Brokerage

Lasting Impact: Weston Edwards, founding chairman, Merrill Lynch Realty

1200x675_Weston_Edwards_Banner_art

Lasting Impact: Weston Edwards brought the first wave of outside capital to the industry

Merrill Lynch’s entry into residential brokerage was the opening salvo of a massive wave of investment in residential brokerage. They were the first. Edwards led that effort and from 1977 on for the next 10 years he and his team solidified the term “one-stop” shopping for residential real estate and acquired dozens of leading residential brokerage firms. By the mid 1980’s they were among the top five residential brokerage firms by sales in the country.

Merrill Lynch was then recognized as one of the most powerful and well-run investment/securities firms in the world. Their move into residential real estate, led by Edwards opened the door to a wave of acquisitions by such firms as Sears (through Coldwell Banker) and numerous savings and loan institutions among others along with today’s Anywhere Real Estate and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.

Steve Murray is a senior advisor for RealTrends and a partner in brokerage consulting firm RTC Consulting.

Most Popular Articles

Scout Real Estate Tech Profile
Real estate tech profile: Growing a business with Scout 

Becoming the mayor of your geo-farming neighborhood has, for a long time, been conducted in very much the same way — with door-knocking, direct mail and luck. Technology has started making inroads to opening conversations, but there was still a gap filled mostly with just-listed and just-sold postcards. Truly being able to reach the consumer […]

Nov 26, 2024 By

Latest Articles

Juggling-Taxs-Payroll-Bookkeeping
When will you stop juggling taxes, bookkeeping, and payroll? 

As a real estate professional, do you feel like you’re perpetually playing catchup with taxes and budgeting? Troy Palmquist offers 3 fintech solutions that can change the state of your finances. Real estate agents love to trot out the talking point that they “help clients manage the buying and selling of their most valuable asset.” […]

Dec 02, 2024 By