Friday, Jan. 27, 2012 | 12:37 p.m.
A shake-up was announced in the Las Vegas residential real estate market on Friday, with Wardley Real Estate saying its longtime relationship with franchisor Coldwell Banker has ended.
Owner Lynn Wardley said his Las Vegas-area brokerage, with 300-plus agents and employees, is now affiliated with Chicago-based Leading Real Estate Companies of the World.
Wardley Real Estate said Leading Real Estate Companies of the World has 550 local and regional real estate firms with 4,600 offices and 140,000 sales associates in the United States and 30 other countries.
“We strongly believe the money we would have spent with Coldwell Banker going forward can be invested much more productively here in the Las Vegas community,” Jeff Sommers, president of Wardley Real Estate, said in a company statement.
He said Leading Real Estate doesn’t run nationwide ads to build a national brand. Instead, he said, its focus is on helping clients relocate from one market to another.
A spokesman said Wardley had affilated with Coldwell Banker 10 years ago, and that the change disclosed Friday doesn’t involve real estate brokerages Wardley owned in Utah and Colorado, which have been sold.
The newly-affiliated Wardley business operates out of offices in the Las Vegas area in Summerlin and Green Valley.
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, in the meantime, says on its website it’s already affiliated with three brokerages in Nevada, including Windermere Real Estate in the Las Vegas area.
Coldwell Banker is owned by Realogy Corp. in Parsippany, N.J. Other Realogy brands include Better Homes and Gardens, Century 21, ERA and Sotheby’s International Realty.
Coldwell Banker continues to be represented in the Las Vegas market by Coldwell Banker Premier Realty, which has nearly 300 agents operating out of three local offices.
Coldwell Banker Premier Realty owner Bob Hamrick said Friday he’s excited that his company is once again the only Coldwell Banker franchise in the Las Vegas area.
He said his company is happy with the Coldwell Banker brand and the benefits of being affiliated with Coldwell Banker, including its training, marketing, technology, referral and relocation programs.
Hamrick said Coldwell Banker is arguably the best-known residential real estate brand in California, where many buyers of Las Vegas real estate come from.
“They grow up with that brand. If they’re moving here, they call us,” Hamrick said.
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