Simply Real Estate — a small brokerage in Fort Lee, New Jersey — has merged with ReMax to create a new firm, both companies announced this week.
Simply Real Estate will now be known as ReMax Simply and agent Andy Hong will continue to lead the operation.
Hong founded Simply Real Estate in 2011 after a previous career in mortgage lending, ReMax said in a statement Monday.
The main office for ReMax Simply is in Fort Lee on Lemoine Avenue with 16 agents that Hong described as "a tight-knit group."
The agents for ReMax Simply include Ji Woong Baek, Monica Colaneri, Jihyun Lee, and Sangjin Jung. The team is fluent in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Spanish, ReMax said. Agents at Simply have been focused on work ethic and professionalism, "but in today's competitive market, our agents need more — more tools, more exposure, more support," Hong said in a statement.
"Everyone was excited about the move," Hong said. "The ReMax brand brings confidence, credibility and new recruiting opportunities that will benefit us all."
ReMax is one of the nation's largest real estate companies, with 145,000 agents and about 9,000 offices. Last week, the Denver-based brokerage reported nearly $73 million in second-quarter revenue. The company also reported having a record 147,073 agents worldwide, of which 74,635 are U.S.- and Canada-based.
ReMax has several franchises in New Jersey — including Cherry Hill, Edison, Hackensack, Princeton and Vineland.
Other locally owned brokerages nationwide have joined ReMax this year, including Redco Realty in Illinois, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Advantage Realty in Hawaii, and Citibrokers of Washington state.
Agents at ReMax Simply will focus on selling single-family homes, condominium units and duplexes in Englewood Cliffs, Fort Lee, Leonia and Palisades Park, the brokerage said.
Simply Real Estate joining ReMax marks the latest in a series of Jersey brokerages aligning with larger companies. In April, another Fort Lee-based brokerage — the Nunez Group — joined Keller Williams City Views. Corcoran Sawyer Smith of Westfield joined with The Corcoran Group in June, and the Parlay Group joined Keller Williams Village Square Realty in July.
