Mike Deasy, CEO/Co-Managing Director, William Podley, Chairman of Podley Properties, which is being acquired by Deasy (Credit: Pixabay)
The wave of consolidation involving California residential brokerages is showing no sign of abating.
In the latest combination, L.A.-based brokerage firm Deasy Penner said it will buy Pasadena-based Podley Properties to expand its presence in Southern California. The deal will create a network of almost 300 sales people from Malibu to Palm Springs, and an estimated annual sales of more than $1.6 billion, the firms announced Monday.
The acquisition follows the blockbuster deal in August in which New York-based Compass acquired Pacific Union International Realty, one of the largest brokerages on the West Coast, with $14 billion in sales last year.
Deasy Penner has about 100 partners working at its five offices in Pasadena, Venice, Silver Lake, West Hollywood, and Santa Monica. Mike Deasy, the brokerage’s CEO and Co-Managing Director, touted the “positive cultural alignment” between the two firms.
“We have been looking for both the right westside and eastside acquisitions for a while,” Deasy said in a statement.
Bill Podley, chairman of Podley Properties, will relinquish his duties and voting rights, but he will remain a sales agent with the new entity, according to the announcement.
The news was first reported by HousingWire.
Adam Bray-Ali, a manager at Podley Properties, said many of their agents have wanted a westside presence with the ability to refer clients, which they will gain now through Deasy Penner’s network. Podley Properties has six offices, in Altadena, Glendora, La Canada Flitridge, Pasadena, Sierra Madre and Monrovia.
“We had the opportunity to sell to many firms, but Deasy Penner was the natural choice,” Podley added, citing Deasy Penner’s local ownership and understanding of the community.
With margins tightening for brokers, smaller brokerages have been looking to combine with larger firms in the increasingly competitive markets in northern and southern California. Compass has been on a national acquisition tear since December, when it purchased SoftBank for $450 million. Since then, it has acquired nine brokerage firms around the country, including Paragon in San Francisco.
Before it agreed to sell to Compass, Pacific Union had also been gobbling up smaller rivals in California, acquiring several firms, including John Aaroe, Partners Trust and Gibson International.
Reacting to the Compass-Pacific Union deal last month, Deasy told The Real Deal that Compass agents will have to work extra hard to “differentiate themselves.”
Deasy could not be reached on Monday to comment on his deal with Podley.
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