Weichert Real Estate Affiliates expanded from 70 affiliate offices last fall to a current 115 offices in 14 states, according to an announcement today.
Weichert, based in Morris Plains, N.J., now has more than 12,800 sales associates and 270 total offices, including company-owned and franchised offices. Offices are located in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Ohio, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and Texas. Affiliate offices are heavily concentrated in Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Martin J. Rueter, WREA president, said Weichert has a “strong favorable buzz” within the real estate industry, and that buzz is heightening interest among independent brokers.
Wayne Murray, a broker in Houston who is one of the new Weichert affiliates, said, “We’ve visibly raised the bar in the Houston area. Already, we’re seeing a major competitor try to mirror some of the new things we do.” Murray credited the Weichert Open House system with “selling a noticeably higher percentage of the people we’re meeting at open houses. The Weichert business model opens up opportunities.”
WREA’s Rueter said that besides independent firms who’ve been “struggling against the giant conglomerates for years,” another trend he’s seeing are managers and top sales teams who are launching start-ups.
Kathleen N. Rebhan, who has signed on as Weichert, Realtors Rebhan & Associates in Charlotte, N.C., helped to grow a local boutique real estate firm and was formerly a major brand’s “top 10” agent and a growth and development manager before affiliating with Weichert. “As a Weichert affiliate, I saw I could offer clients a vast menu of services, with a personal touch,” she said. Each Weichert franchised office is independently owned and operated.
Weichert Realtors handles both residential and commercial real estate, and Weichert Financial Services’ Gold Services Program offers additional services including mortgage, home insurance and title insurance.
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