After 18 years with Brown Harris Stevens, Harris has set off on his own with members of his previous team alongside him. The firm will put a high focus on client and agent service.
Turn up the volume on your real estate success at Inman On Tour: Nashville! Connect with industry trailblazers and top-tier speakers to gain powerful insights, cutting-edge strategies, and invaluable connections. Elevate your business and achieve your boldest goals — all with Music City magic. Register now.
Long-time Brown Harris Stevens agent Scott Harris has launched his own Manhattan-based brokerage called Magnetic, Inman has learned.
Powered by Side, the brokerage will at first launch with Harris and agents from his former eight-person team at BHS, which was called the Harris Residential Team. Harris also announced the news on LinkedIn on Monday.
Harris was affiliated with BHS for 18 years where he transacted in excess of $1.5 billion in volume since 2003, and was consistently one of the firm’s leading agents. Most recently, The Wall Street Journal/RealTrends The Thousand list ranked him as the No. 30 broker in New York City and one of the top 250 agents in the country by sales volume. Prior to joining BHS, Harris had brief stints at Corcoran Group and Citi Habitats.
“We are proud of the agent Scott became while with Brown Harris Stevens over these last 18 years, and we wish him the best in his new endeavor,” a spokesperson for BHS told Inman in an email.
Considerations about where he could most add value, his team’s success in recent years and how his team differentiates itself in client service spurred Harris to consider more seriously launching his own firm over the last several months. Embarking on a book project targeted at homebuyers also stimulated thoughts of starting his own company.
“I’ve been spending all this time thinking about how to help people, and through the course of that, it started to occur to me that having my own platform would also be a way to really be a bullhorn for this message that I think is so important for buyers to hear,” Harris told Inman.
Harris was also encouraged specifically because his team had a couple of great years in 2023 and 2024, despite a very challenging market that made some agents question whether they wanted to stay in the industry. In 2024 alone, the team closed more than $150 million in deals.
Side became Harris’ brokerage partner of choice because of their sophisticated back-end systems and track record of partnering with other top companies, a network in which Magnetic now becomes a member. He also felt the white-label firm was a trustworthy partner as the industry continues to grapple with increased scrutiny in the wake of lawsuits.
“In this time of important liability issues — like making sure that we really dot our i’s and cross our t’s — I think it’s good to have an accountability partner — in this case, Side — just to make sure we’re doing all the right things and to stay on top of the latest requirements from the city, state and government across the country … just to make sure we’re really incorporating best practices into what we do.”
The focus for now will be to build a brokerage that is both agent- and client-forward, with high-quality service for both groups, Harris said.
“I think that buyers and sellers are really craving really strong advisory, strategic advice and a way to bring buyers and sellers together more easily,” he said. “I named the company Magnetic because I think there’s a way to draw people together in a way that is much more intuitive, easy and even fun.”
The name Magnetic also comes from a method Harris’ team employs in their business that they call “the magnetic method.” The process includes four core pillars of Understanding, Wisdom, Insight and Vision. “Understanding is how we help our clients create the first draft of their vision; Wisdom is how we test that vision. Insight is how we clarify that vision; and Vision is how we ultimately help them make their own market and find their dream home,” the team said.
“I think that since COVID [when agents had to navigate clients signing a bunch of forms declaring their vaccination status], I have sort of seen myself in a role of constantly trying to improve the agent experience across the whole marketplace,” Harris told Inman. “I felt some responsibility to show people how to elevate the experience for their buyers and sellers.
“I launched [Magnetic] really because I want to help people,” Harris continued. “And I think we could do an even better job of helping people through the company.”
Harris’ forthcoming book, The Pursuit of Home, is scheduled for release on Oct. 14, 2025.
Get Inman’s Luxury Lens Newsletter delivered right to your inbox. A weekly deep dive into the biggest news in the world of high-end real estate delivered every Friday. Click here to subscribe.
Email Lillian Dickerson
