Inman

NRT acquires 40-office real estate franchise

NRT Inc., the nation’s largest residential real estate brokerage company, has acquired the assets of one of the largest Coldwell Banker franchisees in the country, NRT announced today.

CMLB Ltd., which operates as Coldwell Banker Success Realty in Scottsdale, Ariz., will now be owned and operated by NRT.

Coldwell Banker Success Realty was ranked among the top 20 companies nationwide on the industry’s Real Trends 500 list in transaction sides and closed sales volume for 2004. During the last 12 months, Coldwell Banker Success Realty accounted for nearly $7 billion in total closed sales volume, NRT announced.

The company operates 40 offices with 2,200 sales associates in various Arizona markets, including Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa and Tucson under the Coldwell Banker banner. In addition, the company has five offices and 150 sales associates in Santa Fe, N.M. operating under the French & French Sotheby’s International Realty banner.

“Extending NRT’s presence into southwestern markets that clearly reflect rapidly growing demographics, and doing so with a strong local management team already in place, made this a highly strategic opportunity,” said Bruce Zipf, president and CEO for NRT.

Bob McCord, formerly chairman and CEO for Coldwell Banker Success Realty, will continue with NRT as chairman for the Arizona-based realty organization that will now operate as Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. Bill Jilbert, formerly president and COO for Coldwell Banker Success Realty, will assume the same role for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Arizona.

Jilbert will report to Jeff Culbertson, who has been promoted to the dual role of senior vice president for NRT’s Southwest Region in addition to his position as president for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Sacramento/Lake Tahoe. Clayton Andrews, executive vice president and COO of the Mountain Region for Sotheby’s International Realty Inc., will expand his role to oversee Santa Fe operations.

Coldwell Banker Success Realty operates in several markets and under various trade names, including: Coldwell Banker Exito in Phoenix that focuses on the Spanish-speaking market; Coldwell Banker Grayhawk Realty in North Scottsdale; Coldwell Banker McCullough Judd Group in Lake Havasu City and Kingman, Ariz.; Coldwell Banker Pinnacle Peak in northern Scottsdale; Coldwell Banker Success Southwest in Tucson; and French & French Sotheby’s International Realty in Santa Fe, N.M.

With this announcement, the former Coldwell Banker Success Realty subsidiaries acquired by NRT will now operate under the banner of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, with the exception of Coldwell Banker Exito, which will maintain its focus on the Spanish-speaking market under the banner of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Exito. The former Sotheby’s International Realty affiliate in New Mexico acquired by NRT in this transaction will become part of Sotheby’s International Realty Inc.

The acquisition also includes Coldwell Banker Commercial Metro, the commercial subsidiary of Coldwell Banker Success Realty. Developers Marketing Services Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Coldwell Banker Success Realty that manages the company’s relationships with local developers and home builders, was also part of this transaction.

NRT Inc., a subsidiary of Cendant Corp., has more than 1,000 offices and 62,000 sales associates operating in more than 35 major metropolitan areas. In 2004, NRT posted a real estate industry record of $204 billion in closed sales volume, the company announced.

***

Send tips or a Letter to the Editor to glenn@inman.com or call (510) 658-9252, ext. 137.