CB recruits California power team away from Compass

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Amid a no-holds-barred agent recruiting landscape, Coldwell Banker announced this week that it has scored a Northern California power team that had been working at Compass.

Rachel Swann

The Swann Group is a five-person team including founder Rachel Swann. According to a statement from Coldwell Banker, the team is “known for its extensive luxury property experience in San Francisco, wine country and beyond.” The team has also closed more than $500 million in volume over the last 10 years, the statement added.

Last year alone, according to the statement, the team did more than $100 million in revenue.

Swann herself expressed excitement about joining Coldwell Banker, saying in the statement that it will allow “for the continued expansion of our team.”

“As we grow, we wanted to partner with a brand that had the infrastructure, footprint and brand presence to support us and our clients without disruption,” she added.

Swann started the Swann Group more than 14 years ago, according to her LinkedIn page. She spent about three years at Compass and has also previously worked at The Agency. Her official role at the Swann Group is as director of its luxury division.

In addition to working in real estate, the statement notes that Swann is also a “classically trained sommelier” — a useful skill to have while working in California’s wine country.

The statement also frames Swann’s defection from Compass as just the latest in a string of moves from the newer upstart brokerage to legacy firm Coldwell Banker. In fact, it states that “in the last year, Coldwell Banker has recruited 209 agents from Compass, driving more than $2.65 billion in sales volume, offering them opportunities for greater expansion and growth.”

The comment parallels those Compass has made about its own recent recruiting efforts, some of which have specifically focused on luring Coldwell Banker agents to switch teams. And more broadly, a number of companies have made a point of touting their “boomerang agents,” or those that left for a rival only to come back a short time later.

Such commentary highlights two things. First, that amid a more difficult housing market recruiting remains as competitive as ever — and companies are particularly interested in top-performers like Swann who have a proven track record. Agent count may not be the end-all be-all metric it once was, but brokerages are still very much interested in successful agents.

And second, these episodes highlight that real estate’s biggest rivalries remain very much alive.

In any case, Coldwell Banker leadership expressed excitement this week about Swann’s move. Jennifer Lind, regional president of Coldwell Banker’s West Region, said in the statement that “we’ve long admired” the team’s “dedication to their clients and deep passion and knowledge of the real estate market.”

Kamini Lane

And Coldwell Banker Realty President and CEO Kamini Lane described the Swann Group as “one of the definitive leaders in the Northern California market.

“Teams like Rachel’s are consistently making the move to Coldwell Banker,” Lane added, “to leverage our strong infrastructure, marketing support, and resonance that our brand has with consumers.”

Email Jim Dalrymple II