This article first appeared in Real Estate magazine’s special-edition Women in Real Estate issue. View the entire issue here.
Family Culture, Business Rapport Lead to Howard Hanna | Rand Realty Partnership
Last fall, two iconic real estate firms—led by two iconic real estate women—came together when Marsha Rand, founder and president of Rand Realty, and Helen Hanna Casey, CEO of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, announced during a joint virtual meeting that the two brokerage leaders had joined forces to create a new partnership in New York’s Greater Hudson Valley region: Howard Hanna | Rand Realty.
As with most great real estate deals, industry networking sowed the early seeds of the partnership. The industry veterans first began talking shop several years ago after Rand heard Casey discuss the importance of partnerships during an RISMedia panel session. The two furthered their relationship during RISMedia’s inaugural Real Estate Newsmakers event at The National Press Club in Washington, D.C. As Casey says, “That’s really when the conversation started.”
According to Casey, the cultural similarities of the two firms are uncanny, from their approach to decision-making to their in-house systems to the age range of each firm’s family-centric leadership teams. “This union brings together leading real estate industry professionals from two of the most respected and trusted family-owned companies in the business and blends them into one unified industry leader,” Casey explains.
For Rand, it is exactly this esprit de corps that made the partnership a perfect strategy.
“When I opened Rand Realty in 1984, my vision was to build a brokerage devoted to agents and homeowners alike,” says Rand. “Howard Hanna is a company that shares that mission. Because of that, and because of our shared experiences as family-owned businesses and industry innovators, I am very excited about the future of Howard Hanna | Rand Realty. By combining our expertise, we can create an even more exceptional real estate experience.”
The fact that the partnership represents the coming together of two family-owned and -run firms is not lost on Rand nor Casey.
Rand runs the brokerage with her three sons, Matt, Joe and Dan. Howard Hanna Real Estate Services was founded in 1957 by Casey’s parents, Howard and Anne Freyvogel Hanna, and is today run by their three children, Helen, Hoddy and Annie, as well as several members of the Hanna family’s third generation.
“When we go back through our history and the strategic decisions we have made, I’m the most proud that we have taken risks and seized opportunities in order to grow,” says Casey. “It’s an incredible feeling that we have done this repeatedly throughout the generations.”
The formation of Howard Hanna | Rand Realty is a major milestone in Howard Hanna’s strategic growth plans. The partnership also marks a major step for Howard Hanna in lower New York state, after successfully establishing itself in upstate New York through previous mergers.
Both companies have also strengthened their positions in downstate New York as a result of the partnership. Rand Realty finished 2019 with a closed sales volume of more than $2 billion and over 6,000 homes sold in total, according to RISMedia’s 2020 Power Broker Report. In New York state, Howard Hanna finished 2019 with a closed sales volume of more than $5 billion and over 29,000 homes sold in total.
Maria Patterson is RISMedia’s executive editor. Please email her your real estate news ideas to maria@rismedia.com.
