Less than two months after merging her brokerage operation with Dave Perry-Miller’s under the Ebby Halliday Real Estate brand, high-end Dallas property doyenne Ellen Terry is bolting Ebby to join Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty. Briggs Freeman made the surprising announcement today.

In an interview, Terry said she would become an executive vice president at Briggs Freeman, where she will also have the chance to do “mentoring and coaching” for Briggs, which has 153 residential agents. So far, she said, “it remains to be seen” whether any of the 85 agents who joined Perry-Miller in October will join Briggs as well.

“I am here,” she said. “At this point, that’s about all I can say.”

Briggs Freeman president and CEO Robert M. (Robbie) Briggs said he’s learned a lot over the years from Terry, who’s long been a leader in high-end residential real estate in Dallas. “First and foremost, her role will be listing and selling” at Briggs Freeman, he said. “She will also be a confidante that I can go to for advice.”

Asked whether he would welcome Terry’s other agents at Perry-Miller, Briggs said, “The relationship with Ellen is standalone … but we are open to any good agents in the city.”

Terry (pictured in photo by Jeanne Prejean) said that Briggs approached her about joining his 51-year-old firm, which focuses on upscale residences against rivals such as Perry-Miller and Allie Beth Allman.

Despite her 17 “successful” years with Ebby Halliday, Terry said, “after talking about things, I decided that as much as I love the Ebby Halliday company,” making the change at this stage of her life was necessary, and “the right thing for me to do.”