Coldwell Banker Premier acquires Hampton Roads Coldwell affiliate

Winchester-based Coldwell Banker Premier has acquired Virginia Beach-based Coldwell Banker Now, merging into a brokerage with a combined $600 million sales volume in 2023.

Coldwell Banker Premier did not disclose financial details of the merger, which it announced Monday. The combined real estate company is the second-fastest growing Coldwell Banker franchise in the nation over the last five years and the second largest in the mid-Atlantic region, according to RealTrends Verified.

Coldwell Banker Now has five offices across Chesapeake, Franklin, Newport News, Virginia Beach and Williamsburg. With that addition, the expanded Coldwell Banker Premier has 21 offices and 300 agents in five states. The brokerage serves Hampton Roads, Washington, D.C., the Shenandoah Valley, south-central Pennsylvania, western Maryland, West Virginia’s eastern panhandle and southern Delaware.

Dorcas Helfant-Browning founded Coldwell Banker Now, which joined the Coldwell Banker brand in 1989 as Coldwell Banker Professional Realtors, in 1974. Owners Helfant-Browning, Tim Gifford and Rick West will keep leadership roles.

Helfant-Browning became the first female president of the National Association of Realtors in 1992. She currently serves on the 2024 board of directors for Real Estate Information Network (REIN), Hampton Roads’ multiple listing service.

Coldwell Banker Premier CEO Steve DuBrueler said in a statement: “Dorcas is a real estate legend and she, Tim and Rick built an incredible company that has served the Hampton Roads region for so many years. As we spoke more and more about coming together, it became crystal clear that we share the same agent-first focus.”

Its residential and commercial real estate operations and property management division will operate as Coldwell Banker Premier. The merger is complete, but the existing Coldwell Banker Premier will not rebrand Coldwell Banker Now until “probably the first quarter of” 2025, said Coldwell Banker Premier Chief Operating Officer Stephen Meadows. 

“Our company was built by finding and merging with the best companies in the area,” Helfant-Browning said in a statement. “Tim, Rick and I recognized that we could provide so much more support and opportunities for our agents and clients by joining forces with Steve and his amazing Coldwell Banker Premier team.”

DeBrueler established his brokerage, now known as Coldwell Banker Premier, in 1994. The company, which affiliated with Coldwell Banker in 1995, provides residential, relocation, commercial, property management, auction, luxury, real estate owned, and mortgage and title services.