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Over the last two years the recruiting of top talent has grown into one of the dominant stories in real estate, and this week both Compass and eXp Realty showed why: The two upstart brokerages just added star agents to their ranks.

At Compass, the company announced this week that it recruited Tom Postilio and Mickey Conlon. The two men are based in New York City and, according to a statement, have done $3 billion in volume over the course of their careers.

Postilio and Conlon maintain a star-studded client list that includes entertainers such as Barry Manilow and Liza Minnelli and have appeared on television themselves in shows such as HGTV’s “Selling New York.”

Tom Postilio, left, and Mickey Conlon. Credit: Tom Postilio and Mickey Conlon

Before joining Compass, Postilio and Conlon were at Douglas Elliman, where they were founding members of that brokerage’s Sports & Entertainment Division.

“We look forward to expanding our team nationally to better serve our clients’ needs in the markets where they maintain a presence,” Conlon said in the statement, referring to his move to Compass.

Meanwhile, eXp announced this week that it has recruited Sahil Chhabra and his 21-agent team. Chhabra is based in Calgary, Alberta, and, according to a statement, has done more than $425 million in volume over the last four years. The statement adds that Chhabra’s team is fluent in languages ranging from Hindi to French, and is “a beacon of inclusive excellence, offering unparalleled customer service tailored to various language demographics.”

Sahil Chhabra. Credit: Sahil Chhabra

Chhabra and his team were previously at RE/MAX.

The statement notes that Chhabra made the decision to move to eXp after talks with Justin Havre and Ibrahim Hussein, who are top producers at the brokerage.

The recruiting wins for Compass and eXp both come after a brutal two-year stretch in the real estate industry. Thanks to rising mortgage rates and low inventory, deals became fewer and farther between, which has in turn resulted in a winnowing of agent ranks.

That shift has put pressure on brokerages to not just focus on headcount but to also seek out star agents who have a track record of closing deals in leaner times. Compass and eXp — both fast-growing but younger brokerages before the market shift — have been particularly proactive about recruiting, and frequently make headlines for their new hires.

Just last month, for example, Compass revealed that Mollie Poe and Declan Hickey in the Bay Area had boomeranged back to the brokerage after a stint with Side.

And in January, eXp announced that it had picked up the Austin-based Mike Seder Group.

Both eXp and Compass also reported earnings last month and revealed that, despite the tougher times, they’ve managed to grow their agent head counts.

How the year ahead impacts the battle for talent remains to be seen; most industry leaders expect mortgage rates to fall in 2024, and envision inventory rising. But as this week’s recruiting news shows, for now at least, the competition for top industry talent is not abating.

Email Jim Dalrymple II