News from around the real estate industry concerning executive appointments, franchise initiatives and more.
Katz & Associates Announces 2021 Promotions
Brian Katz, CEO of Katz & Associates, is pleased to announce promotions of Holly Buchanan, CCIM, Donny Moskovic, and David Yablon. “Despite the challenges of 2020, Holly, Donny, and David continued working hard and transacting at a high level,” said Brian Katz. “We look forward to continued success from them in 2021 and beyond.”
Holly Buchanan, CCIM, located in the Katz Nashville office, has been promoted to Senior Director. She’s been with Katz for the past four years since helping open the Nashville office in 2017, and has over 20 years of retail real estate experience overall.
Donny Moskovic, located in the Katz New Jersey office, has been promoted to Senior Director. He is a real estate “lifer” with 29 years in the business, including the past seven years at Katz since joining in 2013.
David Yablon, located in the Katz New York City office, has been promoted to Director. As a 20-year Manhattan resident, David has great knowledge and insights about New York.
OHIO REALTORS PARTNERS WITH LGBTQ+ REAL ESTATE ALLIANCE TO GROW LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY HOMEOWNERSHIP
Ohio REALTORS® has become one of the first state REALTOR groups to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance to promote homeownership within the LGBTQ+ community. The agreement calls for joint efforts to share with real estate professionals the challenges LGBTQ+ homebuyers face, including discrimination, on their journey to homeownership, while promoting an understanding of the cultural nuances involved in working closely with the diverse LGBTQ+ community.
Ohio REALTORS joins the Missouri Association of REALTORS as the first state associations to sign agreements with the Alliance. Ohio REALTORS plans to work closely with local REALTOR groups within the state to promote Alliance membership and chapter meetings while also hosting a series of initiatives and educational programs for its members.
The LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance was founded in June 2020 as an all-inclusive organization dedicated to empowering the LGBTQ+ community on the path to homeownership. The Alliance has more than 70 chapters in the United States and Puerto Rico. For more information visit realestatealliance.org.
More growth, new strategies coming as Long Companies adjusts leadership
The new year started with a bang for Long Companies, with changes in top leadership positions as Reneé Gonzales takes over as CEO for the Arizona real-estate powerhouse and Rosey Koberlein moves into a new role.
After nearly four decades in real estate, Koberlein has found a fresh destination for her talents and experience: chairperson of Long Companies. As such, she’ll focus on strategic planning for the company’s direction and growth both organically and through acquisitions, and step away from the nuts and bolts of daily operations.
Gonzales moves up from executive vice president of Core Services, president of Long Title Agency and managing director of Long Mortgage Co.—roles she’ll continue to hold as part of her CEO position. Gonzales will head-up and work closely with the company’s executive leadership team, including Laura Mance, president of the company’s brokerage arm.
Delivering Extraordinary Experiences Driving Century 21 Real Estate on the Road to a Century of Innovative Leadership
Start with a couple of industry trailblazers and a handful of investors looking to transform an industry, a passion for entrepreneurship and an unsurpassed expertise in helping Americans achieve the dream of homeownership. Sprinkle in the energy and excitement of Orange County, California with a classic and authentic approach to branding, and mix it all together. 50 years later, you get the most respected and recognized brand in real estate, Century 21 Real Estate, with a global network of collaborative and relentless entrepreneurs who are dedicated to working together to change the way real estate is done.
“Since our beginnings, Century 21 Real Estate has been galvanizing entrepreneurs, challenging the status quo and enabling broker independence to achieve unprecedented success,” Miedler told REAL Trends/HW, noting he plans to continue to build on the consumer experience. “Looking ahead to our next 50 years, the goal is to grow the CENTURY 21® brand not in quantity but quality, partnering only with entrepreneurial thought leaders who are driven by a client-centric model of experiences, innovation, and the best quality service ratings in the industry.”
With a commitment to challenge the tried and true methods of real estate, surpassing consumer expectations and the drive to make the home buying/selling process worthy of the exciting experience it truly is, Miedler and his team in Madison (NJ) remain sensitive to the needs of its franchisees and their sales professionals and to the personalized, unique representation real estate consumers deserve in order to arrive at the best outcomes possible.
With change being the only constant, Miedler works with his team to ensure that the CENTURY 21® brand continue to be the innovators in the real estate space. From adapting and adopting its productivity platform, marketing support and tech stack to driving more leads and closing more deals, C21® agents will have access to the systems necessary to make the home buying/selling process something to celebrate rather than just another transaction in life.
As you can see, the first 50 years for Century 21 Real Estate have been significant for its independent brokers and agents, the industry and for real estate consumers. Looking ahead, with Miedler and his team at the helm working together to change the way real estate is done, the road to the century mark in the business for the CENTURY 21® brand looks to be even more ‘golden.’
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCES AFFILIATION WITH LEADING MONTEREY, CALIF. INDEPENDENT FIRM
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC announced today that Monterey-based C&C Real Estate has affiliated with the brand and will now be known as Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate By The Sea. The company’s service area includes communities within the Monterey Peninsula, including Carmel, Carmel Valley, Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove, Monterey, Seaside and Marina. The brokerage will be headquartered in downtown Carmel By the Sea on Lincoln & 6th.
Childhood best friends Kevin Cesario and Kyle Chernetsky started a property management business in 2013 and began handling home sales in 2018. Their client base is primarily second home buyers looking for investment properties and vacation homes to ultimately become retirement homes. They have leveraged their success in property management and home renovations to provide experienced counsel on home values and pricing for the market.
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC is a dynamic real estate brand that offers a full range of services to brokers, sales associates and home buyers and sellers.
Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Establishes Exclusive Benefits with JamesEdition for Luxury Property Marketplace
Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC and the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury® program today announced a partnership with JamesEdition, the premier luxury goods and real estate listings platform, that will include the syndication of all Coldwell Banker Global Luxury® listings priced at $1 million+ to JamesEdition.com.
Since 2008, JamesEdition has created a one-of-a-kind, comprehensive digital classifieds for some of the most valued listings in the world. According to JamesEdition, the site reaches 550,000+ high value buyers each month while delivering 12 million impressions across the globe.
The partnership establishes the Coldwell Banker brand, the only participating Realogy affiliate, as the top real estate brand to have its logo present on each listing in the search pages and office page, allowing for all offices within the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury® network to take advantage of these benefits. Paired with the luxury listings platform, the brand will also have exclusive access and editorial control to the JamesEdition Journal section, where the properties will be showcased and highlighted in an article format. Coldwell Banker Real Estate will be able to select dedicated listings and work with a JamesEdition representative to develop related content for the properties.
All of the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury® listings will also be syndicated on Bloomberg’s Property marketplace by JamesEdition. This add-on to the partnership will enable the brand to showcase its most sought-after listings to prospective buyers across 75.2 million users worldwide, appealing to Bloomberg’s audience of highly engaged global leaders with an average net worth of $1.7 million.
To view the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury® marketplace on JamesEdition, please visit: https://www.jamesedition.com/real_estate
The Kindness Foundation, the Philanthropic Arm of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago, Announces $50,000 Grant to The Sunshine Kids Foundation
The Kindness Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago, has announced a $50,000 grant to the Sunshine Kids Foundation for 2020. The Sunshine Kids is a national non-profit organization that offers programming and support to children undergoing cancer treatment. The funds were raised through hundreds of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago agent and employee contributions.
Joe Stacy, Kindness Foundation chairman, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago senior vice president, and general sales manager, said, “The Sunshine Kids is such an amazing organization, so we are very pleased to grant $50,000 to them this year. I am so touched by the generosity of our agents and staff who made this possible. On behalf of the Foundation, I thank our Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago agents and employees for their ongoing support of this very important organization that brings joy to children across the country who are going through a challenging time in their lives.”
The Sunshine Kids Foundation provides exciting, positive group activities to children with cancer, allowing them to have fun and celebrate life. The Kindness Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to support meaningful local initiatives that improve the communities the company serves and enhances the quality of life for fellow citizens.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England/Westchester/New York Properties Names Kathryn Redican Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices (BHHS)New England Properties, Westchester Properties, and New York Properties announced the promotion of Kathryn Redican to the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO).
In her new role, Redican will work closely with the company’s president and chief executive officer, Candace Adams, to spearhead network-wide financial and performance growth initiatives, oversee enhanced corporate strategy, and implement important communications directives for the brokerage’s more than 1,800 real estate associates throughout the Northeast.
Redican joined BHHS in 2014 and has been instrumental in the development and success of its marketing and communications arm, expanding the brokerage’s reach and subsequent visibility throughout the Northeast. She has held several leadership roles with the company, among them Vice President of Marketing & Business Development, where she managed all marketing and communications directives for the Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island offices. Redican most recently served as Vice President of Operations, overseeing the brokerage’s marketing and education departments, as well as its new development division.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England/Westchester/New York Properties Promotes Meryl Freedman and Gregg Wagner to Senior Vice President Roles
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices (BHHS) New England Properties, Westchester Properties, and New York Properties — one of the nation’s most respected residential real estate brokerages — today announced the promotion of two key executives to Senior Vice President roles: Meryl Freedman and Gregg Wagner.
Together, Freedman and Wagner will share oversight of the company’s growth. Their mutual responsibilities will include a concentrated focus on amplifying market share, relationship-building and management, spearheading recruitment initiatives, monitoring sales activities and trends, and providing support for the brokerage’s Office Leaders and 1,800 sales executives. In addition, Freedman will continue as Vice President of Leadership Development for the company and Wagner as Vice President of New Homes & Land.
Freedman most recently served as Vice President of Leadership Development for BHHS New England Properties, Westchester Properties, and New York Properties. A Long Island native, she began her real estate career with Prudential Connecticut Realty, which eventually became Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices in 2012. Throughout her tenure, Freedman has held a significant number of influential leadership roles within the organization, including Regional Vice President of the Northeast and head of BHHS’s prestigious West Hartford office, which saw significant growth under her direction. Freedman was recognized as “Company Leader of the Year” in 2015 and honored as a “Woman of FIRE” by The Commercial Record in 2016.