Douglas Elliman Inc.DOUG
Douglas Elliman Inc. Revenue Disclosure
REVENUE RECOGNITION
Revenue Recognition Policies
Revenue is measured based on a consideration specified in a contract with a customer less any sales incentives. Revenue is recognized when (a) an enforceable contract with a customer exists, that has commercial substance, and collection of substantially all consideration for services is probable; and (b) the performance obligations to the customer are satisfied either over time or at a point in time.
Real estate sales: Real estate commissions earned by the Company’s real estate brokerage businesses are recognized as revenue when the real estate sale is completed or lease agreement is executed, which is the point in time that the performance obligation is satisfied. Any commission and other payments received in advance are deferred until the satisfaction of the performance obligation. Corresponding agent commission expenses, including any advance commission or other direct expense payments, are deferred and recognized as cost of sales concurrently with related revenues.
The Company’s revenue contracts with customers do not have multiple material performance obligations to customers under Topic 606, except for contracts in the Company’s development marketing business. Contracts in the development marketing business provide the Company with the exclusive right to sell units in a subject property for a commission fee per unit sold calculated as a percentage of the sales price of each unit. Accordingly, a performance obligation exists for each unit in the development marketing property under contract, and a portion of the total contract transaction price is allocated to and recognized at the time each unit is sold. The Company applies the optional exemption in paragraph 606-10-50-14A of Topic 606 and does not disclose the amount of the transaction price allocated to the remaining performance obligations for the Real Estate development marketing business because the transaction prices in these contracts are comprised entirely of variable consideration based on the ultimate selling price of each unit in the subject property. The total contract transaction price is allocated to each unit in the subject property and recognized when the performance obligation, i.e., the sale of each unit, is satisfied. Accordingly, the transaction price allocated to the remaining performance obligations for the development marketing business represents variable consideration allocated entirely to wholly unsatisfied performance obligations.
Under development marketing service arrangements, dedicated staff are required for a subject property and these costs are typically reimbursed from the customer through advance payments that are recoupable from future commission earnings. Advance payments received and associated direct costs paid are deferred, allocated to each unit in the subject property, and recognized at the time of the completed sale of each unit.
Development marketing service arrangements also include direct fulfillment costs incurred in advance of the satisfaction of the performance obligation. The Company capitalizes costs incurred in fulfilling a contract with a customer if the fulfillment costs 1) relate directly to an existing contract or anticipated contract, 2) generate or enhance resources that will be used to satisfy performance obligations in the future, and 3) are expected to be recovered. These costs are amortized over the estimated customer relationship period which is the contract term. The Company uses an amortization method that is consistent with the pattern of transfer of goods or services to its customers by allocating these costs to each unit in the subject property and expensing these costs as each unit sold is closed over the contract.
Commission revenue is recognized at the time the performance obligation is met for commercial leasing contracts, which is when the lease agreement is executed, as there are no further performance obligations, including any amounts of future payments under extended payment terms.
Property management revenue arrangements consist of providing operational and administrative services to manage a subject property. Fees for these services are typically billed and collected monthly. Property management service fees are recognized as revenue over time using the output method as the performance obligations under the customer arrangement are satisfied each month. The Company applies the optional exemption in paragraph 606-10-50-14 of Topic 606 and does not disclose the amount of the transaction price allocated to the remaining performance obligations for the Real Estate property management business because the contracts to provide property management services are typically annual contracts and provide cancellation rights to customers.
Title insurance commission fee revenue is earned when the sale of the title insurance policy is completed, which corresponds to the point in time when the underlying real estate sale is completed, which is when the performance obligation is satisfied. Escrow commission fee revenue is recorded at a point in time which occurs at the time a home sale transaction or refinancing closes.
Disaggregation of Revenue
In the following table, revenue is disaggregated by major services line and primary geographical market:
| Year Ended December 31, 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | New York City | Northeast | Southeast | West | International | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Revenues: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commission and other brokerage income - existing home sales | $ | 909,456 | $ | 268,884 | $ | 207,114 | $ | 252,406 | $ | 181,002 | $ | 50 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commission and other brokerage income - development marketing | 80,386 | 31,557 | 333 | 43,615 | 4,881 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Property management revenue | 31,592 | 31,007 | 585 | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other ancillary services | 11,621 | 337 | 51 | 21 | 11,212 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 1,033,055 | $ | 331,785 | $ | 208,083 | $ | 296,042 | $ | 197,095 | $ | 50 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year Ended December 31, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | New York City | Northeast | Southeast | West | International | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Revenues: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commission and other brokerage income - existing home sales | $ | 878,775 | $ | 262,937 | $ | 189,625 | $ | 248,617 | $ | 177,596 | $ | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commission and other brokerage income - development marketing | 67,782 | 27,171 | 396 | 35,871 | 4,344 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Property management revenue | 36,785 | 36,027 | 758 | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other ancillary services | 12,285 | 482 | 279 | 19 | 11,505 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 995,627 | $ | 326,617 | $ | 191,058 | $ | 284,507 | $ | 193,445 | $ | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year Ended December 31, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | New York City | Northeast | Southeast | West | International | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Revenues: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commission and other brokerage income - existing home sales | $ | 849,874 | $ | 271,586 | $ | 177,222 | $ | 226,231 | $ | 174,835 | $ | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commission and other brokerage income - development marketing | 56,195 | 27,376 | 938 | 24,507 | 3,374 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Property management revenue | 35,542 | 34,798 | 744 | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other ancillary services | 13,967 | 1,860 | 745 | — | 11,362 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 955,578 | $ | 335,620 | $ | 179,649 | $ | 250,738 | $ | 189,571 | $ | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Contract Balances
The following table provides information about contract assets and contract liabilities from development marketing and commercial leasing contracts with customers:
| December 31, 2025 | December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||
| Receivables, which are included in receivables | $ | 3,141 | $ | 1,789 | |||||||
| Contract assets, net, which are included in other current assets | 8,775 | 10,935 | |||||||||
| Contract assets, net, which are in other assets | 46,735 | 37,123 | |||||||||
Payables, which are included in commissions payable | 2,237 | 1,302 | |||||||||
| Contract liabilities, which are in current liabilities | 15,966 | 18,225 | |||||||||
| Contract liabilities, which are in other liabilities | 74,946 | 63,765 | |||||||||
Receivables and payables relate to commission receivables and commissions payable from the Real Estate commercial leasing contracts for which the performance obligation has been satisfied, have extended payment terms and are expected to be received and paid in the next twelve months. Receivables increased $1,352 for the year ended December 31, 2025 primarily due to accrued revenues from satisfied performance obligations of $3,664, offset by cash collections. Correspondingly, payables increased by $935 primarily due to additional accrued expenses from satisfied performance obligations of $2,580, offset by cash payments.
Contract assets. For the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company recorded additional contract assets of $25,189 for payments made for direct fulfillment costs incurred in advance of the satisfaction of the performance obligations for Real Estate development marketing contracts. For the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company also reduced contract assets (and recognized real estate agent commission expense) by $17,737 for previously deferred costs of units closed.
Contract liabilities. Contract liabilities relate to payments received in advance of the performance obligations being satisfied under the Real Estate development marketing contracts and are recognized as revenue at the points in time when the Company performs under the contracts. Performance obligations related to the Real Estate development marketing contracts are considered satisfied when each unit is closed. Development marketing projects tend to span to six years from the time the Company enters into the contract with the developer to the time that all of the sales of the units in a subject property are closed. The timing for sales closings is dependent upon several external factors outside the Company’s control, including, but not limited to, economic factors, seller and buyer actions, construction timing and other real estate market factors. Accordingly, all contract liabilities and contract costs associated with development marketing are considered long-term until closing dates for unit sales are scheduled. As of December 31, 2025, the Company estimates $15,966 of contract liabilities will be recognized as revenue within the next twelve months.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company recorded additional contract liabilities of $42,339 for payments received from customers prior to the satisfaction of performance obligations for Real Estate development marketing contracts. For the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company also reduced contract liabilities (and recognized commissions and other brokerage income) by $33,417 for previously deferred revenue for units closed during the year.
The Company recognized revenue of $30,573, $14,449 and $16,675 for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively, that were included in the contract liabilities balances at December 31, 2024, December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively.
Topic 606 requires an entity to disclose the revenue recognized in the reporting period from performance obligations satisfied (or partially satisfied) in previous periods (for example, due to changes in transaction price). There were no revenues recognized relating to performance obligations satisfied or partially satisfied in prior periods for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mar 16, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Mar 17, 2025 | |
| 2023 | Mar 8, 2024 | |
| 2022 | Mar 16, 2023 | |
| 2021 | Mar 31, 2022 | |
About Revenue Disclosures
Revenue disclosures under ASC 606 explain how a company identifies performance obligations, allocates transaction prices, and determines when revenue is recognized. This section is essential for understanding whether reported revenue reflects genuine economic activity or aggressive accounting choices. Analysts examine the mix of point-in-time versus over-time recognition, which directly affects revenue timing and comparability.
Key signals: rising contract liabilities (deferred revenue) suggest strong future revenue visibility, while declining contract assets may indicate slowing project milestones. Watch for variable consideration estimates — rebates, returns, and performance bonuses that require management judgment. Significant changes in disaggregated revenue by geography or product line can reveal shifting business mix before it appears in headline numbers. Compare revenue growth against contract liability growth to assess sustainability, and scrutinize any changes in the timing of recognition that coincide with earnings pressure.