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Twenty Twenty-Four is just five days old, but already the year is seeing a deluge of big recruiting news — in this case, the announcement that Coldwell Banker has nabbed the Tate Property Group.

The group is based in Austin, Texas, and specializes in luxury, farm and commercial property, among other things. Pat Tate and her son, Drew, founded Tate Property Group as an independent brokerage, and in total, the Tates along with three other agents will make the move to Coldwell Banker. As a part of Coldwell Banker, the group will now be based in the firm’s Westlake office.

Drew Tate

In a statement about the move, Drew Tate praised Coldwell Banker’s “marketing and technology tools that will take our group to the next level.”

“The bottom line is our clients will benefit from their extensive technology and global reach,” he added. “And Coldwell Banker’s luxury property listings are some of the biggest and best homes on the market from Los Angeles to Miami. We can’t wait to add some of the best listings in Austin to that list of luxury properties.”

Though the Tate Group’s move will be of greatest interest to close observers of the Austin market and of Coldwell Banker, it’s also part of a trend that should have the attention of every person in the real estate industry. That’s because it’s the latest chapter in a very active struggle between major real estate brands to recruit big-name talent.

Though recruiting has, of course, long been a part of the industry, the market shift in 2022 — higher rates, low inventory and shrinking agent ranks — lessened the focus on raw headcount numbers and pushed firms to find rockstars who could close deals in leaner times. In other words, the tenor of the recruiting wars changed over the past two years, and that change appears to be continuing into 2024 as well.

Case in point, just yesterday Inman reported on big recruiting victories at both eXp Realty and at Compass.

To some extent, the struggle over rockstar recruiting has been overshadowed by concerns about the market, as well as a slew of commission lawsuits and a harassment scandal at the National Association of Realtors. But in an alternate timeline without those headline-grabbing events, recruiting efforts might have been one of the biggest recent trend stories in the industry. With recruiting battles continuing into yet another year, the trend is poised to have major impacts on agents’ lives.

David Pruitt

How exactly this all plays out remains to be seen. But for now, David Pruitt — managing broker of Coldwell Banker Realty’s Westlake office — said in Friday’s statement that “we could not be more pleased to welcome and partner with the members of Tate Property Group as we move into a new era of real estate.”

“Given the rich history the team has in the local community, along with the reach and market share of Coldwell Banker,” Pruitt added, “we look forward to building on the momentum in the greater Austin real estate market.”

Email Jim Dalrymple II