A Virginia-based Charleston-area real estate firm in less than a month has absorbed the Lowcountry home sales business and its 50 agents, slowing sales.
Long & Foster Real Estate, a subsidiary of Home Services of America, an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway, counts Southern Coast Real Estate as part of 200 East Coast owned offices that span Carolina to New Jersey.
Two Southern Coast offices in Somerville and West Ashley are now operated under the Long & Foster brand. Terms were not disclosed.
The company said it takes a “long-term view” of the real estate industry as a whole, which is why it decided to expand into South Carolina at a time when the housing market is slowing after a rush of buying during the COVID-19 pandemic. Did.
“Shrinking markets present an opportunity for financially disciplined and well-capitalized companies to expand into markets we believe in, like Charleston,” spokeswoman Suzanne Pilcher said.
She also said that the company’s president, Larry “Boomer” Foster, played football for the University of South Carolina years ago, and he always wanted to bring the brand to Palmetto State.
Before the merger, Southern Coast wasn’t too far from its new owners. Operating as an independent franchise of Berkshire Hathaway, Carrie Collins, who has more than 20 years of industry experience through the Southern Coast, said she will serve as branch manager for both offices.
He cited Long & Foster’s financial strength, expansion into South Carolina, and his mother, Linda Collins’ desire to retire and act as an agent, as the main reasons for joining the larger firm.
Foster said the merger was a good fit because the two agencies “share a culture of trust, family and excellence” and have deep knowledge of the real estate market.
“These similarities make this an ideal partnership for an integrated team to grow across the Lowcountry,” he said.
The two new Long & Foster offices specialize in area-wide home sales, luxury real estate, relocations, rentals and new construction.
Cary Collins now reports to Lonnie Plaster. Lonnie Plaster oversees Long & Foster’s entire state of South Carolina, where he leads a group that provides marketing, operations and other support to more than 9,000 distributors.
Having lived in the Charleston area for more than a decade and worked much longer on the company’s team in Virginia in the Washington, DC area, Plaster says the technology, tools, and resources the combined company offers will help them better serve their clients. said to provide.
He also said the company has no plans to limit its operations to the Lowcountry.
“We have plans to expand throughout South Carolina, but we’re currently focused on the Charleston area,” Plaster said.
Long & Foster was formerly located at 201 Sigma Drive in the Nexton Development in Berkeley County. The agent has now moved to its former Southern Coast office on West Dotty Avenue in Somerville, Collins said. The Nexton office is no longer open.