Although Howard Hanna Real Estate Services has conducted many acquisitions over the past few years, none of them made the real estate industry stand up and take notice as much as its acquisition of Elegran Real Estate earlier this month. And that’s because Howard Hanna’s acquisition of Elegran marked the over 70-year-old firm’s entrance into Manhattan.
“We began undertaking this strategy to sort of encircle the city back in 2020,” Howard “Hoby” Hanna IV, the president and CEO of Howard Hanna, said. “We were in upstate New York and we thought it was a strategic move to sort of move down the state and then throughout parts of the tri-state area with New Jersey and Connecticut. The city was always an attraction, but we knew that it is a very different market.”
Once the firm felt like it had a strong footprint surrounding the city, Hanna said the company began focusing on integrating its mortgage, title and insurance operations into the markets.
“After having some growth, we really felt like it was time to integrate into the city itself,” Hanna said. “So, about three years ago we started talking to a lot of different brokerage firms trying to find the right entry, at the right time.”
According to Hanna, Elegran was one of the firms he and his team initially spoke with, but it wasn’t until earlier this year, when Hanna said Elegran Founder and Managing Broker Michael Rossi approached him that they seriously considered a deal.
“They are a great entrepreneurial group of agents and they have a culture that is similar to ours — that family feel and camaraderie — and it just felt right to us,” Hanna said. “We know we have to treat the New York market a little bit differently, but we think it does make a statement about our growth because we have always been seen as this Midwest, Rust Belt company.”
The Elegran acquisition and New York City debut is compelling, but it’s just one of the big M&A deals the company has undertaken in recent years. Notable deals over the past seven years include the affiliation of North and South Carolina-based Allen Tate Realtors, which recently rebranded to Howard Hanna Allen Tate Real Estate, a strategic partnership with New York state-based firm Rand Realty, which rebranded to Howard Hanna | Rand Realty, and the acquisition of Coastal Properties, which serves clients in South Carolina and Georgia.
“We might be a 70-year-old company, but we want to continue growing for the next 70 years,” Hanna said of all his firm’s recent acquisitions.
20% market share in 20 markets
Hanna said he and his team are primarily focused on gaining 20% market share in 20 markets and the company is focusing its growth efforts east of the Mississippi River.
“It is nice because we aren’t forced by outside investors or capital to do a deal. I don’t have to make a decision today that is good for the short term and bad for the long term, just because it will look good on the next earnings report,” Hanna said. “We can be smart and judicious about where and how we are growing.”
In addition to the geographic boundaries Hanna has established and working to create deals with companies that share a similar culture, Hanna said the team is open to exploring their options and don’t feel limited to any sort of property niche.
“I’ve never really understood why there are some brokers who are only interested in multi-million dollar properties,” Hanna said. “Luxury is at a different price point in every city so that outlook really limits your growth. But even more so, for someone buying their first home at $300,000, that’s a luxury purchase for them, they are stretching themselves as far as they can for that, the same way or even more so than someone buying a $30 million townhouse in Manhattan.”
Hanna said this is why he feels it’s important that his team creates a luxury experience for all clients regardless of their price point.
Growth in existing markets
While Hanna said he and his team are actively engaging in multiple M&A discussions, he is also encouraging his brokers and affiliates to pursue organic growth opportunities in their existing markets.
“For my senior team, their job is to grow by 20% each in their markets in 2026,” Hanna said. “If the market is not up, we need to take more market share and do more business and just make sure that our value proposition is working.”
As industry consolidation continues, Hanna said he sees plenty of opportunities for meaningful organic growth.
“Announcing the Elegran deal right after the Compass-Anywhere deal was a coincidence, but we think it may actually help us, especially in New York City,” Hanna said. “The amount of conversations we are having with top agents and brokers in that market is really interesting. It definitely feels like a little bit of a shake-up and we think there are some brokers who are looking at this and seeing us as a new game in town. We want to be in that top echelon of brokers. We want to be the No. 1 market share player and we are going to strive to do that.”
Supporting their marketing efforts, Howard Hannah launched a rebrand in September for the first time in more than 40 years, unveiling a “bold new brand identity.”
