Brokerage Beat: News from Corcoran, RE/MAX, Real, C21, more 

Editor's note: The brokerage business is a busy one, with frequent moves, mergers and milestones. Here we highlight some of the latest activity among brokerages across the U.S.

Corcoran adds franchise in northeast New Jersey

Luxury real estate company Corcoran Group is continuing to grow its reach with the addition of its newest affiliate, Corcoran Infinity Properties. The brokerage will serve clients throughout Bergen County, New Jersey, situated on the Hudson River just west of New York City. 

Prior to the affiliation, the firm was operating as Friedberg Properties & Associates, an independent brokerage founded in 1994. Over its 30-year history, Friedberg Properties grew to include more than 100 agents across three offices. It was recently acquired by David Arabia, who moved the brokerage to Corcoran Group.

Arabia, a New Jersey native, has been an independent agent for 25 years and has a background in business management, new developments and luxury residential sales. 

"Launching Corcoran Infinity Properties adds another crucial puzzle piece to our growing affiliate network, both in the greater tri-state area and across the globe," said Pam Liebman, Corcoran president and CEO. "Not only does this increase our already substantial presence in the Northeast, David and his world-class team are sure to generate valuable referral opportunities and market insights, as Bergen County continues to grow as one of the area's most desirable for consumers."

RE/MAX gains dozens of Long Beach agents

An independent SoCal brokerage, Proper Real Estate, is aligning with RE/MAX and bringing more than 70 agents to the brand. The firm will now be doing business as RE/MAX Proper.

The Long Beach affiliate is led by CEO Paul Natividad, Broker of Record/Partner Jenny Pok, and Managing Partner Mike Sanchez, who bring more than four decades of combined real estate experience. 

Natividad has a background in real estate franchising, while Pok began her industry career selling real estate software before becoming an agent and starting her own brokerage. Sanchez has launched multiple businesses across several industries. 

"We wanted to grow at a rapid pace all while having the ability to provide pivotal tools that our agents need to win," says Natividad. "Partnering with the largest real estate franchise in the world, with some of the most top producing agents in the world, was a no brainer for us."

Real expands to a fourth Canadian province

The Real Brokerage continues to make progress toward its ambitious growth goals with the announcement of a new office in Manitoba, growing its Canadian presence after previously expanding operations to British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.

The new office will house 22 agents and be led by Susan Auch. In addition to her two decades of industry experience, Auch is also a five-time Olympian and three-time Olympic speed skating medalist. 

Among the agents supporting the new office are members of two teams: The Peters Herosian Group, who came over from RE/MAX, and the Nolin Group, formerly at 3 Percent Realty. 

Since forming in 2017, the Peters Herosian group has closed more than 700 real estate transactions valued at over $234 million. The Nolin Group has completed more than 400 real estate transactions since 2020, valued at over $100 million a year, according to a news release.

"It was important to align ourselves with a brand that shares our core values. Real's value of 'Word Hard. Be Kind' is how we approach our business, and its culture of collaboration will allow us to serve our clients better," Peters said. "It's also very exciting to help bring Real to Manitoba. It's not often you have an opportunity to be on the ground floor and launch something new."

Century 21 gains affiliate in Green Bay

Century 21 has returned to the Green Bay region with the affiliation of In Good Company, a startup brokerage based just south of the city in De Pere, Wisconsin.

The firm, now operating as CENTURY 21 In Good Company, is led by broker/co-owner Levi Foss, who brings 18 years of local real estate experience, as well as co-owner Erin Flores and broker Erin Kasprzycki. The team is looking to grow and plans to recruit more agents in the coming months.

"The name of our firm was carefully selected to signal how we conduct business for our affiliated agents as well as our clients — everyone is in good company," said Foss.

"It's been many years since a CENTURY 21 office operated in Green Bay and we're excited to re-introduce the market to the fresh, modern and dynamic CENTURY 21 brand," said Kasprzycki, who noted that the firm will benefit from the brand's momentum, which will "help us build our business literally from the ground up."

The affiliate serves clients seeking a range of properties, including multifamily homes, luxury homes, waterfront properties and investment properties. 

Independent Arizona brokerage joins KW

Tru Realty LLC, a Scottsdale-based firm with 60 agents and 7 support staff, has affiliated with the Keller Williams Phoenix market center.

The firm, founded by Sarah Richardson in 2010, has achieved more than $450 million in sales in the past two years and sold over 1,050 homes. 

"The synergy between Keller Williams and Tru Realty is tremendous; we have similar cultures and are aligned across technology and education agent services," said Richardson, who noted that her brokerage is "very tech-enabled." 

As one example, Richardson said her firm is excited about the possibilities of ChatGPT and is "leaning into the power of generative AI to help with agent marketing solutions and the streamlining of their daily tasks."

Richardson's mission, according to the Tru Realty website, is "To create a diverse and inclusive culture focused on training and education coupled with innovative technology to provide an exceptional level of service to the agents and the communities we serve."

The Agency opens up in Boise

The Agency announced the launch of its first office in Idaho, The Agency Boise. The luxury brokerage has been expanding throughout the U.S. and globally, opening eight new offices in Q1.

The Boise office will be led by managing partners Mike and Robyn Moir, and partner Rachel Moir.

Mike Moir, along with his wife Robyn Moir, previously founded The Moir Group. He specializes in residential real estate, residential new construction, land valuation and new developments. Robyn Moir works with a variety of clients, including first-time homebuyers, sellers, builders and investors. Rachel Moir was previously an agent with Compass before joining The Moir Group.

"I am thrilled to be working alongside Robyn and Rachel on this exciting new chapter as we showcase The Agency's fresh perspective to our local real estate market," said Mike Moir. "Boise holds great synergy with The Agency's brand and cutting-edge technology, and I look forward to ushering in a new era of luxury real estate to our area."

eXp attracts a bevy of teams in Q1

Cloud-based brokerage eXp managed to snag 17 new teams during the first three months of the year, adding around 250 agents to its roster.

"Our compelling value proposition and agent-centric approach continues to attract top agents and teams from around the world," said Glenn Sanford, CEO of eXp Realty in a statement. 

Sanford also commented on the brokerage's success with recruiting teams during the company's Q1 earnings call. "We're just continuing to help agents do more business — [that] is really what it comes down to, and our overall value prop is resonating well."  

Several of the teams to join eXp brought in more than $100 million in sales last year. Top producers now with eXp include:

• New Jersey-based LuxeLife Real Estate Group led by John and Simon Westfall-Kwong The teams closed more than $110 million in sales on 112 units in 2022.

• Park Place Brokerage, a 50-agent team based in Washington state and led by Garth Ward and Austin Homolka, brought in nearly $246 million in sales on 482 units.

• The 17-agent Shannon McCarthy Team, based in upstate New York and led by Shannon McCarthy, moved from KW and closed $144 million in sales in 2022.

• The Canadian powerhouse Katrina & The Team moved over from RE/MAX. Based in Vancouver, BC, and led by Katrina Amurao and Neil Bellosillo, the team completed $365 million (CAD) in sales on 402 transactions in 2022.

• Dubbed "Tampa Unites," a Tampa team co-partnered by Elizabeth Colón, Yae Colon, Justin Johnson and Michael Gutierrez, added their 15 agents to the Tampa Bay Home Team. They closed $110 million in sales on 111 units last year.