Douglas Elliman Development Marketing has hired Laura Tomana as senior vice president of market data and research.
The brokerage has brought in a former senior economist at the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) to oversee Florida research and analysis, according to a press release. In his new role with Elliman, Tomana will consult on all elements of pre-development planning, including pricing, floor plans, finishes and amenity provision.
Tomana’s data work considers “where to build, what to build, and what to include in the building,” she said.
She joins the brokerage firm from Brown Harris Stevens Development Marketing. At the company, he spent three years as senior vice president of research and market analysis at Tomana. According to LinkedIn, she was a senior economist at REBNY from 2019 to 2020.
“We really want to strengthen our research department,” Tomana said of Elliman. She wants to expand the portfolio of trend reports the brokerage releases and deepen Elliman’s bench of data sources.
Jay Parker, Ellimans’ Florida CEO, said there is far less public information about new developments in the region than in New York City.
“There are really big differences in the way information is shared in our markets,” he said. But for those who know where to look, “there is information available to everyone to help understand the opportunity and the pipeline.”
Tomana believes there is room to improve the data reporting situation in South Florida. “I see this as an opportunity to increase the level of reporting that we see across the market here in Florida,” she said.
Elliman has expanded its presence throughout Florida over the years. The new development marketing department launched a rental division in South Florida two years ago. In October, Elliman expanded to Sarasota, opening its first Gulf Coast office. Three months later, the brokerage announced it would move to the Panhandle and open an office in Santa Rosa Beach.
Damack earlier this month hired a broker to lead the sale of a 52-unit condominium project planned at the site of the deadly Surfside collapse.
