Bradenton Brokerage Prepares For Expansion

Florida mortgage demand is slowing and home sales are way down. But that hasn’t swayed a local real estate brokerage, which is growing by 14 real estate agents.

Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate announced Wednesday that it has acquired Buccaneer Realty, working out of the Brandenton-Sarasota housing market.

The company is not yet releasing what it paid for Buccaneer Realty, said Sue Louis, V.P. of Coldwell Banker’s Sarasota division.

“We’re in the process of looking at additional sites so there might be more growth coming within the next year,” Louis said.

As Lakewood Ranch and other areas east of Interstate 75 continue to grow, many agencies have expanded their presence in what has become a targeted sector of the Florida housing market.

“With the acquisition of Buccaneer Realty, we can significantly expand our presence in the dynamic Lakewood Ranch and north Manatee County markets,” Budge Huskey, president and chief operating officer for Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate in Florida, said in a press release.

Buccaneer Realty broker/associate Jennifer Scott owned and operated the realty group for the past six years and will join Coldwell Banker as a sales associate.

Scott calls the move a “joining of forces” that will allow Buccaneer’s real estate agents to better serve customers. The Buccaneer agents will soon move into Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate’s Creekwood Crossings office.

The acquisition comes on the heels of the highest number of sales in both Manatee County and Sarasota County in 14 months, and a continued increase in customer traffic, Louis said.

“We are constantly working on acquiring quality agencies, not only in this state but around the country,” Louis said, believing that low Florida home mortgage costs don’t mean much without good agents.

While buying a company with good real estate agents is beneficial to the large corporation, she said, merging or being acquired is often just as beneficial to the small business owner.

Just more than one year ago, Rod Rawlings left his own private brokerage firm to work for Re/Max Gulfstream.

Rawlings said he weighed the option of continuing to run his own company or joining forces with Re/Max, training and technology, the cost of business operations and being able to reach a broader range of clients all were positive forces behind the move.

“As far as technology and training, I couldn’t reasonably keep up,” Rawlings said.

Rawlings is a broker associate and vice president for corporate development at Re/Max Gulfstream. Employees at the newly acquired Buccaneer Realty were informed of Scott’s decision to sell Wednesday.

SOURCE: Bradenton Herald