Real Estate Investment

Coldwell Banker Announces Acquisition of Iconic Manhattan Real Estate Brand Warburg Realty

Realogy Holdings Corp. | October 06, 2021

Coldwell Banker Real Estate, LLC and Warburg Realty, two of the most trusted and exemplary real estate companies in America, have joined together to form Coldwell Banker Warburg, a legacy New York firm leveraging the worldwide global power of the Coldwell Banker brand name. The new powerhouse Coldwell Banker Warburg will be fully rebranded in January of 2022, following filing with the State.

Warburg Realty and Coldwell Banker each bring more than 100 years of industry experience and success, originating from opposite coasts of the country. The companies were established within a decade of each other, Coldwell Banker in San Francisco in 1906 and Warburg Realty in New York in 1896. The newly combined entity is thus grounded in 240 combined years of industry knowledge and proven track records of excellence.

Chief Executive Officer of Warburg Realty Frederick Warburg Peters, along with his management team and elite brokerage force, will remain with the newly combined company. Warburg Realty will retain its two prime office locations, comprising more than 120 affiliated sales professionals.

Coldwell Banker Warburg will be the first acquisition to be fully branded under the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury program, underlining the significance of a top-quality New York presence added to the Coldwell Banker brand's best-in-class client services in such markets as Los Angeles, Aspen, Colorado and Miami.

For over 120 years, Warburg Realty has defined the highest standard in luxury real estate brokerage and has built, managed, and brokered many of New York City's most prominent houses and apartments. While Warburg has maintained a cutting-edge profile and constantly adapted to an ever-changing industry, the addition of the Coldwell Banker brand's cutting-edge suite of marketing, education, and state-of-the-art technology tools will enable the firm to even more effectively spread its wings. Led by CEO, broker, and real estate innovator Frederick Warburg Peters and headquartered on Madison Avenue, the company's affiliated agents are strategically located across Manhattan to ensure every client has seamless access to the city's finest properties.

Warburg Realty luxury agents are leaders in the New York Market and this partnership will provide them with the Coldwell Banker brand's powerful Global Luxury certification program and access to a global network of luxury experts to better serve their high-net-worth clientele. The Coldwell Banker Global Luxury program represents over $168 million in sales volume daily based on 2020 data. Having a New York presence will significantly strengthen the company's global position while reinforcing Warburg's leadership in the New York luxury space. 

The newly minted Coldwell Banker Warburg will continue to deliver the same top-quality services clients have come to expect. Enjoying centuries of joint experience and on-the-ground resources, Coldwell Banker Warburg will continue to push the industry forward.

This is a groundbreaking moment for both Coldwell Banker and Warburg Realty. This marks the Coldwell Banker brand's expansion into Manhattan and solidifies our presence in the New York luxury real estate landscape. With its storied legacy and tradition of extraordinary service, Warburg has earned significant respect from customers, colleagues, and me. We have a strong personal relationship, and I have deep admiration for Frederick and the entire Warburg team. We look forward to further strengthening our position as a North Star of luxury real estate in New York City for many more decades to come.

—M. Ryan Gorman, president and CEO, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC

I am extremely proud and happy to see Warburg Realty become a partner in the Coldwell Banker brand's Global Luxury initiative. Throughout my 40-year career in residential real estate, I have worked to elevate the integrity and professionalism of our industry. Working with the Coldwell Banker brand, I am giving Warburg agents the finest tools to create even more value for our clients and customers. I know this joining of congruent brands will benefit us all. We can't wait to get started!

—Frederick Warburg Peters, CEO, Coldwell Banker Warburg

Coldwell Banker Warburg will operate as part of Coldwell Banker Realty, the company-owned offices of Coldwell Banker. A subsidiary of Realogy (NYSE: RLGY), which owns the Coldwell Banker company-owned offices, acquired Warburg Realty.

About Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC
Powered by its network of over 96,000 affiliated sales professionals in approximately 2,900 offices across 40 countries and territories, the Coldwell Banker® organization is a leading provider of full-service residential and commercial real estate brokerage services. The Coldwell Banker brand prides itself on its history of expertise, honesty and an empowering culture of excellence since its beginnings in 1906. Coldwell Banker Real Estate is committed to providing its network of sales professionals with the tools and insights needed to excel in today's marketplace and is known for its bold leadership and dedication to driving the industry forward. The brand was named among the 2021 Women's Choice Award® Most Recommended brands for customer experience and overall quality. Blue is bold and the integrity and values of Coldwell Banker give the Gen Blue network an unbeatable edge. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each office is independently owned and operated.

About Coldwell Banker Global Luxury®
The Coldwell Banker Global Luxury® program legacy traces its roots to 1933 and has been a world leader in luxury real estate since. Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Property Specialists are an exclusive group within the Coldwell Banker organization, making up under ten percent of independent sales associates affiliated with the brand worldwide. Coldwell Banker affiliated agents conducted 27,595 transactions of homes priced at $1 million or more in 2019, more than any other national real estate brand. This equates to $144.4 million in sales every day with an average sales price of $1.9 million in this category. Coldwell Banker, the Coldwell Banker logo Coldwell Banker Global Luxury and the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury logo are registered marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Each franchise is independently owned and operated.

About Realogy Holdings Corp.
Realogy (NYSE: RLGY) is moving the real estate industry to what's next. As the leading and most integrated provider of U.S. residential real estate services encompassing franchise, brokerage, relocation, and title and settlement businesses as well as a mortgage joint venture, Realogy supported approximately 1.4 million home transactions in 2020. The company's diverse brand portfolio includes some of the most recognized names in real estate: Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate, CENTURY 21®, Coldwell Banker®, Coldwell Banker Commercial®, Corcoran®, ERA®, and Sotheby's International Realty®. Using innovative technology, data and marketing products, high-quality lead generation programs, and best-in-class learning and support services, Realogy fuels the productivity of its approximately 194,200 independent sales agents in the U.S. and more than 142,700 independent sales agents in 117 other countries and territories, helping them build stronger businesses and best serve today's consumers. Recognized for ten consecutive years as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies, Realogy has also been designated a Great Place to Work four years in a row and is one of LinkedIn's 2021 Top Companies in the U.S.

Spotlight

Spotlight

Related News

Real Estate Investment, Asset Management

Ares Management Corporation to Acquire Crescent Point Capital

Businesswire | July 18, 2023

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) (“Ares”) announced today that Ares has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Crescent Point Capital (“CPC”), a leading Asia-focused private equity firm with approximately $3.8 billion of assets under management, as of March 31, 2023. Founded in 2003, CPC has approximately 50 professionals. The team is headquartered in Singapore and has a presence in China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. CPC pursues a private equity strategy focused on investing in industry-leading consumer companies across the larger Southeast Asia markets and China. Supported by a loyal and growing investor base over its nearly 20-year history, CPC has established a strong reputation and delivered attractive results investing through market cycles in its target sectors and geographies. Ares has established direct sourcing and investment capabilities in the Asia Pacific region across the credit, private equity, real estate and infrastructure asset classes through Ares Asia, previously known as Ares SSG. Ares Asia operates with approximately 165 professionals across a local footprint of nine offices in key Asia Pacific markets, as of March 31, 2023. This transaction highlights a continuation of Ares’ global expansion and creates a compelling opportunity for Ares to capitalize on the strong growth prospects for dedicated Asia Pacific private equity strategies. “We are proud of the significant Asia Pacific presence that we have established over the years, and we believe that CPC is an excellent platform that will further enhance our footprint and capabilities in the region,” said Michael Arougheti, Chief Executive Officer and President of Ares. “We have enjoyed the opportunity to develop a great relationship with the Crescent Point team. They are experienced investors who we believe will bring impactful synergies to our existing Asia team.” “Similar to Ares, we believe CPC possesses a highly collaborative culture. We believe that they will bring deep private equity experience, relationships and a demonstrated track record of investing in markets that will greatly complement our efforts and footprint in the region,” said Edwin Wong, Head of Ares Asia. “The expansion of our local capabilities will also strengthen our position as a creative solutions provider to management teams and sponsors in the market.” As part of Ares, CPC is expected to benefit from the advantages of Ares’ scaled global platform and network, including Ares’ local market presence across the Asia Pacific region. The transaction provides opportunities to enhance CPC’s growth through greater access to capital, market intelligence, transaction opportunities and expanded investor relationships. “We look forward to joining Ares and we firmly believe that this combination will help further catalyze the growth of our business,” said David Hand, Managing Partner of CPC. “As part of a leading global brand and scaled platform, we expect to realize several shared benefits that will support our ability to deliver attractive investment returns for our investors, including greater market intelligence and a broader set of local sponsor relationships.” The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Ares’ after-tax realized income per share of Class A and non-voting common stock. The transaction consideration will be primarily comprised of Ares Class A common shares subject to a multi-year lock-up. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Latham & Watkins served as legal counsel to Ares and Kirkland & Ellis and Milbank LLP acted as legal counsel to CPC. About Ares Management Corporation Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit, private equity, real estate and infrastructure asset classes. We seek to provide flexible capital to support businesses and create value for our stakeholders and within our communities. By collaborating across our investment groups, we aim to generate consistent and attractive investment returns throughout market cycles. As of March 31, 2023, Ares Management Corporation's global platform had approximately $360 billion of assets under management, with more than 2,600 employees operating across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. About Crescent Point Capital Crescent Point Capital pursues a private equity strategy focused on investing in category-leading companies in Southeast Asia and China. We focus on forming close partnerships with our portfolio companies by providing hands-on operational, financial and strategic value-add from the inception of an investment through to its exit. Since inception, we have completed investments in more than 50 transactions in our target markets, with 31 partial or complete monetization events accomplished as of March 31, 2023.

Read More

Real Estate Investment

Roc360 Announces Additional Capital Sources

PRnewswire | August 21, 2023

Roc Capital Holdings LLC ("Roc360", the "Company"), a vertically integrated platform for residential real estate investors and a leading originator of business-purpose loans, and Temasek, a global investment company headquartered in Singapore, today announced the launch of Roc360 Real Estate Income Trust Inc ("Roc360 REIT"). The externally managed mortgage REIT will invest in business purpose loans for residential real estate investment properties principally originated by Roc360. Since its founding, Roc360's core focus has been to connect the highly fragmented business of residential investment property lending with institutional capital through an "originate-to-sell" business model. The formation of the Roc360 REIT establishes Roc360's presence as an asset manager, which will enable the Company to further diversify its base of committed capital to enhance the certainty of capital for its borrowers. "As demand for our assets has increased, we view the Roc360 REIT as an opportunity to secure more funding for our customers by diversifying our range of capital sources," said Arvind Raghunathan, Ph.D., Roc360 Founder and Chief Executive Officer. "We are honored to partner with Temasek on this important endeavor, which will have a beneficial impact on our customers' ability to scale their businesses in combating the shortage of affordable, energy efficient homes in this country." The partnership between Roc360 and Temasek highlights the continued interest in US residential real estate from the international investor community. "This year, we have taken a number of steps to grow our origination capabilities both organically and via acquisitions. As such, we view the Roc360 REIT as a natural extension of our platform, which binds best-in-class origination capabilities and diverse, committed and scalable capital through technology and data which provides our borrowers certainty of execution and a streamlined process. We are excited to provide an alternate funding model for this segment of the industry outside of whole loan purchases and securitization markets," said Maksim Stavinsky, Co-Founder and President of Roc360. In addition to the REIT, Roc360 will maintain and expand its existing loan purchase programs and asset management solutions to accommodate its growing origination footprint.Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. served as sole structuring agent for this transaction. About Roc360 Roc360 is a leading financial services platform for residential real estate investors, providing vertically integrated solutions, including lending, servicing, insurance, and valuation. Founded in 2014 by Arvind Raghunathan, Maksim Stavinsky and Eric Abramovich, Roc360 employs over 300 people and its wholesale and retail brands have funded in excess of $25 billion in loans throughout the United States since inception. The company is headquartered in New York City with offices on three continents.

Read More

Real Estate Technology, Mortgage and Lending

FirstClose™ Equity Now Integrated with Encompass® by ICE Mortgage Technology®

PRnewswire | July 21, 2023

FirstClose, Inc., a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, announced today that its home equity origination platform—FirstClose Equity— is now integrated with Encompass® by ICE Mortgage Technology®, part of ICE, a global data, technology and market infrastructure company that designs, builds and operates digital networks to connect people to opportunity. Through the new integration, Encompass users can seamlessly originate home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and home equity loans (HELs) within their LOS and complete the application through closing process in as few as 10 days versus the industry average of 45 to 60 days. Encompass will continue to be the system of record because all data is secured through the LOS and stored there. Each call to action initiates a data map and an audit trail to Encompass. FirstClose's one-of-a-kind home equity solution reduces operational touchpoints to elevate the overall customer experience for borrowers. The solution also enables lenders to automate data collection, verification, and continue to order settlement services through FirstClose's existing order management module. "Home equity lending has become a go-to option for millions of homeowners and is expected to be a significant growth opportunity for the foreseeable future," said Tedd Smith, Chief Executive Officer at FirstClose. "Our integration with ICE Mortgage's platform will give Encompass users a simple, efficient way to either enter this market or to differentiate themselves by significantly improving the customer experience that they are offering." The end-to-end platform was built modularly so lenders can implement one, two or all modules based on the approach that's right for their organization. Point of Sale (POS): A private-label borrower-facing point-of-sale solution with a unique borrower experience – single sign on, workflow, and customized branding including domain that gives consumers instant online feedback on their home valuation, available home equity, loan options and delivers credit decisions in minutes. (Borrower eligibility is determined by the credit score and CLTV.) Borrower Portal: A borrower portal that lets consumers provide consents, upload needed documents, interact with originators, select loan terms, and draw amounts. In parallel, the portal's backend is iframed into Encompass, so loan originators never leave their LOS and are rewarded with a consistent process and streamlined functionality including title decisioning via the lenders' business rules and a credit decision that leverages EPPS and Encompass' Dynamic Data Management (DDM) to deliver findings in minutes. Order Management: Automated workflows, including triggers enable the ordering of settlement services such as flood, title, valuation and more. Closing: An option to support hybrid closings and recordings that are compliant with state regulations and lender guidelines. "Our best-of-breed technology dramatically accelerates decision-making and connects lenders to a broad network of preferred providers with one contract, one bill and one support team," said Craig Austin, Executive Vice President at FirstClose. "Lenders currently originating home equity products can onboard in as fast as 30 days; while new entrants can onboard in as fast as 60 days enabling lenders to pivot and capitalize on the current market which is a bright spot for our industry." About FirstClose Headquartered in Austin, Texas, FirstClose, Inc. provides fintech solutions to HELOC and mortgage lenders nationwide. The company's mission is to increase profitability and reduce cost for mortgage lenders. FirstClose makes this possible through offering systems and relationships that enable lenders to assist the lender's borrowers more effectively, reduce closing costs, and ultimately shorten closing times. About ICE Mortgage Technology ICE Mortgage Technology® is part of ICE, a global data, technology and market infrastructure company that designs, builds and operates digital networks to connect people to opportunity. Backed by ICE's global resources, we offer a truly differentiated digital platform that provides straight-through processing for a more comprehensive end-to-end workflow than any other provider in the market. We reach almost every mortgage in the U.S. by combining the native automation of Encompass® with the e-collaboration and e-recording capabilities of Simplifile®, along with the national electronic registry for nearly 90% of the U.S. mortgage market in MERS®. Ultimately, our technology enables people across the industry to focus on personal connections when they need it most, and support borrowers for a better journey of homeownership. About Intercontinental Exchange Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. is a Fortune 500 company that designs, builds and operates digital networks to connect people to opportunity. We provide financial technology and data services across major asset classes that offer our customers access to mission-critical workflow tools that increase transparency and operational efficiencies. We operate exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, and clearing houses that help people invest, raise capital and manage risk across multiple asset classes. Our comprehensive fixed income data services and execution capabilities provide information, analytics and platforms that help our customers capitalize on opportunities and operate more efficiently. At ICE Mortgage Technology, we are transforming and digitizing the U.S. residential mortgage process, from consumer engagement through loan registration. Together, we transform, streamline and automate industries to connect our customers to opportunity.

Read More