Real Estate News

Weir Manuel Realtors announced last week that it has joined the Coldwell Banker brand and has absorbed Coldwell Banker Schweitzer Real Estate to form Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel. The announcement was made by Weir Manuel CEO Kelly Sweeney and Coldwell Banker Schweitzer CEO Paul Schweitzer.

Our new company, which is owned by Kelly Sweeney, Tom Balames and David Trott, is now one of the largest real estate firms in the state. Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel has 465 sales professionals and 11 offices in southeast Michigan.

Kelly Sweeney, who served as Weir Manuel’s CEO since 2000, will retain that role in the new firm. Tom Balames will drive the company’s statewide expansion through office development and acquisition. Real estate attorney David Trott, who has more than 25 years of experience building and leading successful residential real estate related companies, will serve in an advisory role as Chairman and Paul Schweitzer will serve as Chairman Emeritus.

“It’s an exciting day for all of us at Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel,” Sweeney said. “This partnership delivers great strength, depth and value to the marketplace. We have created an outstanding platform for our sales associates and a strong foundation from which we can execute our strategic growth plan. We look forward to leveraging all of the best characteristics of the two companies and creating a new, exciting and expanded residential real estate resource for Michigan.”

Commenting on the Michigan real estate market Balames said, “We see tremendous opportunities here in southeast Michigan and throughout the entire state. While others continue to pull back, we plan on investing heavily in our people and our operations.”

“We are clearly in a position of strength,” said Trott. “We are seamlessly integrating two great companies with outstanding reputations for quality and service. We will realize significant efficiencies in operations as well as greater geographic reach. And with the market now moving in the right direction, the timing could not be better.”

COLDWELL BANKER WEIR MANUEL HOSTS KICK-OFF CELEBRATION

On Wednesday, August 26 Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel Realtors will celebrate its expanded office network and new brand at its first all-company meeting. Keynote speakers include Jim Gillespie, CEO of Coldwell Banker, Jeremy Conaway of Recon Intelligence Services and guest kick-off speaker Oakland County Executive Brooks Patterson.

The Kick-Off Celebration will begin and 10:00 a.m. and is expected to last approximately two hours.

WEIR MANUEL JOINS COLDWELL BANKER BRAND AND EXPANDS THROUGH ACQUISITION OF COLDWELL BANKER SCHWEITZER

New Company Has Plans for Statewide Expansion

Birmingham, Mich. (August 18, 2009) — Weir Manuel Realtors, a leading Michigan independent real estate firm, today announced that it has joined the Coldwell Banker brand and has absorbed Coldwell Banker Schweitzer Real Estate to form Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel. The announcement was made by Weir Manuel CEO Kelly Sweeney and Coldwell Banker Schweitzer CEO Paul Schweitzer.

The new company, which is owned by Kelly Sweeney, Tom Balames and David Trott, is one of the largest real estate firms in the state. Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel has 465 sales professionals and 11 offices in southeast Michigan.

Kelly Sweeney, who served as Weir Manuel’s CEO since 2000, will retain that role in the new firm. Tom Balames will drive the company’s statewide expansion through office development and acquisition. Real estate attorney David Trott, who has more than 25 years of experience building and leading successful residential real estate related companies, will serve in an advisory role as Chairman and Paul Schweitzer will serve as Chairman Emeritus.

“It’s an exciting day for all of us at Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel,” Sweeney said. “This partnership delivers great strength, depth and value to the marketplace. We have created an outstanding platform for our sales associates and a strong foundation from which we can execute our strategic growth plan.”

Commenting on the Michigan real estate market Balames said, “We see tremendous opportunities here in southeast Michigan and throughout the entire state. While others continue to pull back, we plan on investing heavily in our people and our operations.”

“We are clearly in a position of strength,” said Trott. “We are seamlessly integrating two great companies with outstanding reputations for quality and service. We will realize significant efficiencies in operations as well as greater geographic reach. And with the market now moving in the right direction, the timing could not be better.”

“We have always admired the Coldwell Banker brand and the great reputation Paul Schweitzer and his team have built over the last 29 years,” Sweeney said. “We look forward to leveraging all of the best characteristics of the two companies and creating a new, exciting and expanded residential real estate resource for Michigan.”

About Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel

Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel, headquartered at 298 S. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham, Michigan 48009, can be reached at 248-644-6300. Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel has office locations in Ann Arbor, Birmingham, Clarkston, Commerce Twp., Grosse Pointe Woods, Northville, Plymouth, Rochester, Troy and Utica. Visit Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel online at cbweirmanuel.com.

Social media networking (for example, Facebook, Twitter and the like) has perhaps been the fastest growing phenomenon in our society in recent memory. It is interesting to note how these media transcend the divide between social interaction and business networking.

Due to the nature of real estate sales, there is perhaps no better arena in which online social networking has applicability. That being said, let’s put it in perspective before we start believing that one’s professional acumen as a real estate professional becomes defined by the depth of one’s social networking ability.
While social media is a potentially great tool for Realtors, let’s not confuse one’s online prowess with the core competencies of a trusted real estate advisor.

The basic skills of representing a buyer or seller, the skills of pricing a house, of negotiation, of project management, of lead generation, of lead management, of psychological counseling, of paperwork, of knowledge of laws and regulations — and any of the other dozens of things at the core of the profession — are all completely unrelated to social media.

A great Realtor will be a great Realtor regardless of whether they tweet or blog. And tweeting or blogging will not alone make anyone a great Realtor. That doesn’t mean, however, the use of these tools will not be invaluable to them in helping to build and retain a client base.

We are learning that communication today is done in different ways depending on the generation with whom you are communicating. Real estate skills aside, the Realtor of the future must also be comfortable with online communication and networking.