Keyes acquires Treasure Coast brokerage

The Keyes Company landed a 24-agent brokerage in the Treasure Coast. 

The Miami-based brokerage, led by father-daughter duo Mike and Christina Pappas, acquired McCurdy & Co. Realty in Fort Pierce, according to a press release. Founder Joanne McCurdy will become the district sales manager of the McCurdy Group. The brokerage is maintaining the same office at 171 Melody Lane and rebranding it as a Keyes office, she confirmed.

McCurdy’s 24-agent team closes an average of $34 million in sales a year, she said. Keyes and other brokerages started approaching her five years ago, but her team was smaller then. As the size of her brokerage grew, McCurdy felt the need to bring in the support of a larger firm, and she liked that Keyes was family owned, she said.

“I was really at a crossroads,” she said. “Do I stop [growing] or get with a company that can support us?”

It isn’t just McCurdy’s team that’s been expanding. The Treasure Coast saw a pandemic boom in demand and prices, much like the rest of Florida. While the market has cooled off, McCurdy says she still sees a steady influx of buyers from Miami, the Northeast and California. There’s also been steady demand for development sites.

“There’s a lot of single-family developers,” she said, naming Lennar, D.R. Horton and Halliday Builders as some of the firms that have started building subdivisions in the area. 

While the Treasure Coast has seen significant price growth in recent years, McCurdy said she doubts the area would ever eclipse the prices in Florida’s prime luxury markets.

“I think we’ll always be under Miami or Fort Myers or Vero Beach,” she said.

McCurdy’s team is Keyes’ latest acquisition. Last year it acquired two teams in Boca Raton, the 100-agent Boca Realty and 60-agent Mizner Grande Realty. 

In January, Keyes joined the luxury listings network Forbes Global Properties. The move reflects the shifting demands of South Florida’s market, as a new international spotlight shines on the region.