The roughly 280 C.J. Brown realtors based in Baton Rouge have just had the doors to the Houston market opened to them.
C.J. Brown parent company Latter & Blum Inc. announced today a merger with Houston-based Realty Associates that more than doubles the company’s number of residential agents to roughly 3,200. Financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed, but Latter & Blum Inc. expects the merger to pay massive dividends.
“We’re projecting $4.3 billion in annual sales now,” says Latter & Blum Communications Manager April Gonzales, adding the company has seen annual sales of around $3 billion in recent years.
Latter & Blum Inc. is also the parent company of NAI/Latter & Blum, which has commerical real estate offices in Baton Rouge and across south Louisiana, but the deal announced today will only affect the residential side of the Latter & Blum Inc. business. But for the local C.J. Brown realtors, the deal means they’ll be tapped into one of the nation’s biggest residential real estate markets.
“Our expansion into Houston provides our company access to the second largest markets in the United States,” says Latter & Blum Inc. Chairman and CEO Robert Merrick in a prepared statement. “There is a lot of synergy between Houston and our current operations in Louisiana and Mississippi. This move will make Latter & Blum the best-positioned company to serve the real estate needs of the oil and gas industry across the Gulf Coast.”
Established in 1984, Realty Associates has grown to include roughly 1,700 agents in the greater Houston area and Galveston. Prior to the merger, which is effectively immediately, Latter & Blum Inc. had about 1,500 agents. The Houston company will continue to operate under the leadership of founder and broker Peter Merritt, and will operate as Realty Associates, ERA Powered.
Founded in Baton Rouge, C.J. Brown merged with New Orleans-based Latter & Blum Inc. in 1995.
—Steve Sanoski
