The Agency is now expanding into title insurance, mortgage, escrow, home inspection and home warranty, the Los Angeles-based real estate brokerage announced on Tuesday.
The reason behind the firm’s expansion into core real estate services is the increase in demand for boutique-style services of high quality and consistency, said Rainy Hake Austin, president of The Agency.
The firm is expanding into mortgage at a challenging time for lenders amid rising interest rates.
Mauricio Umansky, CEO of The Agency said in a statement the program was launched with the help of strategic partnerships with other companies to cater to the entire home-buying and selling process.
“At The Agency, we continuously strive to revolutionize and simplify the buying and selling process and our core real estate services program is a shining example of that,” Umansky added.
These partnerships include alliances with Ohio-based distributed retail mortgage lender CrossCountry Mortgage, home warranty provider Choice Home Warranty and home inspection company Pillar to Post.
California-based agents and clients can access services from The Agency’s partners Closed Escrow, which acts as a neutral third party for real estate transactions, and my Natural Hazard Disclosure or myNHD, which provides reports showing if a property lies within a common hazard zone in the state.
“Expanding our core real estate services empowers our agents to provide their clients with best-in-class service and guidance throughout the entire transaction process,” said Burke Smith, executive vice president of affiliated businesses at The Agency, in the statement.
The new program aligns with the brokerage’s divisions, including the relocation department and The Agency Development Group. The firm has plans to expand its services further both locally and internationally, the release says.
The brokerage has seen top teams leave and join in recent weeks. On Monday, real estate professionals Taso Tsakos and Keri O’Reilly left The Agency to join rival brokerage Engel & Völkers.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles-based luxury agent Zach Goldsmith — a former team leader at Hilton & Hyland — joined The Agency with his team earlier this month. Goldsmith has sold more than $1 billion in real estate while his team closed more than $110 million in 2021.
