Rand Realty Looks to Garden State for Growth
Posted by Paul Adler on Fri, Mar 23, 2012 @ 10:01 AM
NEW CITY – Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty’s first foray into New Jersey with its recent acquisition of Preakness Realty will likely not be its last, Real Estate In-Depth has learned.
BH&G Rand Realty Managing Partner Matt Rand told the newspaper in a telephone interview that the firm is looking for further acquisitions in Bergen County, NJ and is using Preakness as its beachhead for its expansion into Northern New Jersey. Preakness Realty has locations in Hawthorne and Wayne in Passaic County.
“Expanding into the New Jersey real estate market has been part of our strategic growth strategy for quite some time, but we needed to identify the right opportunity to continue our momentum outside of New York,” Rand said. “We were drawn to Preakness Realty because of its incredible reputation within the community for the last 40 years, the quality of its agents and our similar client-centric business models and values.”
Rand revealed however that initially it was looking to strike a deal close to the New York border in Bergen County (Wayne is approximately 20 miles from the New York border with Rockland County). “What we originally set out for was looking to find an office close to the New York border that would be home to our New York agents (New York has reciprocity with New Jersey) that would allow us to tap into the tremendous amount of relocation business we have with Cartus (relocation subsidiary of Realogy Inc.),” he said.
Rand added that in addition to work involving Rockland and Orange County businesses recruiting workers from New Jersey, Rand has also been sending referrals to other New Jersey firms because BH&G Rand did not have a license in the Garden State.
He added that the Better Homes and Gardens Franchise Development Team assisted Rand in its search for opportunities in New Jersey, which eventually led to the introduction of Rand with the similarfamily- owned Preakness Realty firm.
“We are still actually looking for opportunities to fill in, in Bergen County, between our New York offices and Wayne in Passaic,” Rand said. He added that the company is in talks with some firms in Bergen County.
“We intend to have something, even if we open (a Rand office), to have at least one office in Bergen County this year,” Rand said.
“I think if we were able to over the next year or two have three offices in Bergen County and the two offices in Passaic, I would think that would be a very solid footprint to service all of Northern New Jersey,” he said.
The acquisition of Preakness Realty adds 50 agents to the Rand Realty firm, which now includes 28 offices and 850 agents. In addition to now being licensed in New Jersey, the company joined three New Jersey multiple listing service organizations— the New Jersey MLS, Garden State MLS and the Hudson County MLS. Rand reported that David Anthony, formerly with Coldwell Banker, has joined Rand and will manage the Preakness Realty offices.
Gene Lowe, owner of Preakness Realty, and his daughter Debra Lowe, the firm’s broker of record, along with Joe Simone, the company’s top sales associate, will remain with the organization.
“Our decision to associate with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty was an easy one,” said Debra Lowe. “The Rands impressed us from the first time we met with Marsha Rand, the founder and matriarch, along with her sons and managing partners Matt and Joe. The Rands bring with them a strong reputation, innovative marketing strategies and cutting-edge tools that will allow our agents to continue to greatly serve consumers and stay ahead of the competition. The power of the Better Homes and Gardens brand, coupled with the familyowned culture the Rands will maintain, will provide a fantastic opportunity for agents and the clients whom which they serve.”