Fisher/Sears had specialized in multifamily sales in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. The firm completed the deal because "we were finding ourselves a little locked out of some of the markets," Sears says. Some prospective clients ended up not choosing the company because they wanted a firm with a "national platform," he says. "We were missing that ingredient of exposure that they considered essential," he says.

While many companies claim to put the client first, Sperry Van Ness actually does it with things such as cooperating with other brokers and using mass email technology to communicate, Sears tells GlobeSt.com. "This enables us to more fully service the needs of our clients," he says.

All seven brokers will move to SVN offices, Sears says. Fisher/Sears had approximately $30 million in transactions in 2007 and Sears said he is optimistic, in 2008, "for us to increase our volume about 50%."

Sperry Van Ness added a Chicago office late last year. Scott Maesel, executive managing director of the Chicago office, had previously formed the commercial division for Sussex & Reilly Residential and bought the commercial division, called SR Commercial. Maesel was then approached by SVN about SR Commercial becoming a local Chicago office. Earlier this year, the Chicago office of Sperry Van Ness hired Wayne Caplan as the director of investment and development services, as previously reported by GlobeSt.com. The office now has approximately 30 employees, Sears says.

Instant Insights /

Fisher/Sears Joins SVN, Expects $45M in Sales

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