HomeServices of America

HomeServices of America is the United States' largest residential real estate services company, based on closed transactions. The company provides real estate brokerage services, mortgage loan origination, franchising, title insurance/escrow and closing services, home warranties, property insurance, casualty insurance, and relocation services.

History
The company traces its roots to AmerUs Home Services Inc.

In 1998, AmerUs Home Services was acquired by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company.

In 1999, MidAmerican renamed its brokerage business HomeServices and acquired Semonin Realtors, operating in Louisville, and Long Realty, operating in Arizona.

In 1999, Berkshire Hathaway acquired MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company.

In 2006, the company acquired Atlanta-based real estate brokerage Harry Norman Realtors.

In 2012, the company acquired real estate brokerage firms from Prudential and Real Living and rebranded Prudential Real Estate to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.

In August 2013, the company acquired Prudential Fox & Roach, Realtors®/Trident Group.

In November 2013, the company acquired Prudential Rubloff Properties, operating in the Chicago area.

In May 2014, the company acquired Intero Real Estate Services, operating in Silicon Valley.

In July 2015, the company acquired Prudential Centennial Realty, operating in Westchester County, and First Weber, the largest residential brokerage in Wisconsin.

In January 2017, the company acquired Houlihan Lawrence, the largest residential brokerage in Westchester County.

In April 2017, the company acquired Gloria Nilson & Co. Real Estate, a residential brokerage in New Jersey. The company also formed a strategic alliance with Juwai.com, China's largest overseas property portal, offering access to high-net-worth individual Chinese buyers looking to purchase homes.

In June 2017, Robert Moline, president of the company, retired.

In September 2017, the company acquired Long & Foster.

In 2018, the company acquired North Texas real estate firm Ebby Halliday.

In 2020, they originated 43,683 mortgages with a value of $13.8 billion.

In 2022, through its Edina Realty subsidiary, it acquired Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Hegg Realtors.

Legal issues
On November 1, 2023, a federal jury in Kansas City, Missouri, found Berkshire Hathaway and the National Association of Realtors liable to pay $1.78 billion in damages. The verdict came as the Warren Buffett-led brand, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, along with the National Association of Realtors, were found guilty of manipulating and artificially inflating the commissions on numerous home sales.

According to the jury in Kansas City, the manipulation resulting in inflated commissions caused an artificial rise in mortgage rates and property prices in the housing market.

The number of plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit included sellers of over 260,000 homes in Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas. They raised concerns about the high commissions they were obligated to pay to the home buyers' brokers between 2015 and 2022. The trial lasted two weeks, after which the jury awarded the plaintiffs $1.78 billion in damages. The defendants in the lawsuit included Berkshire-owned HomeServices of America and its two subsidiaries, along with Keller Williams Realty.

The lead lawyer for the plaintiffs in this lawsuit was Michael Ketchmark. According to media sources, the awarded damages could be tripled to more than $5.3 billion under United States antitrust law.