 |
Hank Erwin, Chris Hansen |
Combined Office Will Be Key Player in Metro Chicago Real Estate Market
RE/MAX Excels, 1772 S. Randall Road, Geneva, Ill., became the No. 1 real estate office in the central Fox Valley, as well as a larger force in the metro Chicago real estate market, when it officially combined on Sept. 4 with RE/MAX Professionals East of nearby St. Charles, Ill. The two offices have been under joint ownership since 2005 when Chris Hansen and Hank Erwin acquired RE/MAX Excels.
“We will now be the number one office in the area by any measure, whether that is the number of units sold, total annual sales volume or number of affiliated agents,” said Hansen. “Creating a single office just underscores how much business we were doing as two offices.” Through the first seven months of 2009, the two offices combined to list and sell more than 450 homes.
Consolidation of those two offices into a single facility reflects the changing realities of the marketplace, according to Hansen.
“With the number of homes being sold in our area down substantially from the peak experienced a few years ago, every real estate organization is looking for ways to reduce overhead and be more efficient. This consolidation does both for us,” he said.
The 6,400-square-foot Geneva office has the space needed, including ample parking, to accommodate the 75 agents now based there, and it offers a central location from which to work.
“In recent years, our business has expanded south toward North Aurora and Aurora, which made a St. Charles location less than optimal for many of our agents,” said Hansen.
Another factor, he explained, is a basic trend seen throughout the real estate industry – agents need less office space.
“Real estate was, historically, a rather paper-intensive business, and agents needed large offices to accommodate their files. Now, thanks to computers, documents have become electronic and listings are viewed via the Internet,” he said.
“At the same time, improved communications mean that agents can be in touch no matter where they are – at home, in their car or out of town. So, they spend less time in the office and more time in the field helping clients, prospecting for business or looking at properties for sale.”
Hansen and Erwin have been RE/MAX broker/owners since acquiring RE/MAX Professionals East in 1999. Both are residents of St. Charles.
