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Berkshire Hathaway

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3.2

Overall Score

LAST UPDATED: February 27th, 2024

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices is a real estate brokerage franchise network designed for the current real estate market. Their network of members and agents serve first-time home buyers, high-end residential markets, middle market communities and commercial real estate offering local expertise. 

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The Good

  • International
  • States
  • Agents
  • Offices
  • Real estate options
  • License
  • Commission/selling cost
  • Specialties
  • Experience

International

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices is not available internationally. They are solely limited to the United States. If looking for a home or property in another country, you will have to seek elsewhere.

States

The company's network of franchisees are found in 47/51 states. This means you most likely have access to one of their local agents wherever you reside.

Agents

The company currently reports a commercial network of 2000 agents and counting. One of their strengths is a huge network of agents throughout the country. With this franchise real estate system increasing every day, the number of agents is growing exponentially.

Offices

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices has 1100 offices across the U.S. with about 142 offices in California alone.

Real Estate Options

Berkshire Hathaway offers services to help you buy and sell homes. The benefits they offer to buyers include:

  • In-depth property and community information
  • Local expertise, keeping you up-to-date on home buying trends
  • Agents that only show you homes that fit what you're looking for
  • Agents that work around your schedule

Benefits they offer sellers are:

  • A seamless sales process
  • Accurate pricing based on real data
  • Professional marketing services where they list, advertise and show your home for you
  • Negotiation services aimed to make sure you get a fair price

License

Berkshire Hathaway requires all of their agents to have a license. You can choose from a list of real estate agents (what they call local market experts) in your area who specialize in buying and selling brokerage services that are native to that specific geographical zone. If you're seeking a broker or realtor, you can peruse the agent's profile in Berkshire's database to see if they have that particular status.

Commission/Selling Cost

Berkshire Hathaway requires all of their agents to have a license. You can choose from a list of real estate agents (what they call local market experts) in your area who specialize in buying and selling brokerage services that are native to that specific geographical zone. If you're seeking a broker or realtor, you can peruse the agent's profile in Berkshire's database to see if they have that particular status. Berkshire Hathaway declines to share Commission rates unless you are a client to one of their agents. Many companies do this and it is not abnormal.

Specialties

Berkshire Hathaway offers services the specialties below:

  • Residential: Buying and Selling services for residential homes
  • Commercial: Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Services for owners and investors, landlords, tenants and commercial affiliates

These specialty services cover a vast area to meet your needs. Berkshire bases its efforts on research and data points to help customers make the best decisions possible.

Experience

Berkshire Hathaway Home Services have its origins dating back to 1839 when Oliver Chace established a company called Valley Falls Company that dealt with textile manufacturing. Over a century later, in 1955, the named permanently changed to Berkshire Hathaway. Business magnate Warren Buffet took over as President, Chairman, and CEO of the company in the early 1970s. Berkshire Hathaway Home Services was established in the late 1990s. They acquired Prudential Real Estate in 2012. To date, Several Prudential offices around the country have already adopted the Berkshire Hathaway name. By 2020, it is expected that all Prudential offices will be replaced with the Berkshire Hathaway brand. Technically speaking, Berkshire Hathaway real estate has been in operation for approximately 20 years.

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The Bad

  • Filtering Options

Filtering Options

Unlike most real estate sites, Berkshire does not have advanced search features. Your search options go by city name or zip code. This does not allow you to get really specific about what kind of home you're looking for, nor does it allow you to filter the kind of community you want to live in, or find a home in proximity to a particular school district or commute distance to work.

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The Bottom Line

Berkshire Hathaway provides easy-to-use tools for patrons to understand not only the properties available, but the long-term effects of real estate purchase as well. Their website connects buyers and sellers to agents effectively. Overall, they are a solid choice to consider when looking for an agent, property, or general real estate advice. If you're a home buyer or seller, Berkshire doesn't have the best filters to help you narrow your search the way some other websites do. For what Berkshire offers, they're not the only game in town. Their services can be found with other competitors, so if you find, for example, an agent whose commission is too high, you can feel secure knowing Berkshire Hathaway is not the only option.
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Star Rating

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2.5

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63 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

30%

4 grade

2%

3 grade

0%

2 grade

2%

1 grade

67%

Sentiment Criteria

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Quality

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