More than 80 years ago, Shelley Johnson's great-grandfather founded the company that would eventually become Northwest Real Estate Brokers, selling farms in the Spokane and Palouse areas of Washington. From those relatively humble beginnings, the brokerage has blossomed into a multi-faceted operation, boasting 23 offices and a 1000-agent group operating under the Coldwell Banker, Century 21, and Sotheby's International Realty banners with brands across eastern Washington, Idaho, and western Montana.
However, that kind of growth doesn't come without hard work, and what was once a single-family company is now a multi-generational brand, with several local families serving as owners. That includes Johnson, the current Chief Executive Officer/Member of Northwest Real Estate Brokers also known as The Tomlinson Group of Companies. In particular, Coldwell Banker Tomlinson has experienced continued success in the midst of challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. From strategi...
One thing I'll likely always remember is attending the LeadingRE annual conference in March of 2020. The conference theme was "Wealth, Wisdom, and Wellness," and Delta Media Group® CEO Michael Minard was hosting a seminar titled "Taking Advantage of the Roaring '20s." Why is this relevant to technology migrations? The world was caught off guard by COVID-19 the same way many brokerages find themselves caught off guard when their technology vendor suddenly decides to let their business be acquired.
If there's one major theme in the real estate technology sector over the last three years, it has certainly been mergers and acquisitions. One in particular, though, stood out from the rest. Booj, one of the industry's leading technology firms, who had made their name inside of the independent brokerage circles like LeadingRE®, suddenly became a part of the RE/MAX family. Over 60 brokerages representing nearly 100,000 real estate agents had the rug quickly pulled out from under th...