ERA® Real Estate fortifies presence in Cedar Rapids with affiliation of Graf Real Estate ERA Powered

ERA^® Real Estate, a global franchising leader within the Anywhere^SM family of brands, announced today that the Graf Home Selling Team & Associates, based in Hiawatha, Iowa, has affiliated with the ERA^® brand. 

The firm serves the greater Cedar Rapids area, including the cities of Marion and Robins. Now known as Graf Real Estate ERA Powered, the full-service company’s affiliated agents will continue to work with clients on residential sales and relocations. In addition, the ERA Powered^® flexible branding option gives companies a choice to leverage their local brand identity and benefit from ERA Real Estate’s full suite of learning, marketing and servicing resources. 

The brokerage was originally established in 2012 by Michael and Teri Graf. In 2015, Michael was ranked in the top 25 real estate teams by transaction sides in RealTrends + Tom Ferry The Thousand.  Before his real estate career, Graf served in a sales management role with APAC Customer Services, providing customer care outsourcing solutions. 

The greater Cedar Rapids area is quickly growing thanks to a wide array of work opportunities nearby. Large employers such as Transamerica, Collins Aerospace and Quaker Oats are all conveniently within driving distance of the city. Cedar Rapids also has a low cost of living, which is why it is currently a desirable market for relocation. In addition, the city offers plenty of cultural and educational opportunities in its downtown area, featuring museums, theaters, and parks. 

Details:

• Michael intends to leverage his affiliation with ERA Real Estate to increase market share and expand the firm’s footprint to other areas through strategic mergers and acquisitions. 
• A focus of growth will be recruiting new agents who will be attracted to ERA’s highly engaged global referral network and the brand’s state-of-the-art technology suite, including MoxiWorks’ powerful CRM, offering a full-featured product suite bringing a seamless, fast, connected experience that will help drive business and boost productivity.
• Team ERA University will support organic growth through increased productivity as agents access the extensive professional development resources in the brand’s proven learning platform.
• Agents will also benefit from the ERA brand’s consumer-focused marketing programs such as TextERA, an effective lead generation tool that transforms yard signs into interactive property marketing, and the automated ERA Buyer and Seller Follow-Up Programs that help agents keep in touch with clients after the transaction, which can lead to referrals and repeat business.
• According to Realtor.com, the median home list price in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is $173,000, while the median home list price for properties in Hiawatha, Iowa, is $205,000.

Quotes:

“Michael’s success as a top-performing agent, team leader and business owner are testaments to his focus on professional growth and entrepreneurial approach. As he sought effective ways to fuel additional growth for his firm, he realized a partnership with ERA Real Estate would provide both the scalability and support that would bring his business to the next level. As an ERA Powered company, he can implement ERA’s services, products and enhancements best suited for his agents to help them grow their business while keeping his company brand at the forefront. Now the firm can expand its brand equity while being fully supported by the growth, lead generation, business consulting and marketing resources that come with an ERA partnership. We are excited to collaborate on Michael’s continued success and expansion.”

– Sherry Chris, President and CEO of ERA^® Real Estate

“Over the years, we have devoted significant resources toward marketing our unique value proposition, which is to serve the public with honesty and integrity and to give them a reason to keep coming back to us. As an ERA Powered company, we are now able to offer a greater level of service to consumers through powerful programs to help simplify the homebuying and selling process. On the agent side, ERA’s robust professional development resources will complement our firm’s long-standing focus on agent training and allow our leadership team to also focus on business development efforts. Being a part of the ERA network will further differentiate us in the Cedar Rapids area. We are excited to continue our growth through this partnership.”
– Michael Graf, Broker/Owner, Graf Real Estate ERA Powered

About ERA Real Estate
ERA ®Real Estate knows that real estate is as local as it gets. We believe that our core business values of collaboration, innovation, diversity and growth are needed more than ever. As a global leader in the residential real estate industry for nearly 50 years, ERA features a powerful network of like-minded entrepreneurs supported by the brand’s game-changing technology, products and powerful lead generation.  

The ERA Real Estate network includes more than 40,000 affiliated brokers and independent sales associates and approximately 2,390 offices throughout the United States and 33 other countries and territories. 

ERA Franchise Systems LLC (www.ERA.com) which operates the ERA Real Estate system, is a subsidiary of Anywhere Real Estate Inc. (NYSE: HOUS), a global provider of real estate services. ERA Real Estate information is available at www.ExploreERA.com.

Media Contacts:
Marie VanAssendelft

ERA^® Real Estate
973-407-2209

Randi Rispoli

ERA^® Real Estate
973-407-5241