Warren Buffett is one step closer to dominating the U.S. home brokerage business.
HomeServices of America Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. affiliate, had a hand in more closed real estate deals than any other residential brokerage in the U.S. for the first time ever, a ranking from Real Trends, an industry data provider, found. A year ago, when HomeServices was ranked second behind Realogy Holdings Corp.’s NRT LLC unit, Buffett said in his annual letter to shareholders that the company would have about 3 per cent market share in 2018. Only “97 per cent to go,” he wrote.
HomeServices closed 346,629 transactions “sides” for a total sales volume of $135.9 billion by representing the buyer or seller in deals in 2018, according to the report. (The same sale could be counted twice if the brokerage represented both the buyer and seller.) It’s an increase of 6 per cent and enough to upset the 20-year winning streak of NRT, which operates through brands such as Sotheby’s and Coldwell Banker.
