HomeServices of America is the United States' largest residential real estate services company, based on closed transactions. The company provides real estate brokerage services, mortgage loan origination, franchising, title insurance/escrow and closing services, home warranties, property insurance, casualty insurance, and relocation services.
 | |
| Industry | Real estate |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1998 |
| Headquarters | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Services | Brokerage Mortgage Insurance Title and escrow Franchising Corporate relocation |
| Owner | Berkshire Hathaway |
Number of employees | 6,000 |
| Parent | Berkshire Hathaway Energy |
| Website | www |
History edit
The company traces its roots to AmerUs Home Services Inc.
In 1998, AmerUs Home Services was acquired by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company.[1][2][3]
In 1999, MidAmerican renamed its brokerage business HomeServices and acquired Semonin Realtors, operating in Louisville, and Long Realty, operating in Arizona.[4][5]
In 1999, Berkshire Hathaway acquired MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company.[6][7]
In 2006, the company acquired Atlanta-based real estate brokerage Harry Norman Realtors.[8][9]
In 2012, the company acquired real estate brokerage firms from Prudential and Real Living and rebranded Prudential Real Estate to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.[10][11]
In August 2013, the company acquired Prudential Fox & Roach, Realtors®/Trident Group.[12][13][14]
In November 2013, the company acquired Prudential Rubloff Properties, operating in the Chicago area.[15]
In May 2014, the company acquired Intero Real Estate Services, operating in Silicon Valley.[16][17][18]
In July 2015, the company acquired Prudential Centennial Realty, operating in Westchester County,[19] and First Weber, the largest residential brokerage in Wisconsin.[20][21]
In January 2017, the company acquired Houlihan Lawrence, the largest residential brokerage in Westchester County.[22][23]
In April 2017, the company acquired Gloria Nilson & Co. Real Estate, a residential brokerage in New Jersey.[24][25] The company also formed a strategic alliance with Juwai.com, China's largest overseas property portal, offering access to high-net-worth individual Chinese buyers looking to purchase homes.[26][27]
In June 2017, Robert Moline, president of the company, retired.[28]
In September 2017, the company acquired Long & Foster.[29][30]
In 2018, the company acquired North Texas real estate firm Ebby Halliday.[31]
In 2020, they originated 43,683 mortgages with a value of $13.8 billion.[32]
In 2022, through its Edina Realty[33] subsidiary, it acquired Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Hegg Realtors.[34]
Legal issues edit
On November 1, 2023, a federal jury in Kansas City, Missouri, found Berkshire Hathaway and the National Association of Realtors liable to pay $1.78 billion in damages.[35][36][37] The verdict came as the Warren Buffett-led brand, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, along with the National Association of Realtors, were found guilty of manipulating and artificially inflating the commissions on numerous home sales.[38][39][37]
According to the jury in Kansas City, the manipulation resulting in inflated commissions caused an artificial rise in mortgage rates and property prices in the housing market.[37][40]
The number of plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit included sellers of over 260,000 homes in Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas.[37][41] They raised concerns about the high commissions they were obligated to pay to the home buyers' brokers between 2015 and 2022.[41] The trial lasted two weeks, after which the jury awarded the plaintiffs $1.78 billion in damages.[35] The defendants in the lawsuit included Berkshire-owned HomeServices of America and its two subsidiaries, along with Keller Williams Realty.[35][42]
The lead lawyer for the plaintiffs in this lawsuit was Michael Ketchmark.[35] According to media sources, the awarded damages could be tripled to more than $5.3 billion under United States antitrust law.[35]
References edit
- ^ SALPUKAS, AGIS (April 7, 1998). "MidAmerican to Buy Real Estate Group". The New York Times.(subscription required)
- ^ Kerch, Steve (May 24, 1998). "What America's Homes Need Is A Conglomerate". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ "Edina Realty sold to energy company". American City Business Journals. April 6, 1998.
- ^ Dooley, Tom (2011-04-28). "Industry Watch: HomeServices.com Moves into the Spotlight". Realtor Magazine. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
- ^ "Long Realty acquired". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
- ^ Lipin, Steven; Miller, James P. (October 25, 1999). "Investors Led by Buffett to Buy Iowa's MidAmerican Energy". The Wall Street Journal.(subscription required)
- ^ "Buffett gets energetic". CNN Money. October 25, 1999.
- ^ "Warren Buffett buying Harry Norman Realtors". Atlanta Business Chronicle. May 23, 2006. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
- ^ "HomeServices buys Atlanta real estate company". Inman. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
- ^ "Warren Buffett buys Prudential real estate unit". USA Today. Associated Press. October 30, 2012.
- ^ Sichelman, Lew (September 20, 2013). "Berkshire Hathaway to shake up real estate franchise landscape". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "HomeServices of America, Inc. Announces Acquisition of Prudential Fox & Roach, Realtors®/Trident Group" (Press release). Business Wire. August 14, 2013.
- ^ Kostelni, Natalie (November 12, 2013). "Fox & Roach finally gets its new name". American City Business Journals.
- ^ Simpson, Jake (August 15, 2013). "Berkshire Hathaway Unit Buys RE Broker Prudential Fox". Law360.
- ^ "HomeServices of America, Inc. Announces Acquisition of Prudential Rubloff Properties" (Press release). Business Wire. November 12, 2013.
- ^ "HomeServices of America, Inc. Announces Acquisition of Silicon Valley–based Intero Real Estate Services" (Press release). Business Wire. May 13, 2014.
- ^ Donato-Weinstein, Nathan (May 13, 2014). "Done deal: Buffett's Berkshire finalizes acquisition of Intero to cash in on Silicon Valley". American City Business Journals.
- ^ Buchta, Jim (May 13, 2014). "HomeServices buys Silicon Valley real estate brokerage". Star Tribune.
- ^ "Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties Acquires Westchester County Brokerage Leader" (Press release). Business Wire. July 1, 2015.
- ^ Buchta, Jim (July 28, 2015). "HomeServices of America buys First Weber, biggest brokerage in Wisconsin". Star Tribune.
- ^ Schiffman, Betsy (November 17, 2015). "Warren Buffett Can't Buy Real Estate Agencies Fast Enough". Forbes.
- ^ Stempel, Jonathan (January 17, 2017). "Berkshire Hathaway unit buys big NYC-area real estate firm". Reuters.[dead link]
- ^ Hall, Miriam (January 19, 2017). "Berkshire Hathaway is betting big on New York — will it work?". The Real Deal.
- ^ "HomeServices of America® Announces the Acquisition of Gloria Nilson & Co. Real Estate" (Press release). Business Wire. April 4, 2017.
- ^ Reilly, Mark (April 5, 2017). "HomeServices' latest deal takes it to Jersey Shore". American City Business Journals.
- ^ "Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Signs Marketing Agreement with Juwai.com, China's Largest International Property Portal" (Press release). Business Wire. April 17, 2017.
- ^ Stempel, Jonathan (April 17, 2017). "Buffett's Berkshire, Chinese property website Juwai.com team up". Reuters.
- ^ "HomeServices of America® Announces Executive Retirement" (Press release). Business Wire. June 21, 2017.
- ^ "HomeServices of America® Acquires The Long & Foster Companies" (Press release). Business Wire. September 7, 2017.
- ^ Gilgore, Sara (September 7, 2017). "Long & Foster acquired by Buffett affiliate HomeServices of America". American City Business Journals.
- ^ "It's Official, Warren Buffett Buys Ebby Halliday Companies". 4 June 2018. Archived from the original on 25 August 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
- ^ "Prosperity Home Mortgage". Retrieved December 7, 2021.
- ^ "Edina Realty Fact Sheet". Edina Realty. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
- ^ "Minnesota firm acquires Hegg Realtors". SiouxFalls.Business. 2022-01-11. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
- ^ a b c d e Scarcella, Mike; Stempel, Jonathan (2023-10-31). "US jury finds realtors liable for inflating commissions, awards $1.78 bln damages". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
- ^ Medium, Seattle (2023-11-02). "Jury Awards $1.78 Billion In Damages In Realtors' Commission Inflation Case". The Seattle Medium. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
- ^ a b c d Mack, Emily (2023-10-31). "NAR, Keller Williams, HomeServices of America found guilty of conspiring to inflate commissions - Chicago Agent Magazine National News". Chicago Agent Magazine. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
- ^ "Realtors found liable for $1.8 billion in real estate commissions case".
- ^ "Realtors, brokerages ordered to pay $1.8B in damages in commission collusion ruling". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
- ^ Kleimann, Brooklee Han, Sarah Wheeler, James. "Missouri jury finds Realtors, brokerages guilty of conspiring to inflate commissions". HousingWire. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Mark, Julian (31 October 2023). "Jury awards $1.8B in realty case that could shake up brokerage commissions". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Realtors found liable in conspiracy to keep commissions for home sales artificially high". ABC7 Chicago. 2023-11-01. Retrieved 2023-11-03.