Everyone in the real estate space in Charlottesville or Pittsburgh saw the headlines this week: Roy Wheeler Realty Co. Merges with Howard Hanna Real Estate Services. Some are asking, will this merger work?

Moving to Charlottesville after spending 20 years in Pittsburgh gave me the privilege of knowing the leaders of both companies. My initial surprise when I received the press release turned into immediate and hardy approval – of course, these two great companies could and should merge.

But mergers are hard to pull off. Successful ones, like Disney and Pixar, live up to their hype. Others, like Sears and Kmart, result in the demise of both companies. Many languish in between and then break apart again. Think AOL and Time Warner.

The Roy Wheeler Realty Co. and Howard Hanna merger can go any one of those three ways.

I’m putting my money on their success. And not just because they are based in my two favorite towns (although that helps). Here are five more reasons for my optimism.

1. There is strength in numbers.

Both companies come to the table with impressive spreadsheets. Howard Hanna is the largest family-owned and -operated independent broker in the U.S. They had over $23 billion in closed sales volume for 2019 and operate more than 350 offices across 11 states.

Roy Wheeler Realty Co. finished 2020 with a closed sales volume of more than $250 million, operates four real estate offices, and oversees a Farms & Estates Division. The offices will remain in Charlottesville, Troy, Crozet, and Ruckersville, Virginia.

Together, their sheer size assures access to adequate capital and expertise to be a leader in the field.

2. There is even greater strength in character.

The real magic is not in the numbers but in the people.

When I worked in Pittsburgh, I saw firsthand the good works of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, both in their business transactions and in the communities they serve.

After moving to Charlottesville, I recognized those same qualities in Michael Guthrie, owner and CEO of Roy Wheeler Realty Co. I quickly learned that his company’s success was grounded in service, class, and integrity.

The term “servant leader” gets tossed around more than it should, usually as an aspirational ideal. But the Hanna family and Guthrie have it embedded as the only way to do business. Because the company cultures are already compatible, there is one less pitfall to work through. Now everyone can focus on the business at hand.

3. Success breeds success.

That’s not just a meaningless cliché. The tremendous successes achieved by each entity separately, will be synergistic post-merger.

This will play out at the corporate level and among each of the sales associates of the new company. Guthrie’s strategy of providing a supportive environment in which agents can grow their own successful businesses will continue. Thriving agents are almost always the core of an expanding real estate company.

4. A one-stop shop.

Howard Hanna Real Estate Services is a leader in offering the entire suite of services a buyer or seller might use, before, during, and after the transaction.

Creative marketing and high-tech tools are mandatory in today’s real estate environment where it’s not unheard of for a buyer to close without having set foot in the house. Exclusive programs such as Howard Hanna’s 100% Money-Back Guarantee and Buy Before You Sell bring welcome flexibility to a traditionally rigid process.

This one-stop-shopping approach and creative programs will be a significant draw to real estate clients who want to operate in a frictionless environment. Every step of a long and complicated process just got easier in the new company’s footprint.

5. The right tools in the right hands.

Great new tools. Local REALTORS® who know the market intimately. Ramped up levels of corporate support. Take any one of these away, and you end up with mediocrity. Put them all together and you’ve just a real estate juggernaut in Central Virginia.

Five years from now, we will be able to see whether this Howard Hanna Roy Wheeler Realty merger works. Has it lived up to its promise?

Howard W. “Hoby” Hanna, IV, President of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, knows clients and the community will be the ultimate judges. “Are buyers and sellers choosing us to walk with them through one of their most complicated and important transactions? There’s no better feedback than having a buyer come back to us 10 or 30 years later to help them sell their home. Does the community recognize Howard Hanna Roy Wheeler Realty as a force for good? Those are the benchmarks that we are going to pay attention to. That is the legacy we want to continue to build.”

Fifteen years after Michael Guthrie took over at Roy Wheeler Realty Co., he sees this bold move as the right time with the right company. Focusing on being the best realty company possible and letting success follow has worked for Guthrie. And I suspect that leading with a serving heart will ensure that Howard Hanna Roy Wheeler Realty will be one of those mergers that falls squarely in the win column.