Coldwell Banker Division Will Leave O.C. for New Jersey
Coldwell Banker Corp.’s franchise arm will move to New Jersey just two months after the Mission Viejo real estate firm was purchased by the world’s largest hotel and real estate franchiser there.
Parsippany-based HFS Inc. acquired Coldwell in a deal worth $740 million in May, part of the wave of consolidation in the nation’s real estate industry.
HFS said Wednesday it will relocate Coldwell Banker’s Residential Affiliates division, which has 50 full-time employees and oversees about 2,500 franchised offices.
The bulk of Coldwell’s workers, about 550, will remain in Mission Viejo. They are assigned to the firm’s Corporate Relocation division and Coldwell’s Residential Brokerage, which owns 325 real estate offices.
HFS also has named Robert M. Becker, 55, as president of the residential affiliates division. Becker, who has been with a Coldwell Banker affiliate in New York, will succeed Robert A. Rist, who has decided not to move to New Jersey for personal reasons.
“This is a very small part of Coldwell Banker that’s moving--the bulk of the company remains in Orange County,” Becker said. “It just makes sense.”
Last year, HFS acquired another longtime Orange County real estate company, Irvine-based Century 21, and moved the firm to New Jersey within months. Hundreds of Century 21 workers lost their jobs as part of the move and restructuring.
“This decision is no reflection on the outstanding job that the Mission Viejo employees have performed. It is simply about synergies,’ said John D. Snodgrass, HFS president and chief operating officer. “While it is our philosophy to manage each of our 12 brands independently, there are common fundamentals that can then be adapted to suit the individual brand’s activities.”
HFS is the world’s largest franchiser of residential real estate and hotels, with 5,200 Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Knights Inn, Park Inn, Ramada, Super 8, Travelodge and Villager Lodge franchised hotels. In addition to Century 21 and Coldwell Banker, the firm also owns ERA Franchise Systems, giving it a 25% share of the real estate market.
Most Coldwell Banker franchisees remained unconcerned Wednesday about the division’s move.
“We don’t think it will have any effect on us one way or another,” said Carolee Walker Davies, owner of Coldwell Banker Towne Center in Cerritos, which sells homes in Orange and Los Angeles counties. “Our computers will just have to go a little farther to reach HFS.”
Coldwell Banker, founded in San Francisco 90 years ago, is the only national firm offering both residential and commercial brokerage services.
The relocation of the division is in no way a signal that Orange County’s economy is losing its allure for growing companies, said Anil Puri, an economist at Cal State Fullerton.
“It seems like an internal corporate decision, not a reflection of the Orange County economy,” Puri said.
The 50 employees in the franchise division are being offered jobs in New Jersey, but the status of some support staff appears to be unclear.
One employee in Coldwell’s corporate relocation division said workers were being told that things were strictly business as usual.
“I hope my division is not moving,” said the employee, who requested anonymity. “I’m from New Jersey.”
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Heading East
Coldwell Banker is moving its franchise division to New Jersey, where its parent corporation is located. Two divisions will remain in Mission Viejo. Details of the move:
* Parent corporation: HFS Inc., which purchased Coldwell Banker in May
* Division relocating: Coldwell Banker Residential Affiliates
* Destination: Parsippany, N.J.
* Employees: 50 (all offered positions in Parsippany)
* Division president/CEO: Robert M. Becker replaces Robert A. Rist, who elected not to move east
* Staying in Mission Viejo: Coldwell Banker Relocation Services and Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, with about 550 employees
Source: Coldwell Banker
