Pacific Union International Acquires Empire Realty Associates

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 18, 2017 — Pacific Union International, Inc., the eighth-largest real estate brokerage in the U.S. by 2016 sales volume, today announced the acquisition of Empire Realty Associates. The highly respected Danville, California-based independent luxury brokerage brings 54 top-performing real estate professionals to Pacific Union. This is the third geographic expansion for Pacific Union in the California market within the last 10 months, following its mergers with Beverly Hills-based Partners Trust in August 2017 and John Aaroe Group in December 2016.

The union with Empire Realty Associates underscores Pacific Union's commitment to become the preeminent independent luxury real estate brokerage in California, with 2016 sales volume of $12.61 billion and projected 2017 sales volume in excess of $18 billion. This move expands the brokerage to 47 offices in Northern and Southern California with more than 1,450 real estate professionals. In September, the U.K.-based International Property Awards named Pacific Union International "Best California Real Estate Brokerage" for its innovative global marketing practices.

This alliance is a homecoming of sorts for the leadership teams of Empire Realty Associates and Pacific Union. The prestigious East Bay brokerage's CEO and Chairperson Judi Keenholtz established Empire in 2002. Prior to founding that brokerage, Keenholtz was tapped by Pacific Union in 1989 to establish its first division outside of San Francisco in Contra Costa County.

"For 15 years Empire Realty Associates has prided itself on providing the best, leading-edge products and services to our agents and our clients," Keenholtz says. "We are attracted to Pacific Union International because of our shared ideology, forward-thinking innovation, and superior technology. Our united teams of top performers share the same core values of delivering unprecedented client service with the highest integrity."

Empire will continue to operate under its current name until 2018, when it will be rebranded as Pacific Union International. In the interim, the brokerage's real estate professionals will begin incorporating Pacific Union's innovative marketing and business intelligence assets into its real estate practice.

"We are pleased to welcome Empire's team to Pacific Union," Pacific Union CEO Mark A. McLaughlin says. "We share both history in this community and the same core values of integrity and elite performance that define our commitment to our clients. This brings us one step closer to our vision of becoming the real estate firm of the future and the ultimate California real estate company."

In addition to a robust array of innovative sales tools, a Chinese Concierge office in Beijing, and business-intelligence analyses from Chief Economist Selma Hepp, Empire Realty Associates will benefit from Pacific Union's global digital marketing campaigns. This advertising outreach aggressively extends Pacific Union's brand awareness and listings to real estate investors in the leading international markets of China, India, Brazil, and the U.K. In its launch in 2016, the campaign delivered more than 187 million global impressions and 621,000 international site visits to www.pacificunion.com.

About Pacific Union International

Founded in San Francisco in 1975, Pacific Union International, Inc. is the West Coast's premier luxury real estate brand with 2016 sales volume of $12.61 billion. In 2016, real estate industry leaders RISMedia and REAL Trends rank Pacific Union as the eighth-largest brokerage in the U.S. Through its 2015 acquisition of The Mark Company, the nation's leading sales and marketing firm for new urban luxury developments, Pacific Union expanded its brand to development projects from San Diego to Seattle. In 2016 Pacific Union merged with Los Angeles-based brokerage John Aaroe Group, followed in 2017 with a merger with Partners Trust also based in Los Angeles, extending the Pacific Union brand to become the preeminent leader and ultimate California real estate company. The strategic alliance of these four powerhouses and the acquisition of Empire Realty Associates supports more than 1,450 elite real estate professionals in 47 offices throughout the West Coast. Northern California markets include San Francisco, Marin, Contra Costa, Alameda, Napa, and Sonoma counties, Silicon Valley, and the Lake Tahoe region. Greater Los Angeles markets include Beverly Hills, Downtown, the Westside, and the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys. To extend Pacific Union's international reach, in 2013 the brokerage established an award-winning, Beijing-based China Concierge program that fully supports its Chinese investors on the mainland. Additionally, Pacific Union offers a full range of personal and commercial real estate services, including buying, selling, and relocation in addition to operating joint-venture businesses that provide rental and commercial property management and insurance services. Locally owned, Pacific Union executes with a vision for the future, an entrepreneurial mindset, and an unwavering commitment to deliver exceptional service and expertise. For more information, visit: www.pacificunion.com.

About Empire Realty

Empire Realty Associates is a local real estate brokerage founded in 2002 and based on the belief that the client is best served by a local brokerage with deep connections to the community. Empire Realty has grown to more than 54 real estate professionals; is headquartered in Danville, California; and is a founding member of the Artisan Group, a network of the top local brokerages in Northern California. As an exclusive member in Leading Real Estate Companies of the World and Luxury Portfolio International, Empire Realty further positions itself as an industry authority on luxury real estate both locally and globally, ranked by the San Francisco Business Times as one of the top 25 residential real estate companies in the East Bay. www.empirerealty.com