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Coldwell Banker Home Connection and Coldwell Banker South Metro announced last week they are joining Coldwell Banker River Valley, Realtors. The move further strengthens River Valley Realtors’ position as one of the region’s largest real estate companies with a regional presence in eight offices, three states and five multiple listing services, according to a press release.

All 27 of the real estate agents and two staff members will continue operating from their current offices in Albert Lea, Owatonna and Northfield locations.

Lynn Johnson and Julie Wesely-Smit brought Coldwell Banker Home Connection to Owatonna in July of 2000, purchased the Albert Lea office in 2004 and expanded into Northfield in 2006. Johnson and Wesely-Smit are excited to simplify life and focus 100% of their energies on selling real estate and focusing on their clients.

“We have considered this transition for a couple years now,” Johnson said. “We went through a very deliberate decision-making process when looking at our succession options and ultimately chose Coldwell Banker River Valley, Realtors, because it’s a company that is uniquely positioned to take these offices to the next level. We could not be more excited for this, as they are a great company with a proven track record and phenomenal leadership.”

Coldwell Banker River Valley, Realtors, is a family-owned business established in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in 2007. Among its strengths, according to Johnson, is a vast referral network, advanced technology to streamline transactions, enhanced marketing presence, a revitalized social media strategy, and added support for the agents working on behalf of clients.

Coldwell Banker River Valley, Realtors, has grown steadily since its inception 14 years ago. According to 2020 Real Trends 500, Coldwell Banker River Valley is ranked in the top 44% of Coldwell Banker Affiliates nationwide.

“With this expansion, we now have 86 Realtors as part of our team, which makes us better than ever when it comes to serving buyers and sellers,” he said. “This is one of those cases where bigger is better because our size allows us to employ specialists to provide more marketing, technology and support for our agents, which then enables them to provide superior service to clients.”

Olson noted that the family is community-oriented and works to give back to the communities where agents and clients live and work.

“We’re looking forward to supporting Albert Lea, Owatonna and Northfield in that way, too,” Olson said.