Northeast Era Real Estate Agencies Merge Across State Lines

ERA Hart Sargis-Breen Real Estate and ERA Insite Realty Services have merged their Connecticut and New York operations — creating a brokerage with nine offices and nearly 200 agents across both states.

ERA Hart Sargis-Breen Real Estate, founded in 1979, is based in West Hartford, Conn., and operates three offices statewide.

Rob Levine became owner in 2020, succeeding Joanne Breen. The company was founded by Sam Sargis, an early ERA franchisee.

ERA Insite Realty Services was founded in 1985 by Louis and Debra Budetti and operates six offices serving Bronx, Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties in New York — as well as Fairfield and New Haven counties in Connecticut.

“Our companies have operated in close proximity for more than 40 years,” Levine said. “As we looked to the future, we realized that our shared core values and deep connections to our communities was a powerful shared platform to springboard market expansion in Connecticut and New York. Our newly combined market has tremendous inherent synergies: Central Connecticut offers major universities such as Trinity, University of Hartford, UConn, Yale and Wesleyan.

“Vibrant communities surround Hartford and great beaches and skiing is all around. Westchester offers easy access to New York City, has top rated schools and serves as headquarters to many major corporations.”

Two ERA Insight Realty Services agents — Michael D’Onofrio and Cynthia Liete — reported respective volume of $14.3 million and $13 million on last year’s RealTrends Verified rankings.

Levine said the combined brokerage will continue expanding in its existing markets, with a near-term focus on strengthening its presence along the Interstate 84 corridor between Bethel, Connecticut and West Hartford.

“We have a lot of room to grow,” Levine said. “But our growth will come from building meaningful relationships and pursuing opportunities that make sense for our company.”

He added that the firm is also considering expansion into Massachusetts, Rhode Island and northwestern New York.

“This merger represents, in a word, opportunity,” said Louis Budetti. “Combining forces puts many more markets in play for our agents, while creating more referral possibilities and providing a larger pool of collaborative agents to work and grow with.”

The ERA Real Estate network is comprised of more than 43,000 affiliated brokers and independent sales associates — with around 2,200 offices across the United States and 36 additional countries and territories.