Brokerage Real Estate Authority merges with Charles Rutenberg Realty Fort Lauderdale

United Real Estate is expanding in South Florida. 

The Dallas-based brokerage announced that its Charles Rutenberg Realty Fort Lauderdale merged with Real Estate Authority, a brokerage that was based in Davie. The deal gives United another 50 agents for a total of 1,500 agents in South Florida, a spokesperson said. 

Fifty of Real Estate Authority’s 60 agents have signed up to join Charles Rutenberg Realty Fort Lauderdale, but that number is expected to rise, the spokesperson said. They’ll operate out of the company’s Fort Lauderdale office at 2201 Prospect Road. Charles Rutenberg Realty has about 1,200 agents. 

Michael Brownwell, founder of Real Estate Authority, will stay on as talent attraction specialist, focused on recruiting, according to a release.  

United Real Estate is active in 34 states and has more than 22,000 agents across the country. It was involved in deals totaling $26.3 billion in dollar volume last year, according to the release. 

The merger is another sign of increased consolidation in the brokerage business, in part due to thinning margins. 

In South Florida, eXp Realty recently acquired a 102-agent brokerage in Miami called OnePath Realty, and the 500-agent Aventura-based firm called Broker’s LLC. Locally, brokerages have been expanding beyond Miami-Dade and even the tri-county region, which has become more saturated. 

The Keyes Family of Companies, which includes the Keyes Co. and Illustrated Properties, is the largest independently owned brokerage in the state with more than 3,000 agents. Last year, Keyes Company acquired a 24-agent firm called McCurdy & Co. Realty in Fort Pierce, which is part of Florida’s Treasure Coast.