is fluent in both Russian and English. She will continue to grow her global business at Elliman, working from the company's Long Island and New York City brokerages with plans to expand to The Hamptons and South Florida.

"Maria is tremendously talented. She has a phenomenal business sense and a true knack for understanding buyers and sellers in this complex global market. She is really going to excel here at Elliman and I am thrilled she has joined us," said Dottie Herman, President & CEO of Douglas Elliman.

"Ms. Babaev is going to be extremely valuable to the entire Elliman company and we have the platform and the tools that will help her take her business to the next level," added Elliman Chairman Howard M. Lorber.

Before joining Elliman, Ms. Babaev was Managing Director and a top-producing associate broker at Laffey Fine Homes Real Estate where she worked for the past eight years. She built up a powerful media following and has been featured in The New York Times, CNBC, and Brokers Weekly, among others. She was also a featured speaker at Inman Connect, one of New York City's most highly regarded real estate conferences. Prior to her real estate career, Ms. Babaev worked on Wall Street as a Client Account Manager at Citigroup in the Emerging Markets Division where she managed the portfolio of 130 Banks located in Central and Eastern Europe. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Management as well as an MBA in International Business and Finance.

"Growing my international business was a huge reason for my joining Elliman. Their strategic locations across New York and South Florida and strong international alliance with Knight Frank Residential will exponentially increase my platform. This is an exciting move for me and for my clients," said Ms. Babaev, who in addition developing a successful pipeline of Russian investors and brokers, is also well-known throughout the NY Metro Russian community. Ms. Babaev is an active member of the Russian Nobility Association, American-Russian Children Welfare Society, New York Russian Club, and Russian Gift of Life.  She has successfully leveraged her personal and business relationships in these councils to broaden her international business connections.

About Douglas Elliman Real Estate

Douglas Elliman Real Estate is New York's largest residential brokerage, with over 70 offices in New York City, Long Island, the Hamptons , Westchester/Putnam, and South Florida  and more than 4,000 real estate agents and a network of national and international affiliates. They are strategic partners with London-based Knight Frank LLP for residential business in all of their New York markets. Douglas Elliman ranked in the top four of all real estate companies in the nation in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. The company also controls a portfolio of real estate services, including Manhattan's largest residential property manager, Douglas Elliman Property Management, as well as DE Title and DE Capital Mortgage. For more information on Douglas Elliman as well as expert commentary on emerging trends in the real estate industry, visit the  Douglas Elliman site at www.elliman.com

SOURCE Douglas Elliman Real Estate