New
Orleans-based


United
Real
Estate
Partners
is
continuing
to
expand.
On
Thursday,
the
firm
announced
a
merger
with

Real
Estate
Resource
Group.

According
to
the
announcement,
the
merger
will
further
strengthen
United’s
foothold
in
the
Greater
New
Orleans
area.
Earlier
this
year,
the
firm
announced
another
merger
with

Team
Geaux
Realty.

“The
accelerating
growth
now
happening
in
the

Greater
New
Orleans
market
is
gratifying
and
will
continue
in
the
months
ahead.
Our
mission
is
to
improve
the
financial
trajectories
of
brokerages
and
agents
by
delivering
uncharacteristically
high
levels
of
support
and
services,”
Rick
Haase,
the
president
of
United
Real
Estate,
said
in
a
statement.
“This
enables
organic
agent
growth
and
mergers
and
acquisitions
alike.”

As
a
result
of
the
merger,
the
firm
now
has
three
offices
in
Louisiana
—
in
New
Orleans,
Metairie
and
Mandeville
—
along
with
nearly

200
agents.

“Through
this
collaboration,
we
will
expand
our
reach,
share
best
practices
and
provide
our
agents
with
even
greater
opportunities
for
growth,”
Tom
Bookhardt,
the
CEO
of
United
Real
Estate
Partners,
said
in
a
statement.
“We’re
confident
this
union
will
enable
us
to
meet
and
exceed
the
market
demands
with
innovative
solutions
and
unmatched
dedication
to
our
clients’
success.”

Ken
Rayer,
managing
partner
for
Real
Estate
Resource
Group,
cited
United’s

flat-fee
agent
compensation
model
—
which
he
says
is
similar
to
his
firm’s
existing
model
—
as
a
reason
why
his
firm
chose
to
merge.

“It
was
important
to
ensure
our
agents
were
comfortable
with
the
move.
We
didn’t
want
to
join
a

commission-split
model
brokerage,
which
would
increase
their
cost
of
doing
business,”
Rayer
said
in
a
statement.
“Instead,
we
are
actually
giving
them
a
raise
and
adding
a
suite
of
new
tools,
new
office
locations
and
a
larger
support
team
at
no
cost
to
them.”

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