With its acquisition of a batch of Foxtons listings, the biggest residential brokerage in Brooklyn just got bigger and is opening outposts in other boroughs.
Fillmore Real Estate, which was the highest bidder for 1,400 New York-area listings from the recently-bankrupt Foxtons North America, paid $110,000 for the listings.
Fillmore CEO John Reinhardt said the acquisition increased the number of Fillmore homes on the market from around 2,000 to around 3,400.
Since the Foxtons listings acquisition, Fillmore has opened its first location in the Bronx, in Westchester Square, to facilitate the marketing of its 175 new listings there. The company’s presence in Staten Island doubled to 200 listings, so Reinhardt hopes to hire a team of seven agents to deal exclusively in that borough.
Fillmore’s increased presence in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties has also prompted plans to hire agents in each, and possibly open office locations outside the five boroughs. The firm has hired Howard Witz as Long Island division manager.
“We have the inventory, so it’s a good time to expand and acquire or partner with other brokers,” said Reinhardt. “The phone is ringing off the hook; it’s just a matter of the amount of time in the day.” Reinhardt has hired on a total of 20 former Foxtons agents.
In contrast to discount brokerage Foxtons, which charged sellers 4 percent commission, Fillmore is a full-service brokerage that charges the traditional 6 percent.
“The Foxtons agents have been successful in taking the new listings at 6 percent,” Reinhardt said. “It motivates the agents by compensating them appropriately for the property.”