9 more brokerages commit to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices

Nine more brokerages affiliated with Prudential Real Estate will transition to the new Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices real estate brand as early as the fourth quarter, bringing the total number of Prudential-affiliated brokerages that have committed to join Warren Buffett’s new franchise network to 26.

Under the terms of a 2011 sale of the Prudential Real Estate brand to Brookfield Asset Management, the brand is slated to fade away when the last rights expire to it in the late 2020s.

The Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices brand, hatched as an idea in October when HomeServices of America acquired a majority interest in the Prudential Real Estate and Real Living brands from Brookfield, was built, in part, to absorb the firms currently associated with the Prudential brand.

Stephen Phillips, the president of HSF Affiliates LLC, the joint venture between HomeServices and Brookfield to manage the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Prudential Real Estate and Real Living brands, says that the brand expects to transition a majority of the largest Prudential affiliates by the end of 2014.

“Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices will grow exponentially as we continue our transition process with Prudential Real Estate and work with top brokerage companies outside of Prudential Real Estate,” Phillips said in a statement.

There are approximately 550 brokerages currently affiliated with the Prudential brand, an HSF spokesman told Inman News earlier this year.

In July, HSF announced the first nine firms — all affiliated with Prudential Real Estate, and all but one owned by  HomeServices — that had committed to affiliate with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.

HSF announced in August that five additional firms had committed to join the network through early 2014: Prudential Ambassador Real Estate (Omaha, Neb.), Prudential California Realty (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), Prudential Colorado Properties (Vail, Colo.), Prudential Real Estate of the Rockies (Denver) and Prudential Preferred Homes (with Parkersburg Realty and Landmark Realtors in Parkersburg, W.V.)

HomeService’s purchase of Philadelphia-based Prudential Fox & Roach Realtors in August set up that firm and its approximate 4,000 agents to transition to the new brand.

The nine additional brokerages HSF announced today that will affiliate with the new franchise as soon as the fourth quarter are:

• Prudential Anderson Properties (Houston, Texas)
• Prudential California Realty (Cerritos, Calif.)
• Prudential Canyon Lake Realty (Canyon Lake, Calif.)
• Prudential Gallo, Realtors (Rehoboth Beach, Del.)
• Prudential Serls Prime Properties (LaGrangeville, N.Y.)
• Prudential Southeast Coastal Properties (Savannah, Ga.)
• Prudential Texas Realty (Austin, Texas)
• Prudential Tropical Realty (Tampa Bay, Fla.)
• Prudential Woodmont Realty (Nashville, Tenn.)

HSF, which says that the 26 committed firms represent more than $1 billion in annual gross commission income, has been making preparations for the new brand’s launch.

In March, HSF unveiled the new brand’s logo and cabernet and cream colors, and in June launched Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Prudential California Realty (San Diego) will be the first firm to transition to the new brand on September 23, followed by Prudential Connecticut on September 26 and Prudential Florida on October 1.

Editor’s note: A total of 26 firms are slated to transition to the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices brand, not 18 as a previous version of this story incorrectly reported.