Prudential, Berkshire Hathaway affiliate

June 05--Choosing to link up with Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway -- the most respected company in the world, according to Barron's magazine -- wasn't a hard call for Lancaster County's largest home seller.

"We're really Warren Buffett fans," said Doug Rebert, the managing director of the company previously known as Prudential Homesale Services Group.

It is now known as Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. Rebert and his fellow managing director, Pete Slaugh, unveiled a sign bearing the new name and logo on Wednesday at the company's offices at 150 North Pointe Blvd.

Within the next few days, 1,248 Prudential "For Sale" signs will have been swapped out at homes all over Lancaster County and replaced with Berkshire Hathaway-branded signs, Rebert and Slaugh said.

That is by far the county's largest inventory of houses for sale. The total value is more than $300 million, they said.

Last year, the company closed more than one-third of the home sales here, with a dollar value totaling $665.8 million.

Rebert and Slaugh announced the change in affiliation in early March. At the time, they said their firm and Berkshire Hathaway would invest $2.3 million in the conversion. The final figure will likely exceed that, Rebert said Wednesday.

Overall, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty has 28 offices in 11 Pennsylvania counties and parts of Maryland. Six offices are in Lancaster County.

The parent company that Rebert and Slaugh own, Homesale Real Estate Services Inc., consists of a suite of enterprises related to the core real estate business. Services include insurance, mortgages, transaction closing services, property management and investing.

In all, the firm employs about 1,150 agents and 250 other staff members, Rebert and Slaugh said. In 2013, it handled nearly 13,000 real estate transactions with a dollar volume of $2.5 billion, making it No. 24 in the nation, according to RIS Media.

Joining with Berkshire Hathaway offers high visibility, financial stability and leading technology "wrapped around the most respected name in the world," Rebert said.

"We think we're tying our future to the right team," Slaugh said.

Berkshire Hathaway announced its venture into real estate about a year ago. It changed over its first affiliates in September, and now has 750 offices in 37 states, and more than 28,000 agents.

Asked about local market trends, Slaugh and Rebert noted that unemployment is falling and the economy is picking up

However, the pace of new construction hasn't accelerated to reflect those broader improvements, in part because the approval process takes so long, Slaugh said.

Existing inventory will have to take up the slack, but supplies are tight, so prices should appreciate, he said.

The tough winter took its toll on sales, but by the time December rolls around, this year's totals should exceed last year's, Rebert said.

Rebert and Slaugh founded their company in 1997 as a Coldwell Banker franchise, merging Concept 100 Real Estate and Coldwell Banker Slaugh & Co.

It became a Prudential franchise in 2008.

Slaugh said he will celebrate 50 years in the real estate business on Friday.

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