Chicago Real Estate Update: Big Brokerages Consolidate
Two of Chicago’s largest real estate brokerages combined forces yesterday – the latest example in a string of similar consolidations resulting from slow sales and falling revenues. According to reports by Crain’s Chicago Business, Prudential Preferred acquired Rubloff Residential on Tuesday to create Prudential Rubloff Properties.
The union comes after Koening & Strey GMAC Real Estate was sold last week to HomeServices of America (a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc.). And about six months ago, Century 21 Sussex & Reilly was bought by Sudler Sotheby’s International Realty.
The trend of big brokerage mergers has been attributed to financial reasons, mostly the need to cut costs due to a down market. It has produced some very sizeable companies with a number of locations throughout the Chicago area. The new Prudential Rubloff Properties claims to have 17 offices in all and a total of 900 agents/employees.
Terms of the acquisition were not publicized. However Prudential Rubloff’s owner and CEO Chris Eigel, of the original Prudential Preferred, said they expect to close up to four offices as a result of the deal. Previous Rubloff owners and its former president will still hold senior positions at the new firm. The brokerage will provide residential real estate services concentrated in the City of Chicago and the North Shore.
Posted at 10:22AM Sep 10, 2009 by Nykea Pippion-McGriff in Market News Comments[0]
