The transition involves a relocation for Axxiom Partners from its current location at 4530 E. Shea Blvd. to Sperry Van Ness' office at the Esplanade at 2525 E. Camelback Rd. Sherman tells GlobeSt.com the move is already underway, with Axxiom's staff all but moved to the new location.

"Axxiom Partners' ten agents and support staff will become the multifamily team at Sperry, replacing Bill (Hahn) and his team," Sherman says. He says the multifamily team will continue to operate under the Axxiom Partners brand, but the legal name will be Sperry Van Ness Real Estate Services, Inc.

Though the team merge occurs in the wake of Bill Hahn's recent departure to Colliers International, Sherman, who left Sperry Van Ness with Laufenberg and others in late 2006 to launch Axxiom Partners, says he'd been in discussions with Sperry Van Ness about some kind of alliance for about a year. The plan originally was for Axxiom to become an SVN affiliate "so we'd have access to what we consider some essentialelements in our business, such as a national platform, 1,000 agents across the country to network with, and other cutting edge services they already had in place," Sherman comments.

With Hahn's departure, however, things changed. "They asked if we'd consider taking over management of the Phoenix office and merging the two teams together, which is what we've done," Sherman explains.

Sherman says the short-term objective is to shore up the Sperry Van Ness staff and production, both of which have taken some hits in the past year and a half. Sherman says some top-notch talent remains, however.

"There's a strong nucleus left there of senior agents as well as several relatively new to the business and mid-level agents," he says. The mid-to-long term goal is to fill some holes and grow the revenue side of the business at Sperry Van Ness, Sherman continues. "There are highly talented producers still there, along with some up-and-coming rainmakers, but we have a few weak spots to work on," he acknowledges.

Sherman, as a 25-year industry veteran and Sperry Van Ness alum, is looking forward to building the office back up, as well as maximizing the benefits of the company's national platform. He says Sperry Van Ness, in the meantime, is also excited about the merger. "This is definitely a boon for us, our clients and our business, and they feel the same way," Sherman remarks. "It's just a win-win situation all the way around."