Tom DeWine of ERA Colonial Real Estate in Texas and Steve Doty of ERA Doty Real Estate in Arkansas Acquire ERA Team Real Estate
MADISON, N.J. (August 26, 2020) — ERA® Real Estate, a global franchising leader within the Realogy family of companies, today announced that Tom DeWine, CEO of ERA Colonial Real Estate based in Harker Heights, Texas, and Steve Doty, Owner of ERA Doty Real Estate in Jonesboro, Ark., have partnered to acquire ERA Team Real Estate in Conway, Ark. Each firm will retain their individual names in their existing offices. This unique partnership showcases the growth opportunities that come from being affiliated with ERA Real Estate.
The DeWine and Doty partnership is indicative of the highly collaborative culture of the ERA brand. They first met 15 years ago during their initial ERA onboarding and have consulted with each other numerous times before taking an ownership stake in ERA Team Real Estate.
Each has had individual success before agreeing to join forces in Conway. DeWine, who took over his father Dennis’ ERA Colonial Real Estate in 2017, has helped grow the firm to the 12th largest in the ERA system. The central Texas powerhouse generated 1,829 transaction sides in 2019 equating to $489 million in sales volume. Doty bought his firm in 2005 and launched with five agents. Today the firm is the second largest in Jonesboro with 64 agents producing $102 million in sales volume.
ERA Team Real Estate, with 53 agents, is a market leader in Conway and ranked in the top 50 of all ERA franchises last year. Kelli Small, a 26-year real estate veteran who has been with the company for almost three years, will serve as Director of Sales. It was previously owned by Tracy and Mark Tidwell. Tracy will remain with the firm and continue to lead her successful Tracy Tidwell Team, one of the top teams in the nation with $24.3 million in sales volume in 2019 according to REAL Trends.
Conway, located 30 miles north of Little Rock, is one of the fastest growing cities in Arkansas with a population of 68,000. Known as the “City of Colleges,” Conway is home to the University of Central Arkansas, Hendrix College and Central Baptist College. Conway is also home to Acxiom Corporation, a leading information technology company that employs 1,450.
Details:
- Small is the former President of the Faulkner County Board of REALTORS® and REALTOR® of the Year. She is also active in the Arkansas REALTORS® Association.
- ERA Team Real Estate has a 16.1% market share in Conway. It is ahead of last year’s sales pace.
- While the number of Conway homes sales were essentially flat at 2.054 through June compared to last year according to the Cooperative Arkansas REALTORS® MLS (CARMLS), the average sales price has risen 8.2% year-over-year to $169,494.
- Small reports a growing trend of grandparents moving to Conway to be closer to their families along with former residents also returning to take advantage of the region’s home affordability.
Quotes:
“ERA Real Estate is known as a highly collegial and collaborative brand which makes it possible for us to present these types of opportunities to our franchisees. We continue to leverage this differentiator to fuel growth for the system. Tom and Steve epitomize our culture which is truly defined by a close-knit community of real estate leaders who share their expertise not only among their own companies, but across the entire ERA network. Our brokers are heavily invested in each other’s success which makes the brand unique and powerful. I can’t think of another example where brokers separated by such a great distance like Tom and Steve have come together in this type of partnership, but I know it will work tremendously well.”
–Sherry Chris, President and CEO of ERA Real Estate
“I have known Tracy for a long time and when the opportunity presented itself to purchase the company and allow her to return to a focus on sales, I immediately said I would do it if Tom joined me. Our relationship is so strong that we literally reached an agreement and mapped out the plan on a cocktail napkin. I am very comfortable with Conway as it mirrors Jonesboro in so many ways including its size, thriving economy, affordable living and the benefits of being a college town. Kelli has worked closely with Tracy for several years and has great rapport with the agents and is a market expert. This, along with the combined resources of our two companies, presents us with huge upside. The agents at ERA Team, and those who join us, will be able to provide their clients with more capabilities than ever before.”
–Steve Doty, Broker/Owner, ERA Doty Real Estate
“While it might seem odd for a broker in Jonesboro and a broker in San Antonio to lead a company in Conway, it actually makes a lot of sense. We are leveraging the strengths of two companies to make a third even better. This is truly a case where nothing needs to be fixed. Instead, our goal is to improve efficiencies, back office support, training opportunities and aggressively market the company. We are going to grow the presence of ERA Team in Conway even further. Steve and I are so compatible because we bring different skillsets to the partnership and each of our own companies excels in different areas. Rather than sitting back, both of us have a desire to buck the trend. We don’t want to stop or hunker down and believe we can continue to grow and learn from and with each other.”
–Tom DeWine, Broker/Owner, ERA Colonial Real Estate
About ERA Real EstateAt ERA Real Estate, we don’t adapt to change, we create it. We believe that our core business values of collaboration, innovation, diversity and growth are needed now more than ever. As a global leader in the residential real estate industry for more than 40 years, ERA was the first real estate franchise to expand internationally, the first to post listings online, and is the only national company that offers the Sellers Security® Plan program.
The ERA Real Estate network includes more than 35,000 affiliated brokers and independent sales associates and approximately 2,200 offices throughout the United States and 31 other countries and territories. ERA Franchise Systems LLC (www.ERA.com) which operates the ERA Real Estate system, is a subsidiary of Realogy Holdings Corp. (NYSE: RLGY), a global provider of real estate services. ERA Real Estate information is available at www.ExploreERA.com.
Media Contact:
Marie VanAssendelft
201-724-6372
Marie.vanassendelft@realogy.com
