A Maine Broker’s Take On M&a As A Mid-sized Real Estate Brokerage

Although much of the focus on industry consolidation has been reserved for some of housing’s largest players, namely Rocket Companies, Compass, Lower, Guild and even Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, those large companies are not the only ones active in the mergers and acquisitions space. 

On Monday, Maine-based Portside Real Estate Group announced the merger of Swan Agency Real Estate, marking the firm’s entrance into the Bar Harbor market. This is not the first major expansion for the firm that serves clients in both Maine and New Hampshire. In 2024, Portside acquired Lakepoint Real Estate, which serves the Belgrade Lakes region of Maine. 

“I think you need to grow to survive in this market,” Dava Davin, the founder and CEO of Portside, said. “When you are a mid-sized brokerage and the company is too big for you as the broker-owner to be both a Realtor and lead the company, you need to be focused on intentional growth so you can help your agents not only earn a greater net commission for the year, but also have a greater net life.” 

Local leadership is key

While many agents, teams, and even small brokerages seem to be flocking to cloud-based brokerages like eXp Realty, Real and LPT Realty, Davin said agents in her markets seem to place greater value on having local leadership over belonging to a national brand. 

“That local connection is that little bit extra to motivate them to get up and give it their all each day, because they feel like they have that love and support behind them,” Davin said. “And there is this ripple effect — if the agents feel safe in their organization and feel cared for, then they pass on that same level of care to their clients.” 

As Davin looks to continue growing her business, she said it is important that she finds M&A partners who “have the same heart.” 

“They might not have the tech or the systems and coaching that we have in place, but we can roll in what they have been doing and we have a really nice synergy,” she said. 

Embrace and serve the micro markets

Through this growth, Davin can provide her agents with the technology, services and coaching they need to thrive, but as she grows she works hard to maintain the boutique feel of her company. Key to this, she said, is embracing the micro markets.

“Embrace those markets and really give those communities what they want and need,” Davin said. “You can’t homogenize things — I’m not going to run the same operation in Kennebunkport as I am in Waterville, Maine. Those are two totally different markets. At the end of the day, the purchase and sale of a home is the same in any market and how we treat people is the same, but we need to make sure that the marketing we do and the ways we engage with the communities make sense for those markets.” 

To help with this Davin has local managers and leaders, who she said help ground the agents.

Although things are certainly challenging for mid-sized brokerages, who are simultaneously competing with local boutique operations and national brands, Davin said that instead of focusing on margins, she likes to look at her market share in her key markets.

“Once you have that market share, it protects you,” she said. “There are many towns where we are No. 1 by market share and in a lot of others we have over 25% market share. With that we know that the brand is working and it is going to attract agents and clients because we have signs in the ground, and we are involved in the local communities.”

Despite the tough housing market conditions, Davin said it is important for broker-owners to continue to focus on growth if they want to be successful.

“Everyone is focused on cutting things and not focusing on growing and providing,” she said. “When you are focused on scarcity it puts you in a box, but when you focus on providing for your agents and community and growth, that really does work.”