About 10 months after it unveiled a new franchise brand, Chicago-based brokerage @properties announced Tuesday that it is pushing the brand into the Dallas market — and that the franchise there will have the backing of a famous local family.
Jerry Mooty, Jr. — who is a Dallas-based attorney, real estate agent and former technology executive — will be building the Dallas franchise from scratch. A statement from @properties notes that Mooty “already has commitments from a number of founding agents,” and is finalizing negotiations on an @properties office. Mooty told Inman in a phone call that he is looking forward to “hand picking the agents we want to bring on.”
The new franchise will initially focus on the luxury and new construction segments.
While building the company will no doubt require a lot of hard work, Mooty also has a secret weapon: He’s the nephew of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, and the powerful Jones family is financially backing the enterprise. Mooty told Inman that he has a “really good communication path” with the Jones family and that once he came to them with a proposal to start an @properties franchise “the excitement started early on.”
“With backing from the Jerry Jones family, Mooty intends to scale up quickly and turn @properties into a major player in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex,” the statement adds.
First announced in September 2020, @properties’ franchise brand allows the company to expand geographically while also giving more agents around the U.S. access to the firm’s unique technology suite. Thad Wong, company co-founder and co-CEO, said at the time of the franchise brand announcement that @properties has technology that franchisees can “plug and play,” meaning they don’t have to “use outside software that’s not integrating.”
In February, @properties announced that its first franchise would open in Detroit, with local firm Alexander Real Estate rebranding to operate under the @properties banner. The company’s second franchise launched in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in April.
Thad Wong
Mooty’s Dallas franchise will now be @properties third such operation, and unlike the previous two, will be the first to be built from scratch, rather than via the rebranding of an existing brokerage. Wong also told Inman in a phone call this week that “Dallas is a great fit because we feel it’s a fragmented market.”
Additionally, Wong said @properties is currently in talks with other potential franchisees around the U.S. and should be making additional announcements in the coming months.
Mooty ultimately praised @properties technology and culture while speaking with Inman, and said in the statement that “this company has an incredible track record for innovation and success, and a culture that inspires people.”
Mike Golden
In a phone call with Inman, @properties co-founder and co-CEO Mike Golden also said that he is “incredibly excited to be entering in the Dallas market and partnering with Jerry and his team.”
“There might not be a better growth market in the country right now,” Golden added, “than what’s going on down in Dallas.”
