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Nest Realty, which teamed up with @properties in 2020, has bought back all its shares in the company and is now once again a fully independent brokerage, Nest and @properties confirmed to Inman.
The Virginia-based brokerage, which also has locations across North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Arizona, sold a stake to @properties in March 2020. In doing so, Nest Realty received access to @properties’ proprietary tech platform, marketing, coaching programs, health benefits and a partnership with Guaranteed Rate, while @properties was able to establish a presence in the markets Nest Realty served and establish a franchisor revenue stream.
Nest Realty co-founder Jonathan Kauffmann and his partners Keith Davis and Jim Duncan continued to run the firm’s day-to-day operations as part of the agreement with @properties.
Jonathan Kauffman | Nest Realty
But as of the end of February 2023, those original partners are once again fully in control.
“The original partners are, once again, 100 percent owners of Nest,” Kauffmann told Inman in an email. “This gives us complete control of Nest, our marketing, our technology, and our future.”
“We are thankful for the time we were partnered with @properties, but are ecstatic to again be independent and beyond excited for what the future holds,” Kauffmann continued. “Our focus has been — and will always be — providing each and every Nest agent with the best support, marketing services, and technology, so that they can provide exceptional service to their clients and grow their businesses the right way.”
Nest Realty has about 500 agents across 21 offices. Collectively, the brokerage sold $2.7 billion in sales in 2022.
@properties’ press representatives also sent an emailed statement to Inman.
“With our focus on the growth and operations of the @properties and Christie’s International Real Estate brands and the ongoing development of our pl@tform technology, it was mutually and amicably decided that the best way forward for the Nest Realty brand was under the ownership of its founding partners.”
Nest Realty noted that the brokerage is working on its own proprietary technology, which it used prior to the agreement with @properties, and plans to implement it in the upcoming months with design and functionality upgrades.
“We are currently focused on re-building and upgrading our proprietary technology, Envoy, which we will be rolling out to our agents early this summer,” Kauffmann said. “And after a temporary hiatus in opening new offices over the last 18 months, we are now actively exploring franchise growth opportunities again.”
Kauffmann told Inman that potential future franchises would ideally be independent brokerages with between 10 to 20 agents, making about $30 to $60 million in annual sales volume and looking for a company to partner with for marketing and tech support to grow. Those future franchises might continue to be in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast or elsewhere across the U.S.
Since acquiring Christie’s International Real Estate in November 2021, @properties/Christie’s have added on a number of strategic affiliates across the U.S. and abroad, including the recent addition of John R. Wood Properties in Florida.
Editor’s note: This story was updated after publishing with additional details from Nest Realty.
