Engel & Völkers re-entering local real estate scene with new brokerage group, Carytown-area office

Engel & Volkers Richmond’s second iteration will open in July at 3101 Ellwood Ave. (Photo by Jonathan Spiers)

A high-end residential real estate brand is returning to Richmond seven years after it last showed its umlaut around town.

Engel & Völkers, a global brand based in Germany, is re-entering the local market via a southward expansion of its franchise group in the DMV area that includes D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia.

The group, which holds the brand’s license for the D.C., Annapolis and Ocean City markets, has added Richmond to its territory and recruited Chris Herron, formerly with Keller Williams Realty’s Midlothian office, as its managing broker for Engel & Völkers Richmond.

Joining Herron are fellow Keller Williams departees Tina Morris & Co., a three-person team consisting of Morris, Jessica Cox and Lindsay Miller, and Andrew Broocker, a Richmond native and 20-year agent most recently with Shaheen, Ruth, Martin & Fonville Real Estate.

Pictured from left: Andrew Broocker, Jessica Cox, Tina Morris, Chris Herron and Lindsay Miller with Courtney Roberts, Tina Morris & Co.’s sales director. (Image courtesy Engel & Völkers Richmond)

The group is setting up shop at 3101 Ellwood Ave., filling a 3,000-square-foot space at the corner of Ellwood and Belmont Avenue that previously housed Chasen Galleries.

The office is planning a July 17 opening, and its agents – which Engel & Völkers calls “advisors” – are currently listing homes under the Engel & Völkers banner.

Herron, who was previously managing broker for Keller Williams Midlothian, said the Engel & Völkers group signed a three-year lease for the space with an option to renew after looking at other choices in and around Carytown, including the former Schwarzchild Jewelers spot in Cary Court.

“We had narrowed it down to Carytown as the spot we wanted to be. It fits the brand so well and how we like to present ourselves,” Herron said.

Chris Herron

The Engel & Völkers brand was previously affiliated locally with Select Properties of Virginia, which operated as an Engel & Völkers outpost from 2015 to 2018. Owner and broker Doug Dorsey, who brought the brand to Richmond after dropping Select’s affiliation with Christie’s International Real Estate, later sold Select to SRMF and is now an agent with that brokerage.

Behind Engel & Völkers’ return is the DMV group led by Rick Foster, Travis Gray, Phil Di Ruggiero and Tom Spier. Di Ruggiero said the group had been eyeing an expansion to Richmond and connected with Herron, who said he also had been eyeing Engel & Völkers.

“Engel & Völkers had been on my radar for quite some time,” Herron said. “Richmond seemed like the perfect market for the brand, the values that the brand represents, so I felt it would go over well here.

“At the same time, I was approached by some agents at Keller Williams that were looking to make a move. They asked what I was doing, I explained it and they looked into it. They loved the concept of the Engel & Völkers brand, and they asked to be a part of it also.”

Di Ruggiero, the brand’s D.C. license holder since 2023, said the Richmond office adds to over 300 Engel & Völkers locations in the U.S. and over 1,000 worldwide. He said the DMV group has already been referring clients to the Richmond team and vice versa.

Phil Di Ruggiero

“We’ve shared a lot of business both in terms of buyers and sellers from Northern Virginia moving down, because the region is fairly fluid more recently in real estate, and we all know that Richmond is a growing area for not only employment but quality of life,” Di Ruggiero said.

While known as a “luxury” real estate brand, Engel & Völkers’ listings aren’t defined by a particular price point, Herron said. The brokerage operates on a split commission model, and Herron said the DMV group also compensates agents based on production and level of support provided to them.

“‘Luxury’ is a word that we throw around a lot, but it’s not luxury from a price point perspective; it’s luxury from the service that we’re able to offer our clients. It’s a high-touch, human-interactive business,” he said.

Acknowledging the new office marks Engel & Völkers’ second go at Richmond, Herron and Di Ruggiero said they are confident that the brand is here for the long haul this time.

“We have a great support group and a great core group of advisors, so we’re positioned really well to make it work in Richmond,” Herron said. “There’s been a watering-down of brand values throughout the past 10, 15 years, and I think that coming in with the Engel & Völkers brand again and showing a strong presence and the value that we offer is going to be very beneficial in the marketplace.”

Engel & Völkers adds to an ever-evolving residential real estate scene in Richmond. Earlier this year, United Real Estate Richmond – the local franchise that brought the United Real Estate brand to Richmond 10 years ago – acquired 20-agent brokerage River City Blues Realty.

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