story by Kim Souza
ksouza@thecitywire.com
Coldwell Banker Harris McHaney Faucette is joining forces with Century 21 Exclamation Realty in Bentonville to give both firms a larger footprint in the competitive Northwest Arkansas market.
“We found that our firms had a great deal in common and decided to merge them. We share the same parent company of Realogy who handles the franchises for both Coldwell Banker and Century 21,” said George Faucette, CEO of the local Coldwell Banker franchise.
Coldwell Banker is the largest firm in the region with 165 agents and annual sales of $469 million last year.
Century 21 Exclamation, owned by Marcella Hagan, is a smaller firm with roughly 25 active agents and an estimated sales volume of $45 million in 2012. Hagan is veteran in the business and she opened and franchised Exclamation Realty in 2008, after spending nearly a decade as broker/owner at RE/MAX.
Faucette said the climate is right for merging and he’s excited to welcome Hagan and crew to the Coldwell Banker brand.
Harris McHaney joined Faucette and Coldwell Banker nearly three years ago to create the region’s largest firm, leapfrogging Lindsey & Associates, who held the No.1 spot for several years prior.
This new merger puts more distance between Coldwell Banker and it’s two largest competitors, Crye Leike and Lindsey & Assoc.
But more importantly, Faucette says adding quality agents and sales professionals is good for business and doubly exciting when the two firms share common philosophies and goals.