Real estate market changes at the top

The latest SBJ lists of residential and commercial real estate agencies shows that Murney Associates continues to expand in the residential market, while Carol Jones Realtors’ lead continues to grow in the commercial market.

Murney’s residential business has exploded since 2001, with the number of agents nearly quadrupling since then.

Twila Hillme, broker-manager for Murney Associates, said, despite the rapid growth in one sector, the company is simply growing in response to demand.

“We started out primarily as a residential company, and we’ve grown in the commercial department, but it’s probably not been our focus,” Hillme said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a conscious effort. We welcome commercial agents to come with us. We have very successful commercial Realtors, and it’s just kind of turned out that way.”

While Carol Jones also has seen growth in the residential sector – residential sales numbers are up 16 percent over last year and nearly double what they were in 2001 – the company’s most noticeable growth has come in the commercial sector, where agent numbers are nearly triple their 2001 levels.

Jones said the commercial growth, both in sales and in the agent ranks, is not due to a specific company plan to move from residential to commercial sales, but rather to a strong commercial market, specifically downtown, where CJR has listed properties including the Heer’s Building.

For the full story from the Sept. 12 issue of SBJ, click here.

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