Realogy-owned real estate franchise Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate (BHGRE) announced yesterday that Nextage M3 Realty, an indie brokerage founded in 1989 with more than 50 agents working out of offices in Edison and South Brunswick, N.J. is the latest to join its network.
Nextage M3 will be renamed Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate M3 Realty, according to a release.
Realogy cited Nextage M3 co-owner and broker Meiling Kravarik’s 30 years of real estate experience and passion for the industry as major advantages. It also noted that the brokerage — led by co-owners and co-brokers Lee Lee Lim and Arthur Napolitano — services a desirable central location between two of the East Coast’s biggest cities: New York City and Philadelphia, and highlighted its “agent-centric culture built upon integrity, honesty and reliability.”
For its part, the new Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate M3 Realty will rely on a tight-knit connection with the local community to continue growing its business.
“Building relationships is the cornerstone of real estate and we are committed to identifying and catering to the distinct intricacies of every transaction, Kravarik said in the announcement. “Beyond the trust and recognition accompanying its name, affiliating with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate is a milestone opportunity to work alongside an innovative company that mirrors this mindset and offers us fresh ideas and valuable resources to advance our brokerage without losing sight of the personal touch that has driven past success.”
“Upon meeting Meiling and the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate M3 Realty team, it was evident their dedication to promoting both business and personal growth align well with our strategic vision and core values,” Sherry Chris, President and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, said in the announcement. “They recognize tools and training have unlimited capabilities and leverage those resources to grow a team of coachable, passionate individuals who embrace new opportunities.”
BHGRE hopes that the wide selection of housing, both new construction and luxury buildings, along with its top-rated school systems will attract buyers to Central Jersey. Not to mention, nearby college campuses and pharmaceutical facilities such as Rutgers and Johnson & Johnson.
BHGRE’s franchise network currently counts 12,000 associates across 360 offices in the United States, Canada, Jamaica and The Bahamas, and earlier this year announced an expansion to Australia and New Zealand.
Chris, for her part, is helping oversee Realogy’s move to franchise another one of its brands, Climb, alongside Corcoran, in 2019.
Overall, Realogy’s franchise business has seen some challenges of late, with the company recording a $3 million decrease in franchise revenue from the third quarter of 2017 ($224 million) to 2018 ($221 million), which it said was due to “timing of brand conferences and franchisee events during the third quarter.” The value of its franchise agreements was also down from $1.294 billion in 2017 to $1.243 billion as of the latest 2018 quarterly earnings.
