Will Continue As Manager—

Bob Tendler Sells Real Estate Firm To Coldwell Banker

By Kaaren Valenta

After 24 years in business, Bob Tendler has sold his real estate company to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, the largest residential real estate brokerage firm in Connecticut. But he is not retiring; Mr Tendler is now the branch manager of his office at 17 Church Hill Road.

Mr Tendler said Bob Tendler Real Estate will keep its local identity and he will continue to run the agency just as he has always done.

“We have a very long lease on our building and we plan to continue to specialize in Newtown,” he said. “Coldwell Banker does not want any changes. As long as my name is on the business, I will work as hard as ever. I like what I do and I do not plan to retire.”

Mr Tendler said he had been approached by many franchising companies, local companies, and national companies over the years, including Coldwell Banker, which is a division of NRT Inc, a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation. Coldwell Banker has approximately 3,600 offices with 113,800 sales associates worldwide.

 “I had been approached by Coldwell Banker in 1999 and 2001,” Mr Tender said. “This year I felt the timing was right, although over the course of three and a half months of negotiations, my emotions ran the gamut from being excited to asking myself ‘do I really want to do this?’ I finally decided this really was the best for everyone involved.”

A licensed realtor since 1976, Mr Tendler said he believed that for his business to continue to grow and expand, it needed the resources that Coldwell Banker could provide.

“Coldwell Banker has all of the new technology,” he said. “They have a mortgage company, a relocation company, a concierge service, a builders’ program, a luxury home division, direct mail, websites — they have everything.”

In 1986, Mr Tender was one of the organizers of the System 1 network of independent real estate companies in Connecticut. The network now includes 35 offices and 450 agents, less than half as many as when it was formed.

“Companies were sold, people retired,” Mr Tendler said, reflecting on how times, and the real estate business, have changed. “Prior to 1994 the local multiple listing system wasn’t computerized. Years ago it was okay to do this, but now it’s important to look ahead. I felt that for [Bob Tendler Real Estate] to remain the lead and No. 1 agency in town, the time was right for us to partner with the No. 1 company in New England and the entire nation.”

Bob Tendler Real Estate has been the leading real estate brokerage in Newtown since 1983, according to local multiple listing statistics for sales, listings sold, and sales volume for Newtown residential sales. The agency’s 14 sales associates accounted for nearly $100 million in closed sales volume during the past 12 months.

Mr Tendler said the terms of the contract with Coldwell Banker prohibits him from divulging how much he was paid for his business.

“I didn’t just do this for myself,” he said. “Coldwell Banker believes in the same style management as I do. They want to keep the same local tradition, believe heavily in community service, and want me to continue to be active in town with fundraisers.”

A director of the Newtown Board of Realtors for more than 15 years, including two terms as president, Mr Tender has been a prominent fundraiser for individuals and organizations in need, raising more than $500,000 for numerous organizations including Newtown Youth Services, St Rose School, Adath Israel, the Family Counseling Center, and the Montessori School. He has twice been honored as the Realtor of the Year and last year was honored by the Family Counseling Center for his community involvement.

Bob Tendler lives in Newtown with his wife, Debby, who recently earned a master’s degree in art therapy. They have two grown children, Jared, who earned a master’s degree in psychology at Northeastern and is a counselor in Boston, and Jessica, an events planner who graduated recently from Ithaca College.

With the acquisition of Bob Tendler Real Estate, Coldwell Banker Residential Mortgage now has 40 offices in Connecticut. The company has more than 2,000 sales associates in 50 offices in Connecticut and Westchester counties.