In a video announcement released yesterday, Tom Hosack, President and CEO and Broker of Record of Northwood Realty announced the acquisition of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices The Preferred Realty, creating what may be the largest real estate company in the greater Pittsburgh marketplace. The combined company forecasts more listings, more closings and more sales volume than any other competitor.  For years, Howard Hanna has been in the first position followed by Northwood, Coldwell Banker and BHHS The Preferred Realty.

Beyond the real estate franchise brokerage, Northwood also acquired the affiliated service businesses including The Preferred Insurance Company, The Preferred Property Management, Preferred Settlement, Real Estate Educators, and Real Estate Referral Associates of Pennsylvania. The merger consolidation of all of the businesses is expected to be complete by August 16th, according to the announcement.

Through the acquisition, the Northwood Realty brand will be retired in favor of the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices brand. To be clear, the new combined company will remain a franchise and has not been acquired by Home Services of America. Hosack mentions in the announcement video that he believes that the BHHS brand will support their continued expansion geographically, and shore up the company’s positioning in the luxury market.

Tom Hosack will continue to lead the consolidated company as President, CEO, and broker of record for the firm. Hosack reinforces that the commission plan will stay the same and the company will retain its core values. Hosack has long held that real estate agents need “to build their own rainbow.” Hosack is confident that the acquisition will help agents be even more successful.

If you know Tom Hosack as I do, you are excited to see this development. He is a hardworking, fair, and honest man that runs a competitive business based upon sound operating principles. Todays’ headlines are full of stories about wall street buying its way into real estate. In this case, main street is growing as a result of hard work and a strong back. That work ethic starts at the top and finds its way into the executive team, the office managers, and agents.

Now, Hosack and team are jumping up to the top weight class in real estate brokerage. Strangely, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices has developed a wellspring in Pennsylvania, already home to the largest HomeServices of America franchise, Homesale Realty with 14,712 units sold last year according to the REAL TRENDS 500 (https://www.realtrends.com/rankings/real-trends-500-by-sides18)

Northwood closed 10,703 units last year and BHHS The Preferred Realty closed 6,932 according to the REAL Trends 500 report.  The combined company would have closed nearly 18,000 units. This volume would not only further distance the franchise on the leaderboard in the BHHS franchise community, but elevate the combined firm into the top 20 largest firms in America with unit volume comparable to Chicagoland’s @properties, and Dallas metro based EBBY HALLIDAY REALTORS®. BHHS The Preferred Realty will operate 50 offices across 22 counties in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio to support 1800 Realtor sales associates.

I believe that this acquisition also makes them the largest shareholder in the West Penn Multiple Listing Service.