Coldwell Banker

Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC
FormerlySears Financial Network
(1981–1993)
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryReal estate
FoundedAugust 27, 1906; 118 years ago (1906-08-27), in San Francisco, California
FoundersColbert Coldwell, Albert Nion Tucker, John Conant Lynch
Headquarters,
United States
Key people
  • Kamini Lane (president & CEO)
  • Coldwell Banker Realty (corporate owned business)
    Jason Waugh (president, Coldwell Banker Affiliates (franchise business)
ParentSears (1981–1993)
Fremont Group (1993–1996)
Cendant (1996–2006)
Anywhere Real Estate (2006–present)
Websitecoldwellbanker.com

Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC is an American real estate franchise owned by Anywhere Real Estate, with headquarters in Madison, New Jersey. It was founded in 1906 in San Francisco,[1] and has approximately 3000 offices in 49 countries and territories.[2] It publishes an annual house price guide, Home Listing Report.[3][4] The company does not issue loans; its name refers instead to a former managing partner.

History

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After the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fires, Albert Nion Tucker, Colbert Coldwell and John Conant Lynch formed Tucker, Lynch and Coldwell on August 27, 1906.[5] Benjamin Arthur Banker joined the firm as a salesman in 1913, and became a partner in 1914. The company changed its name to Coldwell, Kern & Banker in 1918. In 1919 the name became Coldwell, Kern, Cornwall & Banker, and in 1920, Coldwell Cornwall & Banker. Cornwall retired in 1940, and the company name changed again to Coldwell, Banker & Company, which was shortened to Coldwell Banker in 1974. Banker and Coldwell remained active in the company throughout their lives.[5][6]

In 1920, Coldwell Banker moved to a three-story building in San Francisco. It opened an office in Phoenix, Arizona, its first outside California, in 1952.[6] In the 1970s the company expanded by acquiring firms in Atlanta, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. The first international Coldwell Banker office opened in Toronto, Canada in 1996.[6]

Coldwell Banker & Company became a corporation in 1961, and went public in 1968. In 1981 it was bought by Sears, Roebuck, and became part of the Sears Financial Network.[6][7] In 1989, Sears sold Coldwell Banker's commercial unit to a management-led buyout group including The Carlyle Group for approximately $300 million.[8][9] As part of the sale, the residential unit retained the Coldwell Banker name; the commercial group has changed names several times after the sale and various mergers and acquisitions, and is now CBRE Group.

Sears sold Coldwell Banker's surviving residential unit to the Fremont Group, a California investment company, for $230 million in 1993.[10] It was sold to HFS Inc., later Cendant, in 1996.[11][12] When Cendant broke up in 2006, the real estate businesses were spun off as Realogy, which was sold to Apollo Management for about $7.75 billion.[13] In 2022, Realogy rebranded as Anywhere Real Estate, Inc.

Philanthropy

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In 2006 helped to raise $5 million to support 100 Habitat for Humanity homes to commemorate its 100th anniversary.[14] In February 2015 it collaborated with Adopt-a-Pet.com, a dog adoption website.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2011 Franchise Report" (PDF). Realtor.org. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  2. ^ Heffernan, Shayne. "US Real Estate: High Demand for $10+ Million Homes". Live Trading News. Archived from the original on 2015-10-08. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  3. ^ Stone, Madeline (November 10, 2015). "Here's what a four-bedroom home looks like in America's most expensive markets". Business Insider. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  4. ^ Nicks, Denver (November 10, 2015). "The 8 Most Expensive Cities to Buy a House Are All in This State". Money.com. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  5. ^ a b Raine, George (February 18, 2006). "Up from the ashes / Coldwell Banker began in the 1906 rubble of San Francisco". SF Gate. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d "A Brief History of Coldwell Banker". The Playa Times. April 16, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-05-25. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  7. ^ Cole, Robert J. (October 9, 1981). "Sears Will Purchase Dean Witter In Plan To Offer Financial Services". New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  8. ^ "Sears OKs Deal to Sell Coldwell Commercial Unit". Los Angeles Times. 1989-03-28. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  9. ^ Rudd, David C. "SEARS' COLDWELL BRINGS $300 MILLION". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  10. ^ Granelli, James S. (October 6, 1993). "Sears Completes Sale of Coldwell to Fremont Group". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  11. ^ "Company Overview of HFS Incorporated". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  12. ^ McDowell, Edwin (May 3, 1996). "HFS Agrees to Acquire Coldwell Banker for $640 Million". New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  13. ^ Swanepoe, Stefan (2008). Swanepoel Trends Report. RealSure, Inc. p. 4. ISBN 9780970452375.
  14. ^ "Coldwell Banker marks 100 years NYSE bell ringing part of anniversary celebration". The Times-Union. August 26, 2006. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Archived December 12, 2017.
  15. ^ Lotz, Kristina (February 18, 2006). "Boy With Painful Disease Meets Abused, Abandoned Dog And Their Lives Change Forever". I heart dogs. Retrieved November 14, 2015.