Both parties in the deal declined to disclose the sale price. The acquisition may mark another wave of consolidation in the industry, as a cooling market forces smaller firms to reevaluate their business plans.
For Classic Properties, one of the largest real estate firms in the region by volume, the acquisition makes it the dominant player in the Endless Mountains region.
Rainbow Realty had about $27 million in transaction volume last year. Owner Sally Geary, 51, said the pending sale was about spending more time with her family and starting a new business venture, a country store called Sally’s Mercantile next to the firm’s main office in Tunkhannock. She purchased the business in 1995 and will remain on the staff of Classic Properties as an associate broker.
Geary said Classic Properties was a good partner because of its reputation and because it is not affiliated with a national franchisor. Classic Properties owner Steve Farrell said his firm will offer technological improvements to the office and give the former Rainbow’s clients a broader marketing base. Also, the office will allow him to better serve the Wyoming County facility of Procter & Gamble, for which Classic Properties provides relocation services.
Farrell entered the market in 2001 with the acquisition of Diane Bell Realty in Clarks Summit. In 2003, he acquired Classic Properties in Clarks Summit and applied that name to the business. Later that year, he bought Century 21 Action Center in Blakely. Earlier this year, he acquired Valley Associates in Gouldsboro, giving him a presence in North Pocono.
Classic Properties has 115 agents in six offices, which generated $133.5 million in transactions in 2006, he said.
By DAVID FALCHEK, The New Age Examiner
