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The Real Brokerage picked up four teams in a single market to begin December — and end the year — on a rather significant high note, Inman learned in a Dec. 5 press release. Joining the fast-moving, tech-forward brokerage are Group O’Dell Real Estate Team, The Andy Blake Group, Applebaum KC Homes and Long Real Estate, all of the greater Kansas City metropolitan area.
This is yet another sign that Real’s growth continues on an impressive upward trajectory, despite the real estate market’s current habit of doing the opposite. Real said that, collectively, the four teams have sold 9,000 homes for a combined value of $2.5 billion.
“By coordinating their collective move, [the teams] have transformed Real into a market leader in Kansas City overnight and are making a clear statement that Real offers the best platform for them and other agents to succeed,” said Sharran Srivatsaa, president of Real, in the press release. “We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome each of them and their teams to the Real family and have them represent the Real brand.”
The seven-member Group O’Dell Real Estate Team is family-driven, consisting of husband and wife Dan and Maria and their son, Mike O’Dell. The 30-year team has traded $1.5 billion in real estate since 1995 and in 2022, landing at No.5 on Kansas City Business Journal’s annual ranking of real estate agents for selling more than 260 homes worth $117 million.
The Andy Blake Group was nine spots behind the O’Dells on the same list for its 250 home sales totaling $85 million. The grass-roots marketer built his nine-agent team on “word-of-mouth” marketing to the tune of $500 million sold since 2013.
Blake said in a statement that Real’s cloud brokerage model “is where the industry is going” and appeals specifically to top producers.
“In addition to joining forces with three Kansas City teams who have built a reputation for doing business the right way, being a part of Real provides an opportunity to be around thousands of like-minded people who take pride in their business,” Blake said.
Applebaum KC Homes is also family-run. Spouses Jeremy and Liron Applebaum started their team in 2012, Jeremy having been licensed since 1996 and the son of a builder. Kansas City Business Journal ranked them at No. 34 on $50 million in sales.
At one time a part of the O’Dells’ team, Tony Long created Long Real Estate in 2013 and has 18 years of experience in the industry. With four agents, the team sold 130 homes in 2022, worth $48 million, and 1,100 since 2006, placing them in the top 1 percent of their region.
In addition to its foray into Kansas City, the brokerage recently made inroads in California when the John Pope-led team at Legends Real Estate in Northern California joined Real in October. Based in Folsom, and active throughout the Golden State capital of Sacramento, John Pope has been selling homes for 45 years and will bring a unique level of tenure to the fast-growing, tech-forward residential brand.
At Inman Connect Las Vegas in August 2023, Real CEO and founder Tamir Poleg declared his company “is on fire.” Nothing has cooled since. In October it began operating in its 50th state, Nebraska, and announced a slew of marketing and business initiatives from the stage of its annual company gathering, RISE.
The company rolled out three new solutions for its agents and teams, an Agent Listing Toolkit, a marketing asset management system and creative design experience, through a partnership with Luxury Presence, the L.A.-based marketing technology company. On top of those agent tools, Real started a series of agent and staff benefits for health insurance and long-term wealth accumulation.
“Real’s vision is a world in which homebuying and selling is a simple and enjoyable experience for everyone,” said Srivatsaa in October. “Our new positioning represents this vision as well as our culture of community, and it comes at a time when Real has distinguished itself as the fastest-growing publicly traded brokerage firm for two years running and the only one to continue to grow profitability and truly innovate during a challenging and contracting real estate market.”
Poleg, along with Chief Technology Officer Pritesh Damani and Srivatsaa, were collectively awarded Inman’s 2023 Innovator Award at Inman Connect Las Vegas in August, “for their roles in guiding the company through choppy economic waters this year.”
