The Coldwell Banker Heritage
After the devastating earthquake and fire in San Francisco in 1906,
young real estate agent Colbert Coldwell saw the need for honest,
knowledgeable and professional real estate services to help the city
rebuild. Coldwell disapproved of the common practice of that day where
real estate agents acquired properties for themselves, often from uninformed
sellers at ridiculously low prices, and then resold them for huge profits.
With two partners, on August 27, 1906, he formed the real estate company
of Tucker, Lynch and Coldwell, dedicated to the principle that they would
work only for their customers and not trade for their own account, the beginning
of a tradition of integrity and customer support that continues to this day.
In 1913, Benjamin Arthur Banker joined the firm as a salesman, and he and Colbert
Coldwell quickly discovered they held similar views and ethics. Banker became a partner
in 1914, and the two remained active in the company throughout their lives.
The Company Grows
The early years of the growing, successful Coldwell Banker were devoted primarily to commercial real
estate brokerage firm´s first residential real estate office opened in San Francisco in 1925,
and a full fledged residential real estate department was formed in 1937. The company´s geographic
expansion began in the 1920s with the opening of offices in Southern California, followed by Phoenix in
the early 1950s and Seattle in 1969. In the 1970s, Coldwell Banker acquired prestigious residential real
estate firms in Atlanta, Chicago, and Washington, DC.
By 1980, Coldwell Banker had also acquired a national referral service (now Coldwell Banker Referral Network),
and Previews Inc., an international luxury real estate marketing organization (which has evolved into the
present-day Coldwell Banker Previews International®).
In 1981, Coldwell Banker was acquired by Sears, Roebuck and Co., joining Dean Witter Financial Services
Group and Allstate Insurance group as a member of the Sears Financial Network. Sears provided the
resources and impetus for even more rapid expansion, development of products, and integration of
services. Another landmark in 1981 was the launch of Coldwell Banker Residential Affiliates, Inc.
for the franchising of the highest quality residential brokerage companies. Through the acquisition
of companies in major metropolitan areas across the United States, as well as the dramatic expansion
of Residential Affiliates, the growth of Coldwell Banker during the 1980s was phenomenal. The company´s
share of the residential real estate market grew from 1.3 in 1981 to over 10% by the end of the decade.
1987 saw Coldwell Banker affiliates become the first in the industry to offer comprehensive
guarantees to sellers. A similar buyers program was established five years later.
By 1990, Coldwell Banker had locations in all fifty states, and had begun international expansion with offices in
Canada and Puerto Rico. The company´s focus on residential real estate was strengthened with the sale of
Coldwell Banker Commercial Group (now known as CB Commercial).
Coldwell Banker continued to set the standard for the real estate industry. In 1992, Coldwell Banker affiliates
became the first to advocate and practice Seller Disclosure well before it was required by law in some states.
By incorporating this consumer-focused issue, Coldwell Banker helped change the practice of real estate in many
markets.
Coldwell Banker began a new phase of it´s growth in 1993 when it was purchased from Sears by the Fremont Group
(a private investment company formerly known as Bechtel Investments, Inc.) and company senior management.
Another milestone in 1993 was the substantial increase of
Coldwell Banker® presence in Canada. Coldwell Banker
Affiliates of Canada, a joint venture of Coldwell Banker and Canada Trust, builds on heritage of more than 40
years of Canadian real estate brokerage experience. It is one of Canada´s largest real estate operations with more
than 200 offices and thousands of sales representatives coast to coast.
In 1995, Coldwell Banker became the first national, first-service real estate brand to have a presence online with the
launch
of www.coldwellbanker.com.
1996 proved to be another banner year for the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation. In January, Coldwell Banker once
again obtained the rights to sell commercial real estate. The Coldwell Banker Commercial® program allows affiliates
to produce a wide array of services including market research, acquisitions and dispositions, leasing, asset and
property management, investment property sales, corporate consulting and advisory services.
In May, Coldwell Banker was acquired by HFS Incorporated, then world´s largest franchisor of hotels and residential real
estate brokerage offices, ushering in a new and exciting era in the history of the brand. The unsurpassed
franchising experience of HFS, together with its assertive approach to increasing brand awareness, positioned
Coldwell Banker for accelerated expansion in both existing and new markets.
1997 saw parent company HFS merge with CUC International, forming the new Cendant Corporation. This was also the year
that Coldwell Banker became the first national real estate brand to maximize cross-marketing promotions with such
other well-known brands as Cadillac and Ethan Allen. The program led to more than 200,000 leads generated across
the United States.
Coldwell Banker started 1998 by continuing to provide unparalleled service to its affiliates, with added
benefits and expanded preferred alliances. In February, the company introduced "Personal Retriever," the
revolutionary Web site enhancement that 'fetches and retrieves' home listings via e-mail to
the consumer according to their specific home buying criteria.
That year, Coldwell Banker also became the first full-service real estate brand to unveil a concierge program, named Coldwell
Banker Concierge® Service Program, a unique system for its broker affiliates to offer home buyers and sellers
centralized access to various real estate related services. This true one-stop-shopping concept helps consumers
by centrally coordinating the details of their move and home set up through local Coldwell Banker real estate
offices. In 2002, Coldwell Banker became the first national real estate company selected by the National Concierge
Association to receive prestigious membership affiliation for Coldwell Banker Concierge.
In 2005, Coldwell Banker became the first full-service national real estate brand to launch a stand-alone Web site for
upscale properties with www.coldwellbankerpreviews.com.
Later that year, it was announced that Cendant would spin off its four divisions – real estate, hotel, car rental and
hospitality services. Coldwell Banker would now be part of a stand-alone real estate company named
Realogy in
late 2006. Realogy´s brands – Coldwell Banker, Coldwell Banker Commercial, Century 21
®, ERA® and Sothebys
International Realty® (Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate was added
in 2007) – combine to participate in
one-of-every-four residential real estate transactions in the United States.
At the start of 2006, Coldwell Banker began celebrating its 100th anniversary. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom declared
February 13-19 "Coldwell Banker Week" in recognition of the anniversary and United States President George Bush
sent a congratulatory letter commemorating the milestone. Jim Gillespie, president and chief executive officer
of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation, led a Coldwell Banker contingent in ringing the closing bell at the
New York Stock Exchange on August 21, 2006 to commemorate the brand´s 100th anniversary.
2006 also saw the brand reach a major milestone in its community involvement with the conclusion of its "100 Homes" initiative.
Coldwell Banker affiliated companies around the nation raised more than $6 million to sponsor more than 100 local
Habitat for Humanity home builds, making Coldwell Banker the second largest Habitat for Humanity fundraiser in the nation for the year. It was cited as the
greatest community give back in real estate history.
Coldwell Banker also continued to set industry standards in 2006. In February, www.coldwellbanker.
com began offering
streaming video to educate, inform and entertain consumers. It marked the first time a full-service national real estate company unveiled such technology.
In September, the new Coldwell Banker Personal Retriever® was unveiled. Utilizing Real Simple Syndication (RSS)
technol-
ogy, the online Personal Retriever now has a downloadable "widget" application that automatically delivers
daily, personalized real estate listings directly to a computer desktop. A month later, the Web site unleashed
satellite mapping functionality to enhance listings.
Coldwell Banker also advanced its platform of innovation by becoming the first national real estate company to join the
popular virtual world in www.secondlife.com in March 2007. Four months later, the brand extended its presence
in Second Life by unveiling a 3-D exact replica of a $3.1 million real home for sale in Mercer Island, Wash.
Coldwell Banker was the first national real estate brand to make a real home available for 3-D home tours in
the virtual world.
Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC was named the 2007 Inman Innovator Award winner in the brokerage/franchisor category.
Coldwell Banker was also name the top real estate franchise for the eighth straight year by Franchise Times.
Coldwell Banker was honored for its use of such Web 2.0 resources as streaming video, Personal Retriever widget, HomeTracker and AgentSpace.
Awards continued to flow to Coldwell Banker in early 2008. In February, the brand´s intranet site,
www.coldwellbankerworks.com, was named one of the world´s best according
to the Nielsen Norman Group´s "Intranet Design Annual 2008: The Year´s 10 Best Intranets" report.
The Coldwell Banker "100 Homes for Habitat" campaign was named as one of five finalists for the prestigious PRNews Corporate Social Responsibility award in the "Stakeholder Engagement Category."
The Coldwell Banker initiative raised more than $6 million for local Habitat for Humanity builds.
Coldwell Banker also unveiled a new Habitat for Humanity initiative which is expected to raise an additional $4 million by 2011.
In May, Coldwell Banker Home Tracker was
named one of five finalists by the American
Business Awards in the Software
Programming/Design category. Coldwell Banker,
which already syndicates its listings to Yahoo,
Google, Trulia, Frontdoor, Zillow, Openhouse,
Homescape and others, then became the first
national real estate company to offer its listings on
a mobile GPS device through an arrangement
with Dash Navigation.
A month later, Coldwell Banker unveiled its "Housetrology" quiz on the Facebook.com becoming the first
full-service real estate company to develop an application for the popular social networking site.
The Coldwell Banker® brand has a global reach, with offices on six continents, 47 countries and territories.
There are more than 600 Coldwell Banker offices outside of the United States. Coldwell Banker has
a presence in the following countries:
Aruba
Australia
Bahamas
Belize
Bermuda
Canada
Cayman Islands (Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, Little Cayman)
China
Colombia
Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
France
Guatemala
Honduras
India (Mumbai only)
Indonesia
Ireland
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Lebanon
Malta
Mexico
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles (Curacao, Bonaire, Saint Eustatius, Saba and St. Maarten)
Nicaragua
Panama
Peru
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Romania
Singapore
South Korea
Spain
St. Kitts/Nevis
St. Martin
Turkey
Turks & Caicos
United Arab Emirates
United States
Venezuela
Vietnam
Virgin Islands (British: Anegada, Jost Van Dyke, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, along with smaller cays
and private islands)
Virgin Island (U.S.: St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, Water Island, several smaller islands)
For information about the Coldwell Banker® brand, contact:
David Siroty
Senior Director of Public Relations
Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC
1 Campus Drive
Parsippany, NJ 07054
(973) 407-7199
david.siroty@coldwellbanker.com
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