TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

Coldwell Banker Highlands Properties Merges With Realty World

Kathy Waters/Highlands Today

From left: Jim Carroll and Don Randolph have merged their real estate companies.

ADVERTISEMENT

By Bill Rogers | Highlands Today

Published: November 11, 2007

SEBRING – A merger, a company buying a competitor's office, consolidating offices and Realtors moving to other companies are all part of the local real estate business that is dealing with a difficult housing market.

Coldwell Banker Highlands Properties LLC, a Sebring and Lake Placid Coldwell Banker real estate affiliate, has merged with Realty World Act Real Estate that became effective Nov. 1.

"Basically this merger has allowed us to double our size because both of our offices were, generally speaking, the same size with the same amount of listings," said Jim Carroll, the former owner of Realty World Act Real Estate, and now the sales manager for Coldwell Banker Highlands Properties. "So now we have potentially brought ourselves into a much stronger market share in this area by doing this merger."

"I believe the increased signage and doubling of listings, and its potential sales volume, establishes us in an advantageous position in the Highlands marketplace," said Coldwell Banker Highlands Properties Broker Donald D. Randolph in a prepared statement.

Carroll said Realty World has been dissolved. He had a Sebring office at the Raintree Antique Mall and a Lake Placid office downtown. Both offices were being leased.

"I want my customers to have the best service possible, and I want my agents to be supported the best they could possibly be," Carroll said. "In the last year and a half, we have really had to cut back on our advertising and our staff personnel in order to pay our other overheads.

"It was very evident to me that if this market stays until late 2008 or into 2009, that we were not going to be able to give the services the way that I want the quality of the services to be until that time," he added.

Carroll said that by doubling the size the overhead he had has been knocked off.

"So now our overhead combined is now less yet we have more agents, which now means that we can give better service to our customers and our agents have better support," he said. "We have three super support personnel that work with us."

Carroll had 18 agents at Realty World. Fifteen joined Coldwell Banker and three left.

Arianna Jordan-Burke, association executive for the Heartland Association of Realtors, said it is not unusual for real estate agents to move to other companies.

Marla Martin, communications manager for the Florida Association of Realtors, said the number of members is down "but not in droves."

Coldwell Banker now has 25 agents in Sebring and 12 in Lake Placid.

The Lake Placid office will be relocated in the small strip center next to Pizza Hut. It is expected to open in early December, according to Carroll.

Coldwell Banker's office north of Lake Placid near Lykes Bros will close by the end of this month.

While acknowledging there are "challenges and everybody knows that" with the market, Carroll said "this is the perfect time to buy.

"I believe right now interest rates are at a low, there's tons of inventory out here," he said. "Acutally it's exciting because now we have an opportunity to help buyers find the best product available for them."

Carroll wouldn't be surprised if other companies merge or downsize their offices until the market comes back.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT