Bentonville Firm Joins Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices

Locally owned residential real estate company Prudential Solutions Real Estate of Bentonville recently rebranded to incorporate the name of its new parent company.

As of Sept. 10, the full-service firm joined the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network and changed its name to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Solutions Real Estate.

The firm is co-owned by former Wal-Mart Stores Inc. executives Jim Brandon and Scott Waymire, who bought the franchise in 2010.

The brokerage is the first in Arkansas to affiliate with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, a brand that now counts nearly 32,000 agents and 957 offices in 46 states since its launch in September 2013.

The rebranding echoes the trend of name changes to take place at other brokerages owned by Minneapolis-based HomeServices, an affiliate of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Berkshire Hathaway acquired Prudential’s real estate agent network from Brookfield Asset Management in October 2012 for an undisclosed amount and relaunched the company the following year.

“Berkshire Hathaway is putting a lot of resources into national marketing and advertising,” Brandon said. “The brand recognition is extremely powerful, and all the players in this market recognize Berkshire Hathaway. We have a lot of relocations to Northwest Arkansas, obviously, and I think this is going to help our relocation business as well.”

To celebrate the company’s transition, Brandon and Waymire hosted an open house at their Bentonville headquarters at 2905 S. Walton Blvd.

On hand was Earl Lee, CEO for HSF Affiliates LLC, which operates the real estate brokerage networks of Prudential Real Estate, Real Living Real Estate and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. He is also president of Prudential Real Estate.

Lee, who is based in Orange County, California, said he is excited that a Northwest Arkansas brokerage is going forward with the Berkshire Hathaway brand. He said at least two other Prudential offices in Arkansas are in the conversion process as well.

Waymire said the firm has 32 agents and staff members, and also has a property management division with more than 300 properties in Benton and Washington counties under management.

The firm was ranked No. 9 in the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s list of Largest Real Estate Firms published March 17, with a total volume of $45.49 million in 2013. The Northwest Arkansas Multiple Listing Service provided the data used to rank residential real estate firms.

Brandon emphasized that other than the building façade, company logos and other signage, nothing about the firm will change.

“Our location, staff, agents and ownership will remain the same,” he said. “We’re not grand opening, we’re not re-grand opening. We’re rebranding to a brand that is going to have great longevity and integrity in the business.”

Different Paths

Both executives said they had “great” years working for Walmart. Brandon and Waymire also agreed the reason they left was for more independence and the flexibility to spend additional time with their families.

Brandon, a Fayetteville native who left the U.S. Army as an infantry officer, joined Walmart in 1994 and held a variety of management roles before joining the real estate industry in 2005.

Waymire spent 21 years with the retailer after graduating from the University of Arkansas in 1985. He decided to explore real estate as a career in 2006, and though the two men didn’t know each other while at Walmart, their paths eventually crossed after leaving the home office.

Brandon spent five years at RE/MAX Real Estate Results, while Waymire went to work for Stacy Walton (no relation to the Bentonville Waltons), who owned Northwest Arkansas Real Estate.

Walton bought the Prudential Real Estate franchise in Northwest Arkansas in June 2007 and rebranded his firm to Prudential Northwest Arkansas Real Estate.

After Walton’s sudden death in August 2010, Brandon and Waymire bought the company from Kahlynn Walton, Stacy Walton’s widow, for an undisclosed sum.
“We took different paths but ended up at the same location,” Brandon said.