A handful of residential brokerages have turned to mergers and acquisitions in the past few months to secure a larger share of the market. They have included Corcoran Group absorbing Allan M. Schneider & Associates, doubling Corcoran’s presence on the East End of Long Island, as well as the merger of Fenwick Keats and Goodstein Realty to form Fenwick Keats Goodstein in Manhattan.
Taking a different approach, brokerages RE/MAX and Weichert Realtors are looking to grow by opening franchises.
RE/MAX recently opened RE/MAX Beach Properties in Southampton, and will open two additional franchises in Sag Harbor and East Hampton in the next 18 months. RE/MAX already has two franchises in Manhattan and over 15 in the outer boroughs.
“We are also looking at several locations in Westhampton Beach,” said Henry Weber, president and regional director of RE/MAX of New York.
In the past six months, RE/MAX also opened offices in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn and, says Weber, will open more franchises in Manhattan. “We have not secured suitable locations at present,” Weber said.
Weichert, which like RE/MAX has a huge national presence even if it’s not a big name in Manhattan, is also expanding in the city. The brokerage is opening new franchises in Riverdale in the Bronx and Bushwick in Brooklyn.
“We’ve made a conscious decision not to buy in, but instead to offer a franchise model to those who already know the area,” said Martin Rueter, president of Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, the franchise arm of Weichert Realtors. “We’re adding their expertise to our expertise.”
Weichert already has four offices in Manhattan, eight in Long Island and five in the outer boroughs.
“Weichert grew by recruitment and acquisitions during the beginning,” Rueter said. “But it became obvious that local expertise in the marketplace is better when you don’t know the marketplace.”
Both Rueter and Weber say franchises have more to offer brokers and customers. “People want assistance for efficiency in attracting agents, and our way of doing business is effective for them,” Rueter said. “We’re not just surviving but thriving in this market.”