Century 21 Granite Realty Group Inc. recently announced its merger with Century 21 All Seasons Realty. Led by broker Brandon Nimigon, the brokerage has been serving the Haliburton, Ontario area since 2021.

‘A great fit for everyone’

Nimigon started with Century 21 Canada in 2015 as an agent and took over the brokerage in 2021. As for the reason he decided to merge with All Seasons Realty, he sought a brokerage similar in location and culture.

The merged group now operates five offices in Haliburton, Algonquin Highlands, Bancroft and Minden.

“We have similar markets, similar clients and agents with a wide expertise in cottage country,” Nimigon explains. “We’ve already had the chance to work together for years and they’re a close-knit group just like us. Our abutting borders make this merger a great fit for everyone.”

What the future holds

Looking to the future, Nimigon seeks to continue growing the brand’s presence in the area and its culture of collaboration that has been successful for both brokerages.

“This is going to be a great opportunity for all of us to grow our expertise in the area, strengthen our brokerage name throughout cottage country and build a stronger referral network between our two areas,” he says.

Merger will benefit ‘every single agent’ serving Central Ontario communities

Nimigon notes that Century 21 Canada has consistently provided support for their agents and owners, including through technology: “Their online tools are second to none and the personal backing we receive from their corporate head office has always been great. That tied in with one of the strongest brands in real estate is why we all choose C21.”

“We really encourage our brokers to find ways to collaborate and become stronger together,” says Todd Shyiak, executive vice president of Century 21 Canada.

“This merger will lead to a much stronger brand presence in Central Ontario which will benefit every single agent who serves those communities, and of course, Brandon and the leadership team at C21 Granite will have our full support as he brings these two brokerages together.”

Last week, Royal LePage announced the conversion of its newest British Columbia-based brokerage, Royal LePage ELITE West, formerly Keller Williams ELITE Realty.

The brokerage services Metro Vancouver with offices in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Maple Ridge and Abbotsford.

Largest Keller Williams conversion for Royal LePage

This addition is the largest Keller Williams conversion in Royal LePage’s history. With over 180 agents, the brokerage will service residential, commercial, recreational, luxury, farmland and investment property portfolios, among others.

“We are excited for Royal LePage’s growth momentum in British Columbia, welcoming a talented and productive group of sales professionals to our network. Their wealth of experience and esteemed clientele will be a fantastic addition to our organization,” says Jim Morris, director of business development, Western Canada.

The leadership team

Terri Spilsbury and Josh Bath will continue to lead the brokerage. Bath has worked in the industry for over 30 years and has served on numerous boards and committees throughout his career. With a background in real estate and conveyancing law, Spilsbury began her 20-year career in real estate after partnering with Bath.

The pair built a team that reached top-five status for GCI in North America within the first two years. Looking ahead, Spilsbury and Bath plan to increase the team’s market share, supporting Royal LePage in achieving growth.

Why the change

The company reports that Spilsbury and Bath were looking to partner with a reputable Canadian company with extensive technology tools and robust training and coaching programs. They also wanted a company with the infrastructure to support their sales professionals through the transition without disruption to the business.

“In today’s dynamic real estate landscape, where technology and information are at the forefront of our industry, aligning with a reputable brand will empower our agents to nurture their most valuable assets – their clients,” says Spilsbury.

“Our business journey has always been about providing unparalleled support and education to our team of staff and sales professionals and joining the Royal LePage family absolutely feels like the right fit,” Bath adds.

Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage, welcomes the team: “I am delighted to welcome this impressive team of high-performance Realtors to our big, happy family. Royal LePage ELITE West represents an important development for our growth in Greater Vancouver. Congratulations to Terri and Josh, and to the professionals in business development who worked with them to make this happen.”

eXp recently welcomed Angela Westerik and her team. She ran her independent brokerage, Community Real Estate Group, since it was established in 2018 in London, Ontario.

Westerik’s team consists of her husband, Shawn Westerik, and Brad McClelland. She says they mainly work in residential real estate “with consistent efforts in a couple of niche markets.”

Why the change

After years of dealing with administrative demands, Westerik felt she needed a change: “Following a highly successful yet demanding sales year in 2021, a realization dawned on me. It became apparent that my daily focus wasn’t aligning with my true desires,” Westerik says. “Despite enjoying my role as broker of record and owner, the increasing time demands prompted me to seriously consider the move to eXp Realty.”

Leading up to her decision, Westerik had been in touch with eXp Realty agent Matt Ashby, who joined the brokerage in 2017. She explains how he inspired her to make the change:

“Over the years, Matt and I stayed connected, fueled by our shared passion for personal and business growth. Toward the end of 2023, our discussions gained momentum, leading to the decision to align myself with the dynamic and innovative eXp Realty brand. The eXp Realty platform resonated with me, and it became evident that this was the optimal choice.”

An “impressive” experience so far

Westerik says her impressions of eXp so far can be summed up in one word: impressive. About the support during the closure of her brokerage and the entire onboarding process for her team, she says it’s been “remarkably seamless” and, “We are grateful to everyone who made the process enjoyable, recognizing that worthwhile endeavors often come with challenges.”

The rebranded Community Real Estate Group-Brokered by eXp Realty team looks forward to what the future holds. “The prospect of sharing wisdom and insights with like-minded professionals worldwide is truly exciting,“ Westerik shares.

Photo source: exprealty.com

Congratulations, you’ve completed your real estate courses and have become a licensed realtor. Now it’s time to find a brokerage and a broker of record to work under. But, how do you choose the right one to start your new career on a solid footing?

The mistake of smoke and mirrors: Do your due diligence

New agents often make the mistake of getting caught up in “smoke and mirrors or false promises” from brokerages, says Christopher Alexander, president of Re/Max Canada. Often, when you peel back the onion of what seems to be a flashy-looking brokerage, “there’s either a lack of productivity, a poor reputation or just a culture that is not inclusive or success-driven.” 

To avoid pitfalls, Alexander suggests new agents should do due diligence on the quality of the brokerage’s operator, its agents and its reputation by asking such questions as: How long has it been in business? What education and training systems does it offer? What’s the culture like? How invested is the owner in their realtors’ success? What are its education and training programs?

Consider these factors

When it comes to choosing a brokerage, new realtors should focus on factors such as culture, training, branding and marketing, technology and commission structure, says Lynn Findlay, Exit Realty regional owner for Southwestern Ontario. 

Culture: You need to thrive, not just survive

New realtors should ensure that the brokerage’s culture aligns with their values and work styles. “Aligning yourself with someone that’s really like you is key because that’s the environment that you’re going to thrive in and not just survive,” Findlay says. “We have a lot of agents that are just surviving but we would really like to see agents thriving.” 

They should ask: Does the brokerage thrive on collaboration? Is leadership available and accessible? Does it give back to the community? “It’s important to know what involvement the brokerage has in the community because that’s exposure and a way for new agents to get known,” she says. 

New agents should also ascertain the brokerage’s mindset offerings. “It can be a lonely job if you’re working by yourself as an agent, so what’s available to help you through those peaks and valleys of the real estate industry? How are you going to handle those ups and downs?” 

Management support is crucial for new agents who may require guidance as they navigate their early careers. “Who’s going to pick up the phone when you have a problem or you’re writing your first deal and you’re nervous as heck?”

Training: “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room”

Look for a brokerage that offers training programs for both new and experienced agents, Findlay says. If you select a brokerage based solely on its program for new agents, it may not fit a few years later and you’ll need to jump ship to get to the next level, she says. 

Other questions: What is the availability of mentorship programs? Do training programs cover legal and compliance matters, marketing strategies and technology tools?

“Surround yourself with strong agents who are doing a good book of business that are willing to share and possibly mentor you so that you can become the best possible agent you can,” Findlay says. “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.”

Branding and marketing: “Exposure for new agents is extremely important”

As an online presence is crucial, ask how the brokerage will help you create a professional website, optimize your social media profiles, market yourself and build on its branding, Findlay says. Does its website support CRM tools and other marketing materials or strategies to help agents market themselves and their listings? 

Since exposure for new agents is extremely important, agents should choose a strong, trustworthy and reputable brand with a major web presence, Alexander adds. Doing so “can really make the lives of a new agent much easier.”

Technology: How does it stack up?

Does the brokerage seek out the latest technology tools and teach realtors to use them effectively? And does it cost more to use the technology resources provided by the brokerage? Findlay notes technology fees are not always included as part of the brokerage’s commission structure. 

Commission structure: “It’s never about the split; it’s about the net you’re bringing home to your family”

New agents should evaluate the brokerage’s commission structure to see how it aligns with their financial goals, Findlay says. Are there transaction fees, desk fees, ongoing monthly fees or other additional fees?  Are there different commission structures based on performance or seniority? Does the brokerage do one or two or 10 to 15 deals a year on average per agent? Finding out will help you ascertain how many deals you can expect to get.

Findlay says agents often make the mistake of considering the commission split but not considering factors like office fees and additional brokerage costs that can be a financial hardship. “If you’re paying your brokerage a desk fee to be there and you haven’t earned anything, then you’re accruing debt.”

While commission splits are often top of mind for new agents, “if you are brand new and you haven’t done any deals, you’re not going to earn anything,” she notes. When selecting a brokerage, new agents should look to a brokerage that will help them get deals on the books. 

“It’s about who’s going to get you more business and if there is a cost associated, what is the cost? It’s never about the split; it’s about the net you’re bringing home to your family.” 

Alexander adds that instead of commission splits, new agents should focus on factors like brokerage leadership, whether there are systems and tools in place that help agents succeed and whether the culture is inviting, collaborative and looks like a good fit. “That, to me, is much more important than what my commission split is going to be out of the gate,” he says.

Vancouver-based McCredie Investments has completed the purchase of Sutton Group Realty Services Ltd. with plans to aggressively grow the brand throughout the country.

Sutton Group is a Canadian-founded brokerage operating 200 offices nationwide with a team of over 6,000 agents and annual sales volume surpassing $35 billion. There are about 115 franchise owners across Canada.

Ross McCredie, principal of McCredie Investments — a boutique investment and advisory firm focused on “cutting-edge real estate services and technology” — confirms the deal closed this week.

About the response, he says, “(It) has been pretty amazing. Every company I’ve bought in the past I’ve worked with the current owners. In this case, I couldn’t really do that. I’ve bought a number of companies in California where you work with the ownership and you do the transition. I said to my wife when we bought Sutton Group, I felt like I bought a barn but I didn’t know if there was anything inside the barn or not,” McCredie, now president and CEO of Sutton Group, explains.

A solid track record

Aside from founding McCredie Investments, McCredie brings a track record and depth of expertise to lead Sutton Group into the future — including as founder of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada and RealWealth, co-founder of Dundee 360, former chief global strategist of Pacific Union and CEO of its subsidiary, and more.

“When I owned Sotheby’s, we really grew fast when the market slowed down a little bit. The Canadian real estate market has obviously slowed down quite a bit and that’s when agents and franchise owners start to look at other options. So for me, it was very opportunistic from a timing point of view to buy (Sutton Group) than anything else,” says McCredie, who brought Sotheby’s to Canada in 2004, then opened the first office in Vancouver and 40 offices across Canada before selling the brand to Dundee Corporation in 2015.

“It was a great opportunity”

“COVID hit and I had a company in California that we just sold … I live in Vancouver. I kind of love where I live. So, when the opportunity came up to actually buy a Canadian national brokerage, I just decided it was a great opportunity because, with Sutton, not much has been done with the brand for the last 15 years. The former owners really hadn’t invested in the brand,” McCredie continues.

His thinking was to re-energize the brand by bringing in some technology — which, he points out, hadn’t been done much.

Technology partnership opportunities — gap in Canada

McCredie feels the Canadian marketplace is behind the U.S. when it comes to technology in real estate: “The Canadian marketplace, I would argue, compared to the U.S. corporations and brokerages, they’re pretty outdated. I’ve worked for the past 10 years in the U.S. Compass alone spent over $1 billion on its technology suite. I really think there’s an opportunity to partner with big technology companies to bring data and tech into the Canadian real estate market.”

One thing McCredie has always been surprised about is that “Homeowners in Canada have access to the worst real estate information of any G7 country in the world. For example, in the U.S., people can find out a lot of information related to a house they might want to purchase, everything to the number of times the police may have shown up to a certain home.

This is the most important transaction a lot of families make but, in Canada, we rely on really bad information, and a lot of time that information is put in by a real estate agent or someone like that, so it’s not verified,” he points out.

Significant growth expected

McCredie expects to see significant growth for the Sutton Group brand.

“The feedback has been pretty overwhelming … It’s one thing to invest the money to buy the company, but we’re looking to spend double that to refresh the brand. We’re already building a new website, we’re building a lot of technology suites into it (and) working with major groups across Canadian and American data companies to start bringing access to verified data and information to the Canadian consumer and a Sutton distribution of 6,000 agents across the country to start with. That’s really the caveat to why I bought Sutton. It was a huge opportunity to have an existing infrastructure and distribution for an enhanced platform,” he explains.

McCredie feels more collaboration is inevitable: “It’s just a matter of time before real estate transactions and management of real estate assets become much more transparent, and homeowners work together with their real estate agent and other fiduciaries, like their accountant and their lawyer, to do a much more seamless transaction.”

He says the current management of Sutton Group will remain in place and he will be tripling the size of its head office immediately. “We’re going to triple the investment in the company. We’re going to change the way we actually interact directly with the franchise owners and the agents across Canada.”

As for the transaction itself, McCredie says it was private, and financial details will not be disclosed.

Setting up for success

Sutton Group has been around for 40 years which the company’s vice president of operations, Rick Taron, says is a big deal. “Up until Ross showed up on the scene, the same two (Vancouver) guys owned it … Scott Shaw and Lance Tracey. They’ve had a good run with this thing,” Taron points out.

“I think the new, fresh blood that Ross is going to bring into the organization is going to be a tremendous boost for everybody. Originally, Scott and Lance were innovators of their time, back in 1983, and they brought in a lot of technology and (other) stuff. They were the ones who started a lot of this over the years. But, from what I’ve learned about Ross, he’s got a big background in technology and that’s where we’re going to be putting a lot of effort and focus.”

“We’re going to hire more people … tap into different parts of the market … He’s doing everything he’s supposed to do”

Taron believes Sutton Group will continue to grow, and that the brand is strong — it’s just been stagnant.

“We just need to have some fresh blood and make this thing hum. If we didn’t have a desire to grow, then I don’t know what Ross is thinking of doing because we would just flounder. I know we’re going to hire more people. We’re going to try to tap into different parts of the market. Plus, with the stuff that he’s going to bring in with his background, I think that will bring people along as well. I’m told there are all kinds of people contacting Ross and asking questions about the brand. That by itself is huge,” he explains.

Taron says the company is expecting very positive changes going forward and feels they’re on the right track since McCredie will be hands-on.

“He’s doing a whirlwind tour across Canada, trying to meet everybody and make the phone calls. He’s doing everything he’s supposed to do. That by itself is a big deal. The things that we add to it, the technology and the new services we’re going to put together, that’s just going to be a bonus to us.”

Led by broker/owner, Parise Cormier, and sales manager, André Malenfant, Exit Realty Associates has been serving the greater Moncton area since 2000. 2023 is the fourth consecutive year it has achieved the highest-grossing office ranking for a single location across all Canada and U.S. Exit offices.

The awards were given at the Exit Realty Corp. International convention held at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California. The company’s founder and chairman, Steve Morris, co-chair, Tami Bonnell, CEO – Canada, Joyce Paron and CEO – USA, Craig Witt, led the event.

“It is not by accident that a person becomes a gold medalist, and to achieve it year after year is a testament to dedication, discipline and drive at the most extraordinary level,” says Paron.  

“Parise is liked, loved, respected and held in the highest regard by everyone around her, and she has earned every bit of it. Exceptional leaders surround themselves with exceptional people, and Parise has done this with her brokerage’s management, administration and real estate professionals.”

Century 21 Masters of Edmonton was honoured with Century 21’s Franchise of the Year award this month in Calgary at OneC21 2023, the brand’s national network conference.

The award is given by the company’s head office to a franchise that’s consistently shown record success, contributed to their local community and helped fundraise for the brand’s national charitable partner, Easter Seals.

This was the first time the brokerage earned the title since opening in 2004.

“It meant so much to accept the award in a room full of fellow C21 network members who I respect and admire,” says co-owner Geneva Tetreault. “Rarely do we get to truly say thank you to the people who have helped us, and we are so proud to work with an amazing and inspirational group of agents who help us to be better each and every day.”

Tetreault has been with Century 21 Canada since 2004, while the brokerage’s other owner, James Mabey, has run his company since 2006. They joined forces in 2018. “Over the last five years we have been able to find a new level of drive, growth, passion and success,” Tetreault explains.

“Geneva and James have really brought out the best in their team, they’re an incredible pair of leaders, and they continue to take their brokerage to new heights,” says Todd Shyiak, Executive Vice President of Century 21 Canada. “They’ve come so far in five years and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for them. We’re committed to supporting their growth every single step of the way.”