Loading
Number one is number one, regardless of the market. And for that, NRT LLC, parent company of Sarasota-based Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, Florida, has reason to celebrate.
The firm has once again claimed the nation's top rank in real estate sales volume and transaction sides represented, the thirteenth year in a row it has done so.
The numbers behind that ranking, however, are a sobering bunch.
NRT completed deals worth $107 billion in total sales volume in 2009 to earn the top spot in the U.S. — a total 19% lower than its 2008 volume of $132 billion. It's the second consecutive double-digit percentage point drop for the company, which posted a sales total of $174.2 billion in 2007.
But while company sales did also decrease in the state of Florida, the drop here wasn't quite as large. Total sales for 2009 totaled $7.95 billion, down just 8.4% from the previous year.
Where activity in Florida does differ from the nation, however, lies in the number of buyers and sellers represented in deals.
While the number of transaction sides of deals represented by the company nationwide remained relatively flat (a small 0.5% decrease), Florida saw a 33.9% jump — with 38,975 buyers and sellers represented in 2009, up from 29,104 last year.
More buyers and sellers plus lower sales volume adds up to one well-known fact: prices are down.
But Sue Wolverton, senior regional vice president for Coldwell Banker Florida, says that trend is finally reversing.
“Our average sales price declined over 20%,” Wolverton says of 2009. But 2010 looks different: “This year, we're seeing the exact opposite,” she explains.
Click here for a chart showing all three years of data for the company in both the U.S. and Florida.
Based in Parsippany, N.J., NRT has approximately 46,000 sales associates operating from 760 offices in more than 35 major metropolitan areas, making it the nation's largest residential real estate brokerage company.
Your free article limit has been reached this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited digital access to our award-winning business news.
Join thousands of executives who rely on us for insights spanning Tampa Bay to Naples.
