It’s official: The nation’s second-biggest residential real estate brokerage, HomeServices of America Inc., is expanding its presence in California with the acquisition of Cupertino-based Intero Real Estate Services, one of Silicon Valley’s biggest brokerages.
In Southern California, HomeServices has owned San Diego-based Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties since 2002. In 2012, the Minneapolis-based Berkshire Hathaway affiliate acquired Fresno-based Guarantee Real Estate.
The terms of HomeServices’ acquisition of Intero Real Estate Services, which also includes the company’s affiliated franchise network, Intero Franchise Services, were not disclosed.
With 13 offices in San Mateo, Santa Clara and San Benito counties, Intero Real Estate Services agents were involved in nearly 7,300 transactions in 2013 involving homes valued at $5.7 billion.
HomeServices, which was involved in 184,000 transactions totaling nearly $56 billion in 2013, now has more than 23,000 real estate professionals working in 25 states.
“Intero is a strong company with an excellent reputation in a growth market,” said HomeServices CEO Ron Peltier in a statement. “This transaction aligns with our vision of acquiring distinguished companies in leading markets that share our core values.”
The Silicon Valley Business Journal last week reported that “the residential real estate community has been buzzing for weeks that a deal was in the works.”
HomeServices of America has acquired eight brokerages around the nation in the last two years, including Chicago-based Prudential Rubloff Properties, which merged with Koenig & Strey and recently rebranded as Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices KoenigRubloff Realty Group.