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, 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 percent market share in 2018. Only “97 percent to go,” he wrote.
According to the report, HomeServices closed 346,629 transactions “sides” for a total sales volume of $135.9 billion, representing the buyer or seller in deals in 2018. (The same sale could be counted twice if the brokerage represented both the buyer and seller.) It’s an increase of 6 percent and enough to upset the 20-year winning streak of NRT, which operates through brands such as Sotheby’s and Coldwell Banker.
