A Virginia-based real estate firm with less than a month’s presence in the Charleston region has absorbed a Lowcountry home-selling business and its 50 agents at a time of slowing sales.
Long & Foster Real Estate, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway affiliate HomeServices of America, now counts Southern Coast Real Estate as part of its 200-office East Coast holdings that stretch from the Carolinas to New Jersey.
Southern Coast’s two offices in Summerville and West Ashley will now operate under the Long & Foster brand. Terms were not disclosed.
The company decided to expand to South Carolina at a time when the residential market is slowing after the rush to buy during the COVID-19 pandemic because the company said it “takes a long view” of the overall real estate industry.
“When markets contract, for companies that are financially disciplined and well capitalized, it’s an opportunity to expand into marketplaces we believe in, like Charleston,” spokeswoman Suzanne Pilcher said.
She also noted that company president Larry “Boomer” Foster played football at the University of South Carolina many years ago, and he’s always wanted to bring the brand to the Palmetto State.
Before the merger, Southern Coast was not too far removed from its new owner. It operated as an independent franchise of Berkshire Hathaway, said Cary Collins, who with more than 20 years of experience in the industry through Southern Coast will serve as branch manager for both offices.
As main reasons for joining the larger firm, he cited Long & Foster’s financial strength, its expansion into South Carolina and the desire of his mother, Linda Collins, to step back and serve as an agent.
Foster called the merger a good fit since the two agencies “share a culture of trust, family and excellence” with in-depth knowledge of the real estate market.
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“These similarities make this an ideal partnership for our combined teams to grow across the Lowcountry,” he said.
The two new Long & Foster offices specialize in residential home sales, luxury real estate, relocation, rentals and new construction throughout the region.
Cary Collins now reports to Lonnie Plaster, who oversees all of South Carolina for Long & Foster and leads the group that provides marketing, operational and other support for the firm’s more than 9,000 sales agents.
Plaster, who has lived in the Charleston area for more than a decade and worked for the Virginia company’s team in the Washington, D.C., area for much longer, said the technology, tools and resources offered by the combined firms will better serve clients.
He also noted the company doesn’t plan to confine its operations to the Lowcountry.
“We are planning to expand throughout South Carolina, but right now we are focusing on the Charleston area,” Plaster said.
Long & Foster had previously been located at 201 Sigma Drive in the Nexton development in Berkeley County. Agents have now moved to the previous Southern Coast office on West Doty Avenue in Summerville, Collins said. The Nexton office is no longer in operation.
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