Corcoran is growing its luxury real estate brand through franchising. The name Corcoran is long synonymous with luxury real estate. Founded in 1973 by Barbara Corcoran the brokerage firm originally served New York City, the Hamptons, and South Florida. Today it is part of the Realogy group of real estate companies.
In 2002 Barbara Corcoran handed over the reins to Pamela Liebman who became President & CEO. Leibman retains those titles and remains at the helm of the company.
Corcoran franchisees are affiliates. Fast forward to 2020 when Corcoran ventured into franchising the brand globally. In the last year, the Corcoran brand has grown into 21 markets with eleven affiliates from Hawaii to New York’s Hudson Valley and Westchester to California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, and Corcoran BVI (British Virgin Islands), Florida and New Jersey.
Stephanie Anton senior vice president of Corcoran Franchise explains Corcoran’s difference in the crowded luxury brokerage business. “One main difference is Corcoran is a highly elastic brand. That is why it works so well. We are a perfect fit for a $400,000 home or a $4 million property. I’m not sure you can say that about other luxury brands. I think we are the right brand at the right time.”
Hilary Farnum-Fasth, Broker Owner, Corcoran Reverie with over 100 agents in Northwest Florida agrees with Anton. “Looking at all the other high-end brokerages, there was never anything identifiable that I was drawn to or could see myself aligned with professionally, Farnum explained. “With Corcoran, you get the total package; they offer the ability to maintain our local identity while providing a global reach. The level of client service offered by Corcoran is unmatched among the competition, with strong ties to their local communities, fierce dedication to their agents and staff, and offering a suite of business tools not easily found.”
What drew Anton Steenman president & CEO, Corcoran Pacific Properties of Hawaii with over 200 agents to Corcoran began in 2019 during the company’s strategic planning process. “We identified the need to strengthen our brand, listing marketing, market authority, and manage our reputation more actively,” Steenman said. “At that time, we also highlighted the need to intercept the shift in market focus beyond beautifully crafted homes to the lifestyle and experiences one has within them. Corcoran Group stands out in its breakthrough experience-based marketing. The Corcoran Group’s well-developed and refined voice was a very good match with our need to become much stronger in those areas,” he adds.
Michael Mahon, president & CEO, Corcoran Global Living with offices in California and Nevada and more than 1700 associates, points to several strong reasons for becoming an affiliate. “What drew us to Corcoran was twofold. Barbara Corcoran’s original thoughts on what a successful real estate brokerage could be in the future and watching the vision of the Corcoran Affiliate Network become a reality.”
Corcoran’s Virtual Learning program is strategic in growing the affiliate network. Between April to December 2020, the program hosted and facilitated more than 140 training sessions, and with over 6,000 affiliated agents attending virtually. Topics covered include tech tool onboarding demos, business-building productivity courses, thought leadership panels, and interviews with top industry authors.
Look to Corcoran to continue its successful brand expansion in 2021.