By
Elliot Njus, The Oregonian
OregonLive.com
on November 06, 2012 at 3:25 PM, updated November 06, 2012 at 4:13 PM
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A home listed by Prudential Northwest Properties in the Forest Heights neighborhood, shown in 2008. The real estate firm, now owned by Warren Buffett-controlled HomeServices of America Inc., will rebrand.
Portland-based Prudential Northwest Properties will soon adopt the name of its new, Warren Buffett-owned corporate family, it announced Tuesday.
HomeServices of America Inc., the Minneapolis-based real estate affiliate of Buffett’s
Berkshire Hathaway, bought Prudential Northwest in February. It was part of a string of acquisitions by the company in a bet the struggling housing market would soon make a comeback.
Last week, HomeServices it announced it had also bought the Prudential and Real Living franchise networks from the Canadian firm Brookfield Asset Management. All those real estate firms, totaling 53,000 agents and $72 billion in sales in 2011, will make up the new Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices brand starting next year.
Attaching his company’s name to the network of homesellers can be seen
as another sign the Oracle of Omaha is feeling bullish on housing, but one doesn’t have to search hard for evidence. In a February statement oft-repeated by eager brokers, he told CNBC a savvy investor would buy “a couple hundred thousand” houses to rent out.
Prudential Northwest has 21 offices and 500 sales associates in Oregon and Washington. Chief Executive Jason Waugh said little would change under the new brand.
–Elliot Njus
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