One of the top small teams in Washington, D.C., has moved from Washington Fine Properties to TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, the firm announced on Thursday.
HRLS Partners was the No. 1 small team at Washington Fine Properties and has closed $2.42 billion in career sales volume. The team consistently lands among the top 1,000 agent teams in the U.S., as ranked by RealTrends Verified, and has cultivated its expertise in the D.C. metro area luxury market.
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HRLS Partners includes Robert Hryniewicki, Adam Rackliffe, Christopher Leary and Micah Smith, who have closed a combined roughly 1,300 transactions over the course of their careers. The team hit an average sales price of $3 million in 2023, a record for the area that year, and earlier in 2025 sold a notable estate in the Langley Farms neighborhood of McLean, Virginia, for $11.2 million.
In 2024, the team was ranked the No. 2 small team in Washington, D.C., according to RealTrends.
Robert Hryniewicki | TTR Sotheby’s International Realty
“We’re super excited because the principals of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty — Jonathan Taylor and Michael Rankin — we’ve been working with them for the last 20-plus years and doing deals and [developing] a comfort level,” Hryniewicki told Inman. “We already have a fabulous, established relationship and we’re excited to expand on that and excited about our partnership together going forward.”
Hryniewicki said he and his partners had not considered any type of departure from Washington Fine Properties until the company was acquired by Compass in February of this year. The news was “a shock,” and felt to them like a departure from historic messaging that the firm was proud of its independent, boutique culture. It spurred the team to spend several weeks reflecting and researching the best next move for their clients and their luxury business, which ultimately led them to TTR Sotheby’s International Realty.
“It always came back to Sotheby’s, that they’re the preeminent option,” Hryniewicki said. “Not only do they have great luxury market share, but we’re also very familiar with their principals as well as their agent base, just because we’ve been doing deals with them for 20-plus years.”
He added that it was not an easy decision, but presented a new opportunity that the team was looking forward to. A partner at Washington Fine Properties whom Hryniewicki had once interned under said that the move was probably the right one for everyone and that the firm wished the team well.
“It was a mutually beneficial move, particularly in light of our firms’ culture, and we wish them all the best,” William F. X. Moody, managing partner for Washington Fine Properties, said in a statement emailed to Inman. “Washington Fine Properties will continue to operate under its very own luxury brand with the most powerful agents in the region.”
Michael Rankin | TTR Sotheby’s International Realty
Hryniewicki started his career at Washington Fine Properties as an intern in 1999, the year the firm was established, while completing his degree in Political Science at George Washington University. At first, he had expected to go to business school after graduation, but Moody convinced him to start working at the firm instead.
By 2016, he had joined up with fellow agents Adam Rackliffe and Christopher Leary to form the team, which at that time was simply HRL Partners. A year later, Micah Smith joined the firm as an intern, and it quickly became clear that he, too, would be sticking around, ultimately becoming the “S” in HRLS Partners.
“We are delighted to welcome HRLS Partners to the TTR Sotheby’s International Realty family,” Michael Rankin, managing partner of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, said in a statement. “Their reputation for excellence, integrity and results is perfectly aligned with our company.”
“The team’s impressive track record and deep market knowledge make them ideal partners as we continue to expand our presence in the Washington metropolitan area. Not to mention, if you’ve ever done a deal with HRLS, you know they’re very collegial, consummate professionals and bring their unique sense of levity to all situations.”
Mark Lowham | TTR Sotheby’s International Realty
Mark Lowham, CEO and managing partner of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, added in a statement, “The addition of HRLS Partners to our firm represents a significant milestone in our strategic growth. Their proven success in the luxury market, evidenced by their remarkable sales volume and transaction history, brings tremendous value to our organization. We’re confident this partnership will create exceptional opportunities for both our clients and our agents.”
In joining the firm, HRLS Partners will also establish and help lead a new office in DC’s Cleveland Park neighborhood, which will grow TTR Sotheby’s International Realty’s office count in the region to 13.
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