In recent changes to real estate companies with local offices, one firm acquired a new Oak Island office, while another has rebranded itself.

Wilkinson ERA Real Estate acquired Atlantic Realty Professional Inc.’s location in Oak Island from owner and broker David Berne for an undisclosed amount. The transaction added more than a dozen agents to the Wilkinson team. Three more agents have signed on since then, bringing the office’s total number of agents to 17, said Debi Dolan-Prince, broker in charge.

Wilkinson ERA Real Estate celebrated the new Oak Island office’s official grand opening in the former Atlantic Realty space, 5622 E. Oak Island Drive, on Jan. 25 with the help of the Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce.

The office has completed numerous transactions since a soft opening in November, Dolan-Prince said. Sharing an example, Dolan-Prince said the agents there sold 10 of the 28 total land, multi-family or residential units that closed on Oak Island during the month of January.
 
Scott Wilkinson, president and CEO of Wilkinson ERA Real Estate, talked about the new office in a news release, saying, "We are very excited that Atlantic Realty Professionals Inc. is joining Wilkinson ERA Real Estate in Oak Island. Our expansion plans have always included providing the best service to our clients and the best marketing tools for our brokers. The Atlantic Realty Professionals agents will be a terrific addition to our team."
 
Previously Wilkinson ERA had a one-agent office for sales in the Southport-Oak Island area. The company also has two offices in Wilmington. Berne continues to operate an Atlantic Realty Professional Inc. office on Bald Head Island, Dolan-Prince said.
 
The area market saw another recent development in the real estate industry. Realty World Cape Fear celebrated changing to a new brand, NextHome Cape Fear, for its offices, one in Wilmington and one in Southport. It’s still the same company, explained owner and CEO Harold Chappell, but “the reason we switched brands is because NextHome has such fabulous tools for us to work with.”

Among those tools is the combination of marketing and other needs into one software package, Chappell said.
 
He said 1-year-old, California-based NextHome is a rapidly growing brand, having opened 71 offices already with plans to have 275 by the end of the year
 
NextHome Cape Fear’s offices, at 1119-A Military Cutoff Road, Wilmington, and 4700 Long Beach Road SE, Southport,  will have a combined total of 21 agents. Those offices were recently renovated to meet NextHome’s specifications, Chappell said, and grand re-opening receptions were held Monday in Wilmington and Tuesday in Southport.