Coldwell Banker Inks Latest Franchise Deal With Cal American

Southern California’s brokerage consolidation continues with Coldwell Banker Real Estate inking yet another franchise agreement that will give it more weight in Orange County and the Inland Empire.

Jessie Rodriguez and Aaron Juarez, formerly of Cal American Homes, are the latest franchise partners with Coldwell Banker, bringing roughly 25 agents into the company’s fold. The new entity has been renamed Coldwell Banker Icon.

This latest local move comes a week after Compass and Coldwell Banker parent Anywhere Real Estate closed on their $4.2 billion merger. The combined business of the nation’s two largest brokerages now counts about 340,000 agents — and growing.

The newest addition, Coldwell Banker Icon, plans to open a South Orange County office by the end of the month and another in Rancho Cucamonga, about 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, Rodriguez told The Real Deal. The Inland Empire office will be established through the acquisition of an existing company that, if finalized, will add another 60 agents to the roster. The details of both offices will be disclosed once those moves are finalized.

“I get to be independent still, but now I’ve got this 120-year-old brand behind me that’s recognizable,” Rodriguez said. “I thought, the sky’s the limit.”

Rodriguez launched Cal American Homes around 2009 with an office in Rancho Cucamonga at a time when the region was still reeling from the subprime mortgage meltdown. About three years ago, he decided to move the business to Real Brokerage’s digital platform. With the market becoming more rugged last year, being virtual wasn’t working for his agents. After exploring “traditional brands” for nearly a year, Rodriguez and Juarez decided to link with Coldwell Banker.

“I just loved it. It’s elegant. It’s luxurious, yet the common person knows the brand,” Rodriguez said, and the then-pending merger with Compass didn’t give him pause. “This is all at the same time we’re hearing about Compass is going to buy Anywhere and what does that mean? I don’t care what it means. I like Coldwell Banker. I like their leadership. I like their brand. I like their messaging.”

The establishment of Coldwell Banker Icon is the latest deal to quickly add scale to Coldwell Banker’s Southern California ranks. But, it is small relative to the franchise agreement the Anywhere Real Estate brand struck in November with a Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties franchisee.

That deal late last year renamed the BHHSCP affiliate Coldwell Banker Envision and added over 1,300 agents and 14 offices in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Orange counties.

In 2025, that affiliate business was ranked sixth in Los Angeles County with volume of $2.4 billion in on-market deals within Los Angeles County between July 1, 2024 and July 1, 2025, according to TRD Data.

The franchise agreement did not include BHHSCP’s company-owned business or three other franchisees in Sierra Madre, Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach and San Luis Obispo.