A History of Coldwell Banker United, Realtors
Coldwell Banker United, Realtors was founded by Richard A. Smith as
Richard Smith Company on July 1, 1970, in College Station, Texas.
Originally a commercial brokerage company, it entered the residential
market in 1971. By the mid 70s, the company had become the volume sales
leader in Bryan-College Station with two offices and 16 sales agents
handling residential, commercial, industrial, and farm and ranch sales.
The company also had started a construction division and was active in
land development. During the 70s, several highly successful land
syndications were formed with local investors.
In 1986, the company affiliated with Coldwell Banker, the nation's
largest real estate company, and operated as Coldwell Banker Richard
Smith, Realtors. However, as a franchisee, it remained an independently
owned and operated company. Since affiliating with Coldwell Banker, the
company has grown rapidly. On March 1, 1990, the company acquired five
Coldwell Banker residential offices in the Austin area from Coldwell
Banker Residential Brokerage.
On January 1, 1996, the company acquired eight residential real
estate brokerage offices in the greater Houston area from Coldwell
Banker United, Realtors and three residential offices in Killeen/Ft.
Hood from Coldwell Banker Wright Real Estate. These acquisitions made
the company the largest Coldwell Banker affiliate in Texas in
transaction sides and the 5th largest affiliate in the nation.
In 1997, the company expanded again in Texas with the acquisition
of ERA Whisenhunt in Killeen, Coldwell Banker Lighthouse Realty in
Galveston, Aldous Realty in Lake Jackson, and Nancy Sartain, Realtors
in Houston. Between February 1998 and the end of 2000, the company
acquired Ferester & Associates, RE/MAX Southbelt, and five Century
21 offices in the Houston area. All were converted to Coldwell Banker
United, Realtors. In March 2001 the company acquired the residential
operations of Henry S. Miller, Realtors in Austin and Houston which at
that time included 12 branch offices. Then, in August 2001 the company
acquired the Will Clark Real Estate office and the Century 21 Real-Tec
office in Angleton, Texas.
On September 11, 2002, the company extended its operation to the
southeast when it acquired 11 offices in Charlotte, North Carolina and
Columbia, South Carolina. At the time of this acquisition, all company
offices adopted the name Coldwell Banker United, Realtors.
On June 23, 2003, the company expanded to East Texas by acquiring
three offices from Pirtle Real Estate Services in Tyler, Bullard and
Whitehouse, Texas. The Lindale, Texas branch was acquired from Town
& Lake Realty in August of 2003.
The year 2004 brought the company several new additions. In
January, the company acquired Forest Associates Realtors located in
Northwest Houston, Texas; in June, three Coldwell Banker Stepp Tuttle
offices in Rock Hill, Ft. Mill and Lancaster, South Carolina; in July,
Hunter Realty in Statesville, North Carolina; and, in August Coldwell
Banker Real Estate Professionals in Conroe, Texas. Also, in the spring
of 2004, the company acquired Buyer's Agent Realty in Spring, Texas.
On January 4, 2005, the company acquired Lakehaven Associates
offices in Mt. Vernon, Texas, Mt. Pleasant, Texas, and Emory/Lake Fork,
Texas. On May 3, 2005, Coldwell Banker Treadway, Realtors which is
located in Texarkana, Texas was acquired by the company. House Hunters
of Texas, an Austin, Texas company, was acquired in July 2005.
Commins-Moses Realty Company, Inc. of Sumter, South Carolina was added
to the company's roster in May 2006. In the Houston area, the company
acquired Coldwell Banker Madeline O?Brien and Coldwell Banker
Swilley-Hudson in September 2006 and Coldwell Banker Mandola Realty in
February 2007. Lilly Real Estate in Mt. Pleasant, Texas was acquired in
April 2007.
On August 20, 2007, the company acquired Coldwell Banker JME
Realty, headquartered in Pensacola, Florida. This company operated 20
residential and two commercial offices in the Florida panhandle and the
Gulf coast areas of Alabama and Mississippi. In the first quarter of
2008, Coldwell Banker United, Realtors? purchased several offices in
the Panama City, Florida area from NRT and Coldwell Banker Coastal
Properties in Charleston, South Carolina.
Currently, the company's offices are located throughout central,
southeast and northeast Texas; the Gulf Coast regions of Alabama and
Mississippi; the Florida panhandle; and North and South Carolina. All
offices are managed by a Vice President - Branch Manager with a wealth
of experience in residential real estate sales. Coldwell Banker United,
Realtors is the #1 company in the Coldwell Banker network of
independently owned affiliates as measured in transaction sides.
According to "REAL Trends" a leading industry trade publication,
the company, in 2007, was ranked #5 nationally among all real estate
companies in transaction sides and #9 nationally among all real estate
companies in sales volume. The REAL Trends report is a compilation of
nationwide studies of leading real estate companies that represent a
comprehensive collection of data assembled on the leaders of the
residential brokerage industry.
Coldwell Banker United, Realtors currently operates 77 residential
branch offices and three commercial branch offices with a sales force
of over 2,400 sales associates and over 450 employees. The company
closed 27,953 transaction sides in 2007 with a sales volume of over
$6.1 billion.
The company is a principal broker with Cartus Mobility, a company
which provides relocation services to dozens of the nation's top
corporations and has the largest market share of any relocation
company. This association produces hundreds of referrals and
third-party listings to the company.
The company provides access to the services of American Home Shield
home warranties and Coldwell Banker Mortgage in all of its residential
branch offices. The company offers title insurance through Access Title
in selected Houston, Texas markets.
Coldwell Banker United, REALTORS. An Equal Opportunity Company. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated.
Corporate Headquarters
1215 E. Villa Maria
Bryan, TX 77802
