Inman

15 GMAC Real Estate offices convert to franchisees

A real estate veteran who previously sold his company to GMAC Home Services has bought it back as a franchise operation, according to a company announcement today.

Saul B. Cohen, who with Joseph Hare established Boston-based Hammond Residential Real Estate in 1991, sold that company in 2001.

Last year, Canada’s Brookfield Residential Property Services entered into a deal to buy GMAC Home Services LLC, including its real estate brokerage operations — GMAC Real Estate ranked fifth in transaction volume and 10th in total transaction sides in 2007 among U.S. real estate companies.

Hammond’s 12 offices will now operate as a GMAC Real Estate franchisee, according to the announcement today — the company had sales of about $1 billion in 2008.

Hammond Residential GMAC Real Estate has about 400 sales associates and employees.

Also today, GMAC Real Estate announced that two other company-owned Carlson GMAC Real Estate offices in Massachusetts have been acquired by Robert Molta, a longtime real estate industry executive, and a Carlson GMAC office in North Andover was sold to real estate veteran George Schruender.

"As part of the agreements, each of the three Carlson offices will continue to operate as Carlson GMAC Real Estate and will become franchisees of GMAC Real Estate," according to the announcement by GMAC Real Estate.

The company did not reveal the terms of the purchases.

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