Arizona-based real estate franchisor HomeSmart today announced the acquisition of Coldwell Banker Trails and Paths, a team of 65 agents in Mesa, Arizona. This deal brings HomeSmart’s total network count to 14,500 agents (within 133 offices) across 17 states.
“Trails and Paths attracted high-quality agents in Mesa and outlying areas that we are excited about joining the HomeSmart family,” said HomeSmart COO Wendy Forsythe in a press release.
“We are thrilled this great company and its agents will be part of our tremendous momentum as we continue to focus on our strategic priorities to provide long-term value to our agents and their clients.”
In an emailed statement to Inman, Forsythe elaborated on how the acquisition came to be, saying the Coldwell Banker Trails and Paths team held HomeSmart in high regard and seized the opportunity to join the brokerage as their franchise agreement with Coldwell Banker came to an end.
“They had long admired HomeSmart as a competitor and felt that the traditional business model they were operating under was not competitive in today’s market,” she said. “That made HomeSmart an ideal option as they considered their next chapter.”
The former Coldwell Banker Trails and Paths team will be integrated into HomeSmart’s Phoenix network, said the brokerage, while being able to stay in the same office space. The 65-person team will have access to HomeSmart’s end-to-end proprietary systems and technology that includes three categories:
- Agent tools: SmartSites, SmartBlog, SmartPanel and SmartFax
- Listing tools: SmartFlyers, SmartTube, SmartCodes and SmartCapture
- Home search tool: SmartSearch
In October 2017, HomeSmart also launched SmartListing, a service that uses text messaging to share listing information and generate leads, in its Phoenix, Palm Springs, Florida and Colorado locations. SmartListing properties have a unique code on yard signs that buyers can use to get the listing information via text, call or URL.
Coldwell Banker Trails and Paths managing broker and CEO Ron Brown said these technology offerings are what led his team to become part of the HomeSmart network.
“After 20 years serving the East Valley, Trails and Paths has agreed to a sale and merger with HomeSmart, one of the fastest-growing real estate companies,” Brown said in a statement. “I believe HomeSmart’s cutting-edge technology will take us to a new generation of real estate services for our agents and customers.”
Forsythe says the Trails and Paths team has already been integrated into the HomeSmart Phoenix network, after going through an orientation that included hands-on training for everyone on staff.
This is the second acquisition HomeSmart has completed in the past year, the first being Denver-based Cherry Creek Properties, a team of 1,500 agents in Denver. The acquisition made HomeSmart the no. 1 brokerage in Colorado by agent count.
Both moves are part of HomeSmart’s “aggressive growth plan” that led the company to 32 percent year-over-year in 2017. According to an October interview with Inman, the brokerage said they’d be focusing on expanding to the East Coast in the coming year — something Forsythe reinterated today.
“We definitely want to move to the eastern side of the country — to the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee and the Midwest, places like Minnesota,” HomeSmart told Inman.
HomeSmart declined to release the financial details of the deal.
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