RE/MAX Homes Unlimited Dixon Expands Presence In Illinois Real Estate Market Through Merger With White Realty

Brandy Whelan, RE/MAX Homes Unlimited Dixon

RE/MAX Homes Unlimited Dixon, 1220 S. Galena Ave., Dixon, Ill., began 2010 with a flourish by merging with one of its top competitors, White Realty, Inc. That move further boosts the leadership position of the RE/MAX network in the central portion of the northern Illinois real estate market.

Marlene White, who founded White Realty in 1992 and has long been among the top sales producers in the Dixon-Rock Falls-Sterling market, joined RE/MAX Homes Unlimited Dixon along with three other agents in her former office. Those agents signing are Natalie Cole, Shawney Evans and Deb Herwig.

“It’s a major step forward for our business and will allow us to expand our already substantial presence in the Dixon real estate market,” said broker/owner Brandy Whelan, who acquired RE/MAX Homes Unlimited Dixon in 2006. The office has been in operation since 2002.

Key factors in the merger, according to Whelan, were the leadership position that RE/MAX has established in integrating new technologies, especially the Internet, into its operations and those of its agents, as well as her own long professional relationship with Marlene White.

“To compete in today’s real estate market you have to have a strong Web presence, and that is difficult for small, independent real estate firms to achieve,” said Whelan, who began her real estate career as an agent in White’s office.

“RE/MAX is among the most recognizable real estate brands in the world and is exceptionally strong on the Web, with both www.remax.com and www.illinoisproperty.com holding leading positions in consumer traffic.”

According to Whelan, the combined staff of six full-time agents can look forward to a busy 2010 spring home buying market.

Except for those residences priced at the very top end of our local market, homes here sold quite well in 2009, and we anticipate a modest increase in activity through the first half of 2010 because mortgage rates should remain low at least that long,” Whelan said.

She noted that the typical home in the Dixon market sells for $70,000 to $80,000 and that those homes have continued to sell well despite the slower pace of home sales elsewhere in the nation during the last two years.

For Competitive Metro Chicago Real Estate Market, RE/MAX Agents Offer Low-Cost Ways to Sell Faster

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RE/MAX Vision 212 Puts Down Roots In Noble Square, A Central Spot To Serve Chicago Real Estate Market

Jason Palermo, RE/MAX Vision 212, Chicago

RE/MAX Vision 212 has relocated to 1500 W. Chicago Ave. in the city’s Noble Square neighborhood, a central location that will make it easy for agents affiliated with the office to serve clients in many parts of the Chicago real estate market.

The new office opened on Dec. 18 and provides an expansive space for the 35 agents and four-person support staff. When broker/owner Jason Palermo acquired RE/MAX 212° in July 2009, he blended it with his existing RE/MAX Vision II office in the city’s River North neighborhood and renamed it RE/MAX Vision 212. The newly combined office had been operating temporarily in the former RE/MAX 212º office at 1700 W. Chicago Ave. while Palermo sought a larger space.

“The new office space gives us the room we need now along with room for future growth. We liked being in the Noble Square-East Ukrainian Village area because it is a great neighborhood today but has huge potential for future growth. We were fortunate to find an excellent space that lets us stay in this area and offers ample street parking for agents and clients,” said Palermo.

One distinguishing feature of the new office is that its support staff includes Melissa Palazzolo, a specialist who will focus exclusively on helping agents with short sales.

“Short sales have become a major factor in our business in the last two years, and a substantial amount of follow up is required to get those sales to the closing table,” said Palermo. “We wanted to provide our agents and their clients a level of support for short sales that few other offices currently offer.”

The 3,500-square-foot office was formerly occupied by a mortgage company, so only minor renovations, including repainting and re-carpeting, were needed before the move in. The space includes two conference rooms and offers agents a choice of private, semi-private and work cubicle spaces. It also has provisions to accommodate agents who work primarily from home offices, a growing trend in the real estate business.
“I’d say close to 50 percent of our agents now base their operations in home offices and use our facility primarily for business meetings and client conferences,” Palermo said. “Offering this kind of flexibility allows us to attract the city’s top agents while providing a professional and convenient office location for our clientele.”