Christie’s International Real Estate added a brokerage in Northeast Florida that had $1 billion in sales volume last year.
Christie’s brought in former Engel & Völkers firm First Coast, according to a press release. The newly named Christie’s International Real Estate First Coast, led by founder Corey Hastings, has 130 agents and focuses on the Jacksonville metropolitan area, the release shows.
Hastings, a former Ohio University football player, is one of many NFL hopefuls who pivoted to real estate after leaving the league. He founded the brokerage in Jacksonville in 2018.
First Coast has six offices in the region, including in Amelia Island, Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach, St. Johns, San Marco and Neptune Beach. Hastings has plans to open a St. Augustine office in the near future, the release shows.
The news comes on the heels of the bombshell that Compass is acquiring Anywhere Real Estate for $1.6 billion in an all-stock deal. First Coast falls under the Compass umbrella of brands, via Compass’ $444 acquisition of @properties and Christie’s last year.
Consolidation is on the rise across the industry, and brokerages have been jockeying for more territory in Florida since the state’s pandemic market boom. In 2022, One Sotheby’s International Realty acquired First Coast Sotheby’s International Realty, a 93-agent firm with offices in Jacksonville, the Palm Coast, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra Beach and Amelia Island. First Coast Sotheby’s sales volume totaled $770 million the year prior to the acquisition.
While the Jacksonville metro’s real estate market surged during the pandemic, it has mellowed in the years since then. As of July, inventory was up 23.5 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels, and median home values were starting to dip, the Jacksonville Business Journal reported. The city’s median single-family home price is $325,700 as of August, according to Redfin data.
