Starting next month, leads generated by ZipRealty’s “Powered by Zip” referral network in the Tucson, Arizona, market will go to a Realogy-owned brokerage, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Arizona, instead of Long Realty, one of the first two brokerages to sign up for the program in 2011.
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Arizona, which has 26 offices around the state with more than 1,500 sales associates, is owned by the nation’s largest brokerage company, NRT LLC. Long Realty is owned by the second-largest U.S. brokerage, Warren Buffett’s HomeServices of America.
In August, NRT’s parent company, Realogy Holdings Corp., closed its $166 million acquisition of ZipRealty. The franchise and brokerage giant said that it acquired ZipRealty not only for its brokerage operations in 23 markets — all but six of which are being integrated into NRT-owned Coldwell Banker offices — but also for the Powered by Zip technology platform, which generates and manages leads for other brokerages on an exclusive basis.
ZipRealty CEO Lanny Baker told Inman News in July that more than half of Powered by Zip’s 21 exclusive broker partners were either owned by NRT or affiliated with one of Realogy’s franchise brands, which include Century 21, ERA, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, and Sotheby’s International Realty.
Baker said at the time that ZipRealty was “totally committed to supporting” brokerages not affiliated with Realogy.
Realogy CEO Richard Smith said in August that the company planned to deploy the customer relationship management component of Powered by Zip, “Zap,” across its franchise brands and company-owned brokerages.
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Arizona will become the exclusive Powered by Zip broker in the Tucson market effective Nov. 12, ZipRealty announced today.
A ZipRealty spokeswoman did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether Realogy-owned or affiliated brokerages will take over other Powered by Zip territories currently assigned to non-Realogy brokerages. Long Realty executives did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether their Powered by Zip agreement simply expired and, if so, whether they were given an opportunity to renew it.
“We are excited about adding the ‘Powered by Zip’ technology platform as a strategic initiative to help grow our brokerage company,” said Greg Hollman, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Arizona, in a statement. “We look forward to adding to our team of agents dedicated to leveraging this powerful technology platform to more effectively match homebuyers and sellers in this market.”
