A real estate agent team that focuses on first-time buyers is joining Fathom Holdings, a Cary, North Carolina-based brokerage that offers residential brokerage, mortgage and title services.
Start Real Estate’s 70 agents operate primarily in Colorado, but recently expanded to Utah, Fathom said in a statement Thursday. Co-founders Randy and Terri Bell focus on the particular needs of first-time buyers, including helping them qualify for down payment assistance.
“They really hold the hand of the first-time buyer,” Marco Fregenal, Fathom’s chief executive officer, told Homes.com. “I remember buying my first house — I was completely overwhelmed. It’s not a simple process.”
He said first-time buyers account for roughly 80% of Start’s clientele, although the company also works with sellers.
Fathom intends to expand Start’s model into 10 to 15 states in the next year, Fregenal said, and will make the company’s materials available in English and Spanish to connect with more customers.
Fregenal said another aspect of Start that impressed him was that 70% of their customers ultimately worked with the company’s preferred lender. He expects Fathom’s Encompass Lending affiliate to benefit in a similar manner.
Fathom Realty, Fathom's brokerage arm, was 16th in 2024 among U.S. brokerages in sales volume at just over $13 billion, according to ranking website RealTrends. It has nearly 15,000 agents in 43 states and Washington, D.C.
"Together, we can help more families realize the dream of homeownership with better tools, support, and guidance at every step,” Randy Bell said in the statement.