A firm in southern Brunswick County has merged with Wilmington's largest residential real estate agency, according to an announcement released Tuesday.
Laura Hewett Realty, which is headquartered in Holden Beach and specializes in properties in Holden Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, Sunset Beach, Oak Island and surrounding mainland areas, is now part of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage.
As a result of the merger, Realtor Laura Hewett, owner and operator of Laura Hewett Realty, will close her Holden Beach office at 3456 Holden Beach Road and operate out of the south Brunswick office of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage, at 5826 Beach Drive SW, Shallotte.
Hewett will continue to use the team she credits with contributing to her success, including an assistant and a firm that specializes in the online marketing of properties.
A gradual upswing in sales of homes in the southern Brunswick islands in the past year and a half has been part of Hewett's decision to join the bigger company.
"I just feel it's the time to step my game up, and I can't go any further with with just myself and my team. I need to have other brokers around me to feed out leads to and continue to grow and still have a life," Hewett said lightheartedly as she added that she's a mom of a 7-year-old and also coaches soccer.
A licensed broker since 1989, Hewett has worked in a variety of capacities during her career, including broker and broker-in-charge. She said in the news release that she is honored to join the Coldwell Banker team.
“Now I can offer my clients the expertise, technologies and capabilities that come with aligning with a national brand like Coldwell Banker,” she said in the release.
While Hewett's clients span a mix of demographics, many of them are retirees from other states or those planning ahead to retirement. "I even have people who aren't ready to retire, but they're taking advantage of our market because our prices have dropped" and interest rates are low, she said.
"They're going to go ahead while they can and buy that house instead of waiting the next 10 years when they figure the market will climb up and they won't be able to afford it," Hewett said. "They're buying for their future."
Location-wise, Sunset Beach is a hot market at the moment, she said. "You can get an incredible value at Sunset right now," Hewett said.
In Brunswick County, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage closed $230 million in home sales in 2013. The firm’s closest Brunswick County competitor closed a little more than $50 million in home sales in the same period, the release said.
“We are very proud to align our firm with such a well-respected local realtor,” Tim Milam, president of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage, said in a news release. “Laura’s addition to the team enables us to expand our reach in southern Brunswick County, which enables us to better serve our buyers and sellers throughout the region.”
According to the Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage is the largest and best-selling real estate company in New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender and Onslow counties, with more than $1.1 billion in closed home sales in 2013.
The firm has 375 agents and operates offices in Wilmington, Leland, Jacksonville, Carolina Beach, Topsail Island, Hampstead, Southport, Sneads Ferry, South Brunswick, Oak Island and Holden Beach.
Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage also has an ownership interest in 18 Coldwell Banker Advantage offices in Raleigh, Fayetteville and Southern Pines, with an additional 325 agents serving those markets.
