Two leading Solano County, Calif., brokerages have merged and affiliated with franchisor Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.
The merger of Vacaville-based Kappel & Kappel Realty Inc. with Solano Gateway Realty Inc. in Fairfield beefs up Coldwell Banker’s presence along the Interstate 80 corridor between San Francisco and Sacramento.
The newly formed Coldwell Banker Kappel Gateway Realty has more more than 200 agents working out of seven offices, including nearly 30 agents from the former Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage offices in Vacaville and Dixon.
The new brokerage’s ownership group includes Steve and Sue Kappel, owners of Kappel & Kappel, and Solano Gateway owners Steve Spencer and Bev Dorsett. Together, the two brokerages had more than $600 million in sales volume in 2012, the companies said.
“We have enjoyed a three-decade-long friendly competition with Steve and Sue, and we have always admired their company’s success,” Spencer said in a statement. “Together we realized that our operations would be best served by a merger. We are thrilled to retain our local ownership while adding the resources, global network and marketing power that our affiliation with Coldwell Banker will provide for our agents and our customers.”
Coldwell Banker Real Estate President and CEO Budge Huskey called the ownership group at Coldwell Banker Kappel Gateway Realty “impressive” and said the franchisor was “thrilled to welcome them and their agents to the Coldwell Banker brand.”