Buffett ups bet on housing with new brokerages

Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett

Billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices venture has added nine new real estate broker affiliates throughout the U.S., evidence of his growing confidence in the housing market. Most recently the venture signed affiliate agreements with two brokerages in Texas and California.

The firm has also added brokerages in Delaware, New York, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee in recent months, according to a statement cited by Bloomberg News.

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The Berkshire-owned venture, HomeServices of America, based in Omaha, Neb., is the second-largest residential brokerage in the U.S. – behind Realogy’s 700 company-owned offices — with other recent acquisitions in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Oregon and Washington. Buffett is also expanding his firm by investing in brick manufacturers and building the largest stake in Wells Fargo, the top mortgage originator in the country. [Bloomberg News]Christopher Cameron