Regional powerhouse Howard Hanna Real Estate Services is again expanding its footprint into new territory with what it’s calling a “strategic national partnership” with Maine-based Portside Real Estate Group. The move marks Howard Hanna’s entry into Northern New England, and aligns with the firm’s history of joining forces with independent, locally led real estate firms.
Pittsburgh-based Howard Hanna is the nation’s largest independently owned and operated real estate company, ranking No. 6 in sales volume in RISMedia’s 2026 Power Broker Report, reporting more than $40B in sales volume and nearly 107,000 residential transactions in 2025. The firm has more than 500 offices across 18 states.
“We are committed to thoughtful, disciplined growth by partnering with market leaders who share our entrepreneurial, relationship-driven approach,” said Hoby Hanna, CEO of Howard Hanna, in a release. “Portside has built an extraordinary company with dominant market share. This alliance proves that by joining forces, independent, family-owned brokerages can deliver the national scale and institutional resources that benefit both agents and the clients they serve, while preserving the agility and local decision-making that define independent companies.”
Founded and led by Dava Davin, Portside has grown from a single office in Portland, Maine, to 12 offices across Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and more than 225 agents. According to the release, Portside reported its strongest 12-month stretch on record and $1.5 billion in sales in 2025; the firm also reported earning the No. 1 spot for residential sales volume in Maine for June 2026.
Portside will continue operating under its local leadership while gaining access to Howard Hanna’s expanded resources, technology, marketing capabilities, national and global referral network, and the Howard Hanna family of companies, the release said. The company will also now be able to deliver “listing amplification” to clients, showcasing their northern New England properties throughout Howard Hanna’s Eastern Seaboard network, including New York City and the tri-state network.
Davin said in the release that “Partnering with Howard Hanna lets us protect everything that makes us unique while opening doors we couldn’t open on our own.”
“As a founder and sole owner, I knew this was a huge decision, but an easy one with Howard Hanna,” she told RISMedia. “They believe in the same things we do as a relationship-driven, community-invested, and independent brokerage.”
During a recent RISMedia Industry Briefing webinar Hanna discussed the firm’s longtime growth strategy with RISMedia Founder & CEO John Featherston.
“We haven’t had to grow for growth’s sake,” he said during the broadcast. “We don’t have to do another deal. But because of all the consolidation going on today, we think we’re a strong alternative for somebody who might be looking (to pass) their family business to somebody they can trust to build it in the right direction.”
This philosophy helped make the partnership a good fit for Davin.
“Howard Hanna, despite its scale, is still family-owned and operates with local leadership in every market,” she told RISMedia. “This is a true partnership, not the kind of consolidation we’re seeing everywhere else in this industry. A non-negotiable for me was that whatever partner I chose couldn’t cost Portside its culture, its local decision-making, or ‘the heart and spirit of Portside.'”
Both Howard Hanna Real Estate Services and Portside Real Estate are members of the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World network of global independent firms. Hanna will be discussing growth strategies for independents during a special presentation at RISMedia’s CEO & Leadership Exchange this fall. Davin will also take part in a panel discussion during the event.
This story was update on 7/24/26 at 12:25 p.m. with additional comments from Dava Davin.
