ASHEVILLE Charlotte-based Allen Tate Realtors has acquired Beverly-Hanks, Western North Carolina’s largest real estate operation, and one of its oldest, dating to 1976.
Beverly-Hanks, which has 18 residential offices and over 460 Realtors in WNC, as well as a commercial real estate operation, made the announcement on Aug. 2.
“As a homegrown business in Western North Carolina, local expertise, personal service and respect for our special corner of the Blue Ridge guides everything we do,” Beverly-Hanks Realtors President Neal Hanks said in the release. “This new partnership will allow us to expand that vision while deepening our commitment to the communities we serve.”
Founded in 1976 with the merger of Beverly Realty and W. Neal Hanks & Associates, Beverly-Hanks closed sales in excess of $2.6 billion in 2021, the release notes.
Sale prices:Asheville homes sales cool but sale prices remain sky high in first half of 2022
Report: Asheville ranked among midsize metros building the most homes; where does it fall?
Allen Tate Realtors acquired Beverly-Hanks in partnership with Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, according to the release. A 65-year-old company, Allen Tate had $6.8 billion in closed sales volume in 2021, and it will now have 70 real estate offices spanning the Charlotte, Triad, Research Triangle, High Country, Highlands/Cashiers, and Asheville/Mountain regions of North Carolina and the Upstate of South Carolina, the release notes.
But Beverly-Hanks is also now part of the nation’s No. 1 real estate company, according to the release.
Allen Tate Realtors became partners with Pittsburgh-based Howard Hanna Real Estate Services in September 2018, creating “the No. 1 privately owned real estate firm in the nation, with more than 14,000 agents and employees in nearly 500 offices across 13 states.”
Hanks, who joined his father’s firm in 1987 and became president in 1999, said he’s collaborated with Allen Tate for three decades. The elder Hanks, W. Neal Hanks Sr., was a city of Asheville planner before starting his real estate company in the early 1970s. He died in 1999.
“My Mom tells me he would be very proud,” Hanks said with a laugh, when asked for his impression of what his father would think about the acquisition.
‘Instant equity’:Asheville house appreciates $265,420 or 84% in 2 years
Beverly-Hanks will now go by “Allen Tate/Beverly-Hanks Realtors,” and Hanks will continue as president of Allen Tate/Beverly-Hanks Realtors, the release states. Also, Amy Hanks will continue as president of Allen Tate/Beverly-Hanks Mortgage Services, and the Beverly-Hanks leadership team will remain in place.
Neal and Amy Hanks are married and live in South Asheville with their four children.
In a telephone interview, Hanks declined to release the financial terms of the purchase. He did say the talks had been ongoing “for months.”
“It was a decision we invested a lot of thought in,” Hanks said. “We’re at a stage where we can continue to grow and provide more products and services to our customers, and the fastest and best way to do that is to align ourselves with another independent, family-owned business that can help us do that.”
Local operations, Hanks said, “will remain the same” and they expect no reductions in employment levels. The biggest differences employees and brokers will see will be improved services and “a significant increase in marketing support,” Hanks said.
Hanks said he’s been assured there will be no loss of local control.
“I’ve been assured they want me to continue to run the operation as we’ve always done,” Hanks said.
Pat Riley, president, and CEO, of Allen Tate Companies, said in the release, “I have long admired Neal and the Beverly-Hanks company.
“From the very beginning, I have considered Neal my friend,” Riley continued. “We share culture, similar values, and respect, as well as a strong commitment to preserve and grow the independent brokerage.”
Howard W. “Hoby” Hanna IV, president of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, said in the release they’re “proud to welcome Beverly-Hanks Realtors to the Howard Hanna Family of Companies.
“As we continue to grow our company and our footprint, we are pleased to support Allen Tate’s continued growth strategy, which solidifies our market position in the Carolinas and the Southeast,” Hanna said.
Beverly-Hanks is well-known in the Asheville region, partly for its quarterly and annual real estate market reports but also for its community involvement. Hanks has served on the boards of Eblen Charities, the Daniel Boone Council of Boy Scouts of America, the Mission Health Foundation, and the A-B Tech Foundation, among others.
Read More:Charlotte firm acquires Beverly-Hanks, WNC’s largest real estate firm
2022-08-05 07:10:47
