The merger of two prominent area real estate companies will help the new firm to remain competitive in today’s challenging market environment, one of the principals in the deal said.

Prudential Laney Real Estate was formed in late February through Laney Real Estate's acquisition of the North Carolina division of Prudential Burroughs & Chapin Realty Inc.

The deal makes Prudential Laney Real Estate the third-largest local realty company in terms of sales, affiliates it with Prudential and puts a combined force of more than 220 real estate agents in the field.

Laney Real Estate has been a family-owned business since 1978, serving Wilmington and the Southeastern area of the state.

As a division of the Burroughs & Chapin Co., Prudential, Burroughs & Chapin Realty has served the region since 1895, with offices in the coastal areas of North and South Carolina. Its Web site prior to the merger said that Prudential, Burroughs & Chapin Realty was “the largest independently owned real estate company in the Carolinas.” 

By merging, combined sales figures for the new company will move it up in the rankings of local real estate firms, said April McDavid, Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors president and an agent with Intracoastal Realty.

“I really don’t think it will affect the total market because it’s the same number of agents in the market,” McDavid said.

Laney Real Estate’s Web site in late February listed more than 7,600 homes for sale in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties, including 2,736 in Wilmington.

“We’re always looking for ways to grow and improve our company and the opportunity became available. It was a great opportunity to be able to combine two companies into a bigger and better one,” said George Laney, president of Prudential Laney Real Estate.

The Prudential offices acquired by Laney Real Estate are in Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Southport and Ocean Isle Beach.

After the sale, Myrtle Beach-based Burroughs & Chapin Realty released a statement asserting the transaction allows the company “to concentrate its real estate sales efforts in its South Carolina offices.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Prudential’s Kenneth Fisher is a member of the Wrightsville Beach-based Beach Town Brokers Team of the newly formed company.

“We keep the strong national brand and the tools and resources that Prudential offers, but also get the benefit of a locally rooted company through Laney, which has been in business in Wilmington for over 30 years,” Fisher said.

Laney said that the acquisition will give the company two offices each in Carolina Beach, Wrightsville Beach and three in Wilmington within five miles of each other.

“To say we’re not going to close one of them is a stretch, but it does give us a lot of locations,” Laney said. “We’ll be reviewing it.”

Laney Real Estate was co-owned by George and Sharon Laney. The couple divorced in December and some settlement details unrelated to the acquisition are still being worked out, Laney said.

“We’re both in agreement to move forward” with the new company, he said.

In a faltering economy and flat real estate market, the merger offers more growth options, Laney said.

“It will actually position us to be in a great place when the market does improve. The market is slowly improving and it is showing signs of life every day,” he said.

The trend toward affiliation with national franchises like Prudential and away from independent residential agencies is not unique to Wilmington, said Jerry Panz, Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors executive officer. Much of the decision making process depends on economic conditions, he said.

“It’s not atypical,” Panz said. “Real estate goes through cycles.” 

Prudential Laney Real Estate will continue to operate the real estate school and property management division that were components of Laney Real Estate. Having the Prudential affiliation will help the commercial real estate side of the business, Laney said.

“We are the Prudential commercial name here and we don’t have to compete with them,” he said.

The merger comes on the heels of last month's consolidation of two of Wilmington's most prominent commercial brokerage firms. The merger of the commercial brokerage arm of Carolina Commercial Partners Real Estate with Coldwell Banker Commercial Sun Coast Partners came about after protracted negotiations.

Carolina Commercial Partners had been affiliated before the merger with Prudential CRES Commercial Real Estate.

Regional sales of single-family homes totaled 293 in December, compared to 379 in December 2007, according to figures posted by the Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors. Overall area home sales in 2008 totaled 4,681. The corresponding figure for 2007 was 6,488.

6. Laney Real Estate Co.: $85.3 million
7. Exit Homeplace Realty:  $40.7 million
8. Network Real Estate:

2008 WILMINGTON-AREA CLOSED DOLLAR VALUE SALES OF BOAT SLIPS, LAND, MULTI-FAMILY AND SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES, BY REAL ESTATE AGENCY
1. Intracoastal Realty: $519 million
2. Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty: $481.2 million
3. Century 21 Sweyer & Associates: $211.9 million
4. Re/Max Coastal Properties:  $151.8 million
5. Prudential Burroughs & Chapin Realty: $125 mil