Sotheby’s International Realty Inc. is entering the Houston market with the acquisition of independent real estate brokerage Martha Turner Properties, which operates six offices staffed by more than 220 associates.
Brokerage founder Martha Turner and her business partner Tom Anderson will continue to lead the Houston operations of Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty as co-presidents of the company.
According to Real Trends data, Martha Turner Properties tallied the third-highest sales volume among brokerages in the Houston area in 2012 — nearly $1.6 billion. Last year, the brokerage had its best year ever, closing more than $2 billion in sales in the booming market.
Real Trends ranked Martha Turner Properties as the eighth-most productive U.S. brokerage in 2012 based on closed sales volume per agent, with an average of more than $7 million per agent.
“We are thrilled to welcome a company known for [its] local market knowledge, exceptional service and community involvement,” said Kathryn Korte, president and CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty, in a statement. “It’s a marriage of shared values and strengths.”
Turner said the partnership “will ensure that the company not only evolves far into the future, but will thrive with the increased marketing exposure and far-reaching referral opportunities, giving our clients significant advantages.”
Sotheby’s International Realty is a subsidiary of NRT LLC, the operator of Realogy Holdings Corp.’s company-owned real estate brokerage offices and the nation’s largest residential real estate brokerage company.
Sotheby’s International Realty operates brokerage offices in metropolitan and resort markets including San Francisco, Sonoma, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Malibu, Pasadena, Santa Barbara and Carmel, Calif.; Santa Fe, N.M.; Greenwich, Conn.; Manhattan and the Hamptons, N.Y.; Cape Cod, Mass.; and Palm Beach, Fla.
The brokerage is a member of the Sotheby’s International Realty network, which has about 13,000 sales associates and 660 offices located in 49 countries and territories worldwide.
Last fall, Houston-based Prudential Anderson Properties, which has which has more than 300 agents working out of 17 offices, rebranded as Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Anderson Properties.
Anderson Properties had affiliated with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate in March 2010, before merging with Alvin, Texas-based Prudential Reyes-Planka Realtors in June 2012. Houston’s biggest brokerage, Gary Greene Realtors, dropped its Prudential Real Estate affiliation to rebrand as a Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate franchisee at about the same time.
