The Washington, DC commercial real estate market is often associated with its proximity to federal agencies and Fortune 500 headquarters. For The Ellitan Group, however, success comes from building an international network that serves high-net-worth clients with complex, cross-border needs.
Jesse Elliott, Managing Partner, has shaped his 25-agent firm around a business-first philosophy that goes beyond traditional brokerage. “I am a businessman and a business person first, and not just a realtor,” Elliott says. “The way that we approach business is as business people, and I think that’s a unique and beneficial approach when we discuss assisting clients, especially in the commercial real estate and mergers and acquisition realm.”
From Entrepreneur to Real Estate Leader
Elliott’s entry into real estate was unconventional. After studying criminology at George Mason University with plans to become an attorney, he and his partner launched a software company focused on the secondhand market while still in college. They later exited that business, moving into logistics and then custom home building.
“We built a couple of properties, including one in McLean, which is a very affluent area in the suburb of Washington, DC. We built and sold that in-house for two and a half million dollars last year,” Elliott recalls.
These early ventures provided essential business connections and development expertise that would later distinguish The Ellittan Group in the crowded DC market. “I’ve always been somebody who’s an opportunist. I look at opportunities,” Elliott says. “We saw this as a feasible, growable, scalable opportunity.”
International Networks Drive Local Deals
The Ellitan Group’s most distinctive advantage is its international network, anchored by membership in CEO Clubs International—a Dubai and Washington, DC-based organization with thousands of global members. This network has led to significant transactions with overseas clients.
“We worked with clientele in Dubai. We worked with clientele out of London,” Elliott explains. “One deal specifically that we just did was a client who is headquartered out of London, with offices in Dubai and in the oil refinery business in Iraq.”
That client needed office space near the White House to engage with the Department of Energy. The Ellittan Group secured a penthouse at 800 Connecticut Avenue Northwest, a building that houses Coca Cola, Tesla, and Twitter’s main government relations offices. The client took over 10,000 square feet of space with direct views into the Oval Office.
Recently, the firm hosted developers of Trump International Hotel and suites, Lamborghini villas, and Aston Martin residences from Dubai, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia at a Virginia country club. The event attracted about 100 attendees, including the Loudoun County Treasurer and a state delegate, demonstrating how international relationships can open doors for local business.
Diversified Service Offerings
Unlike many firms that focus on either residential or commercial real estate, The Ellitan Group maintains a roughly 60-40 split between commercial and residential transactions. “High level clients still have nice properties. They live somewhere. Everybody lives somewhere,” Elliott says. “We’ve never wanted to leave that money on the table.”
The firm’s services extend beyond brokerage to include mergers and acquisitions. Recently, The Ellitan Group completed the acquisition of a 22,000-square-foot hospitality club in Washington for an international hospitality firm with properties from Toronto to Miami. “We negotiated very hard. It was a long deal, but we ended up getting the asset for less than half the asking price,” Elliott notes.
Recognizing a gap in the market, The Ellitan Group is expanding into asset management. “You have people who have made hundreds of millions of dollars in specific industries, and they come to us wanting to buy commercial real estate,” Elliott says. “But sometimes you look at the deal and say, ‘Well, this is maybe not something that I would buy personally.’” The firm now advises on investment strategy and manages assets for clients who may lack expertise in real estate.
Washington, DC Market Trends
The DC area’s unique conditions support The Ellitan Group’s approach. “You have a retail market that’s 94% leased,” Elliott says, though he notes a slight increase in vacancies, with rates dipping to around 93.5%.
Industrial and flex space is especially sought after, primarily located in Virginia’s Chantilly, Lorton Springfield, and Sterling corridors. “There’s not a lot of it. It’s really centered within specific regions,” Elliott explains, highlighting the limited supply and high demand.
The residential market is sharply divided. “The top 10% of homes sell quick, and they sell above ask. The bottom 90% of homes, the exact opposite happens,” Elliott observes. This reflects ongoing supply and demand imbalances across price segments.
Why Virginia Leads Regional Growth
Virginia consistently outperforms Maryland and DC in commercial activity, driven by favorable business policies, robust infrastructure, and landlord-friendly regulations. “Virginia overall is seeing the biggest growth, just in terms of more favorable business policies,” Elliott says.
A major driver is the data center expansion along the corridor from Loudoun (County) to Prince William County. “They know that the fiber is here, and you have the talent pool, which is huge as well in our area,” Elliott explains. While some residents object to data center development, the facilities bring jobs and increased enterprise activity to the region.
The area’s high median household income—about $200,000 in many neighborhoods—supports a strong consumer base. “Your average consumer can spend money,” Elliott says, citing both federal employment and the presence of numerous Fortune 500 headquarters.
Adapting to Economic Uncertainty
Despite national economic headwinds, The Ellitan Group has maintained steady transaction volume by focusing on high-net-worth clients with distinct priorities. “We have clients who have different motivations. If you’re trying to lobby the United States government at a specific time, it doesn’t matter about the economy, you’re going there,” Elliott explains.
He points out that affluent clients continue to transact regardless of broader economic cycles. “Smart business people know the economy is always a cycle. It comes up, and it goes down,” he says. “They always buy, and they buy when nobody else is buying.”
Elliott expects that interest rate reductions by the second quarter of next year could unlock more inventory as homeowners with low-rate mortgages become more willing to move. “Anytime that you have more demand, prices will come up. You will have more supply, but it will be generally a hotter market,” he predicts.
Strategic Growth and Long-Term Focus
The Ellitan Group is preparing for further expansion by adding new products and services. “You don’t want to be one dimensional. When you’re one dimensional, you’re limited,” Elliott says.
The firm’s growth strategy emphasizes building long-term pipelines rather than focusing solely on immediate transactions. “It’s 3% of clients who are probably active at any time. But how do you hit the other 97%? You have to build a pipeline to future clientele,” Elliott explains.
Elliott’s business philosophy centers on learning quickly from failures to accelerate success. “You want to get to failure in every possible realm of business as quickly as possible so that you can get to the more successful times,” he says.
For The Ellitan Group, succeeding in Washington’s competitive real estate market means leveraging international relationships, offering diversified services, and maintaining a business-first mindset that treats real estate as one part of a broader client relationship. As the firm expands its asset management offerings and deepens its global network, it demonstrates how mid-sized firms can compete with larger players by specializing and using strategic networking to secure a place in the region’s evolving commercial landscape.
