175 Park Avenue in Madison, N.J.
Realogy, parent company to the Corcoran Group, Citi Habitats, Coldwell Banker and Sotheby’s International Realty, broke ground on its new Madison, N.J. headquarters at 175 Park Avenue with Governor Chris Christie and Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno in attendance, the Daily Record reported. The firm moved from nearby Parsippany, and was kept in the garden state with tax incentives. [more]
Realogy CEO Richard Smith and a rendering of the building at 175 Park Avenue in Madison, N.J.[Updated 5:30 p.m. with broker information] Thanks to state incentives, Realogy has decided to keep its headquarters in New Jersey, the firm announced today, but change locations. In late 2012 or early 2013, the real estate parent company of the Corcoran Group, Citi Habitats, Coldwell Banker and Sotheby’s International Realty, will move into a building that’s currently being constructed at 175 Park Avenue in Madison, less than seven miles from the corporation’s current space in Parsippany.
Realogy CEO Richard Smith said the new offices remain close to the center of the geographic location of many Realogy employees, and the new offices will save about 25 percent in rent compared to the former space. – Adam Fusfeld [more]
Realogy’s net revenue for the third quarter was $1.2 billion, an increase of 10 percent from third quarter of 2010, the company announced today, largely due to an increase in transaction volume at the company’s franchises, which include the Corcoran Group, Citi Habitats, Coldwell Banker and Sotheby’s International Realty.
“Despite difficult macro-economic issues, our third quarter produced 10 percent revenue growth before restructuring and other items,” said Richard Smith, Realogy’s president and CEO. “Given the macroeconomic headwinds facing the housing market, our operating performance has shown resilience. We believe we are substantially advantaged with our leaner, highly variable cost model, a capital structure that includes $2.1 billion of convertible debt and the continued support of our largest investors.” – Katherine Clarke [more]
[Updated at 5:30 p.m. and 12:00 p.m. on Sept. 12] Top-rated sales teams at Richard Smith’s Realogy empire include the Corcoran Group’s Carrie Chiang and Sharon Baum, both in Manhattan, according to a study by the Wall Street Journal and Real Trends, released yesterday.
Harald Grant of Sotheby’s International Realty in Southampton and Susan Breitenbach of Corcoran in Bridgehampton both ranked highly as individual sales agents.
Breitenbach recently cleaned up at Corcoran’s 2010 East End awards, taking the prize for top sales agent by volume as well as by number of units sold. In fact, based on annual 2010 sales volume, 39 percent of the nation’s top 1,000 real estate agents are affiliated with Smith’s Realogy brands, the study shows. – Katherine Clarke [more]
Realogy, parent company of the Corcoran Group, Coldwell Banker and Sotheby’s International Realty, posted a $33 million net loss in the third quarter, according to Inman News. The in-the-red report reflects a 25 percent slide in the number of transactions Realogy’s companies saw during the same quarter a year earlier, down to 61,092. Richard Smith, CEO of Realogy, said that while sales were stronger earlier this year, this was likely due to the federal homebuyer tax credit program, which artificially inflated activity. “The improvement in home sales, aided by the homebuyer tax credit in the second quarter, clearly did not survive the program’s conclusion,” Smith said. [Inman]
Century 21 has dumped Long Island brokerage Laffey Associates, terminating its franchise agreement and alleging in a suit that the latter owes it more than $280,000 in various fees, according to Inman News. Laffey, which had been one of Century 21′s biggest brokerages, has filed a counterclaim, arguing that Century 21 breached its contract under their original franchise agreement. The counterclaim is part of a larger class-action lawsuit against the firm and its parent company, Realogy, that includes more than 1,000 current and former members of the Century 21 franchise. Century 21, which officially terminated its agreement with Laffey Sept. 7, has denied the claims in the class-action suit. [Inman]
Richard Smith, CEO of Realogy
Realogy, the real estate giant that owns the Corcoran Group, Citi Habitats and Century 21, today reported a net income of $222 million for the second quarter of 2010, which it attributed to increases in home sales and prices, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company, which lost $1.9 billion in 2008 and had appeared close to bankruptcy last year before raising $515 million in new loans, saw its revenue increase to $1.3 billion last quarter, up 23 percent over the same period in 2009. The gains were in large part due to an 11 percent year-over-year increase in home sales at its Realogy Franchise Group affiliate and a 16 percent increase at NRT, its brokerage unit. Home sale prices in the second quarter were also up 5 percent at RFG and 12 percent at NRT over last year. “Clearly, Realogy had a strong second quarter,” said CEO Richard Smith. “Looking forward, however, it is shaping up to be a difficult third quarter because of the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit and an uncertain near-term outlook for the economy.” TRD
Century 21 Real Estate today announced that President and CEO Tom Kunz has resigned, and that industry veteran Rick Davidson will replace him, effective immediately.
In June of 2004, Kunz became CEO of Century 21, a subsidiary of the New Jersey-based Realogy.
Davidson was previously the COO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate — another Realogy brand — and president and COO of Coldwell Banker Commercial Affiliates.
“We thank Tom Kunz for his many years of service to the CENTURY 21 System, and we wish him well in the future,” said Alex Perriello, president of the Realogy Franchise Group, in a statement. “I am especially pleased that we were able to make this executive appointment from within Realogy, which speaks to the high level of managerial talent that exists across our organization.” [more]
Real estate giant Realogy, parent company of the Corcoran Group, Citi Habitats and Century 21, has managed to cut its net losses for 2009 to $262 million, a minor bump in the road compared to the $1.9 billion loss posted for 2008. Cost-cutting accounted for the reduced losses, which came in spite of an overall 17 percent drop in revenue, to $3.9 billion, for the year. The last three months of the year foreshadowed further improvements for the company, with revenue up 11 percent for the period over 2008, and transactions up 18 percent for the company’s Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA, Sotheby’s International Realty and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate franchises. In September last year, Realogy had appeared close to bankruptcy before raising $515 million in new loans that helped reduce its senior debt, thanks in large part to billionaire investor Carl Icahn. [Inman News] [more]
From the February issue: The New York City real estate world has closely followed as brokerages here have downsized and shuttered offices. But just north of the city, in Westchester, the real estate industry has quietly seen a shift of its own. Indeed, some say the brokerage world there has been irrevocably altered during the downturn as some firms have announced closures, and others have set up shop or merged with larger corporate entities, poaching agents along the way. The biggest shake-up, of course, was Sotheby’s International Realty’s October decision to terminate its presence in the county altogether. Sotheby’s sold four of its offices — its three “golden triangle” offices in Scarsdale, Rye and Larchmont, as well as one in Chappaqua — to an affiliate, William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty. In addition, it shut down a fifth office in Katonah, farther north in Westchester. That follows Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty, which has seven offices in Westchester with roughly 340 agents, joining the Realogy umbrella at the end of April. [more]
