While real estate agents chase leads and close deals on houses, there’s another level of deal-making that takes place within the real estate industry: mergers, acquisitions, integrations and partnerships.
We’ll be recapping every week’s noteworthy deals that didn’t make it into print (and some that did) for your perusal.
We missed you last week!
July 10
Rapattoni Corporation announced that the Bakersfield Association of Realtors, located in Bakersfield, Calif., has launched a new website using Rapattoni’s Integrated Website Service. Bakersfield currently serves more than 3,000 members in Kern County and surrounding areas. Powered by Rapattoni IWS, the new Bakersfield website allows consumers to search for listings, agents and offices, while also providing information for buyers and sellers, links to affiliate services and additional resources.
July 11
Century 21 Hometown Realty announced that it has acquired Peabody & Plum Realtors, expanding the presence of the Century 21 brand in San Luis Obispo County. With the addition of Peabody & Plum Realtors, Century 21 Hometown Realty now includes approximately 300 affiliated real estate professionals serving the Central Coast.
ERA Real Estate, a global franchising leader, announced the affiliation of DFW iRealty based in Plano, Texas. Established in 2012, the firm will now do business as ERA iRealty. “The iRealty leadership team’s founding vision to leverage technology to enhance the productivity of a younger cadre of real estate professionals not only aligns with today’s connected consumer, it also aligns perfectly with ERA’s strategic approach to growth,” said Sue Yannaccone, president and CEO of ERA Real Estate. “We are excited to tap into iRealty’s connections to the Asian market domestically as well as their international client base and expand ERA’s service area to this growing market segment.”
July 12
ShowingTime, a residential real estate showing management and market stats technology provider, announced that Triangle MLS, Inc. (TMLS), a regional multiple listing service covering 16 counties in the greater Triangle region of North Carolina, selected the ShowingTime Appointment Center to equip its 11,000 subscribers to manage showings. The ShowingTime offering will enable TMLS subscribers to call the ShowingTime Appointment Center 24/7/365 or schedule showings online through their MLS system, the ShowingTime mobile app or through other technology platforms selected by TMLS.
Engel & Völkers has announced its newest real estate shop in Niagara, Ontario, expanding the company’s international network and exclusive level of service in Canada. The newly established Engel & Völkers Niagara is led by owners Cosmo Condina, Carmela D’Amico and Peter Fischer, who will serve as the broker of record, and will provide leading real estate services to home buyers and sellers in the markets of Niagara, Niagara-On-The-Lake, Port Colbourne, Welland, and St. Catharines.
July 13
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate GoldLeaf in Fresno announced the acquisition of The W Group. The acquired brokerage is a fundamental step towards expanding its services in Fresno and the surrounding communities. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate GoldLeaf is owned by Anthony Hageman. Since joining Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Hageman has been interested in growing his service offerings to reach new clientele in California’s Central Valley. Matt Williams, founder and former owner of The W Group, began his real estate career in 2002 with a mortgage lending company. He has since developed a reputation for his expertise in real estate investing, flipping, buying and selling.
This week’s deals
July 17
Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC announced the brand’s expansion in the Caribbean with the opening of Roatán Sotheby’s International Realty on the island of Roatán off the coast of Honduras.Roatán Sotheby’s International Realty, led by Owner Matt Camron and Operations Manager Micheline Dupont, will serve the luxury residential real estate market throughout Roatán and the neighboring Caribbean Bay Islands of Utila and Guanaja.
July 18
LoanLogics, a recognized technology leader in loan quality management and performance analytics, has enhanced its LoanHD Loan Quality Management platform with an Audit Response Center (ARC). The new ARC enables mortgage lenders to efficiently address defects and conditions on loans immediately after each loan has been reviewed. Importantly, it also provides lenders with a compliance trail showing how each defect was addressed, so regulators and investors are able to clearly see what actions were taken.
For the first half of 2017, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (LeadingRE) continued to see expansion with the addition of 26 market-leading real estate firms in nine countries, increasing the network’s coverage to more than 565 firms across six continents with a total of over 130,000 associates. Top-performing firms were added in the Republic of Korea, Russia, Italy, Portugal, Canada, Central America and the United States. These firms were selected for membership in LeadingRE’s invitation-only real estate community based on their market leadership and commitment to quality.
July 19
Real estate agents now have another way to highlight their listings on Zillow using 2017’s favorite medium: video. HouseLens, a provider of visual marketing solutions for the real estate industry, has joined forces with the real estate portal to integrate HouseLens professional walkthrough video tours on the site’s listing pages at no charge to agents. (HouseLens’ video creation pricing can be found here — packages with video start at $225. For HouseLens shoots that do not incorporate professional video, the company is now offering Zillow video walkthroughs created with Zillow’s mobile app as an added feature for $25.
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Chicago announced it has acquired the assets of Chicagoland Realty Services in the West Loop area of Chicago. The company has 35 affiliated sales associates and a single office located at 1338 W. Madison St. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is part of NRT LLC, the nation’s largest residential real estate brokerage. Charles “Chip” Cornelius, former owner of Chicagoland Realty Services, will join Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage as its managing broker for the newly acquired office.
Howard Hanna Real Estate Services is now the No. 1 real estate company in New York state as of July 18, creating market dominance and brand uniformity under one name. Nothnagle Realtors and RealtyUSA, who both merged with Howard Hanna in the past two years, have changed their names across the region. “We continue to grow and evolve, remaining mindful of our mission to provide unparalleled, innovative and comprehensive real estate services to our clients,” said Howard W. “Hoby” Hanna, IV, President of Real Estate Brokerage.
Email deals and partnerships information to press@inman.com.