New York City-based real estate company Halstead Property today unveiled a wide-ranging corporate rebrand for the first time since 2006 involving a new aesthetic, name tweak and tagline that applies to everything from the firm’s storefronts and website all the way down to its cocktail napkins.
The corporate colors now feature a palette of grays for the overall brand while three additional color sets were developed for Halstead’s various markets throughout the tri-state region of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey to reflect the distinct characteristics of each of the firm’s major markets, including Manhattan, the outer boroughs and the suburbs.
Halstead homepage post-rebrand
Moreover, Halstead Property will now officially be known as just “Halstead” as the company drops the word “Property” from its name — though “Halstead” may be combined with the word “Real Estate” in certain circumstances for context — along with the fresh tagline “Move to what moves you.”
The rebrand, led by 46-year-old independent design studio Pentagram, cost the company in the “millions of dollars” and was made with both consumers and real estate agents in mind, according to Diane Ramirez, Halstead’s chairman and CEO. Ramirez declined to specify the exact cost of the rebrand.
Halstead’s old versus new logo
Ramirez — who believes Halstead is currently at a “pivotal moment” — revealed the rebrand today to around 1,000-plus agents at the firm’s annual meeting held at Cipriani’s in New York City alongside other company leaders.
“Over the years, we have evolved from a boutique New York City firm to a force operating in urban, suburban and second-home markets across New York, Connecticut and New Jersey,” Ramirez said in a statement. “We have built an internal foundation of incredible technology, marketing services and support companies without forgetting our mission as a real estate company based on relationships and skill. It is time to turn this outward.”
Halstead’s rebrand comes on the heels of a controversial new logo rolled out and later retracted, at least temporarily, by the National Association of Realtors. Nevertheless Ramirez said she is confident in the Halstead rebrand, which she says underwent a thorough consultation process that had “gotten very good reviews” over the past four to five months.
Halstead, co-founded in 1984 by Clark Halstead and Ramirez, has grown quite significantly since 2006, going from a company with six offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn with around 550 agents, to 34 offices with over 1,400 agents in the tri-state area today.
“We are truly a much more dynamic company than we were back then,” Ramirez told Inman.
Ramirez said the private, debt-free company prefers to grow through acquisitions rather than setting up offices anew. She told Inman the company had a number of acquisitions “bubbling away,” which she would return her attention to in the coming months.
“We love acquisitions where the leader wants to remain with us, either continuing to manage the brokerage or even wants to stay as an agent and be there as guidance,” she told Inman. “The culture of our company is so like so many of these small firms.”
Halstead, a Leading Real Estate Companies of the World member, tends to buy firms with around 25 to 50 agents, which seems to be the “sweet spot” for companies who can’t necessarily get to the next level without help, said Ramirez.
The company CEO said she has no plans to go beyond the tri-state area, but would consider Florida potentially in the future. Meanwhile, the independent brokerage plans to build up its presence in the Hamptons, New Jersey and Connecticut in the coming year.
As the company grows, Ramirez is careful not to forget about Halstead’s roots in the city.
“I’ve never lost sight of the fact that Manhattan is the core magnet market,” Ramirez told Inman. “The more connected the markets we move to are with Manhattan, the more successful they are for us.”
