International real estate giant Engel & Völkers is expanding to markets across the United States, and they wanted veteran agent Jerry del Rio, one of the Capital Region’s best-known names in high-end real estate, to head their Baton Rouge operations.
In September, after a year of convincing, del Rio finally took up their offer.
“I didn’t really want to go with a franchise, but then I decided that I really should, because that’s the way the world’s going,” del Rio tells Business Report in a feature from the current issue.
For del Rio, giving up the Jerry del Rio Real Estate brand—built over nearly three decades in the business—is risky, and she will give up a small slice of her revenue. But she hopes the rewards will make the tradeoffs worthwhile.
“I have all the business that I need,” she says. “I’m about as busy as I can be. I needed to find a way for my agents to become more productive.”
When Donnie Jarreau Real Estate was split up in May, Jonathan Starns and Chase Muller bought the company’s hybrid residential and commercial division from their former employer.
Partnering with a large national firm always was part of the plan, so things fell into place when Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, with more than 42,200 agents and 1,211 offices nationwide, began looking for a Baton Rouge affiliate, Starns says.
Starns and Muller were looking for more stability and structure for their new organization. They wanted the tools, training, marketing support and referral network the larger company provides.
“They looked at our numbers and said, ‘Your growth rate over the past four years has been tremendous,’” says Starns.
Benjamin Graham, Justin Langlois and Steve Legendre launched their commercial real estate brokerage firm in Baton Rouge about two years ago. They spoke with some of the national groups, and Sperry Van Ness—now branded as SVN—stood out in terms of the tools and resources that are provided in exchange for a small cut of the local revenue, says Graham.
“I always wanted to kind of own my own shop, but I didn’t want to go out by myself,” Graham says. “It made sense to partner with a national name.”
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