Luxe brokerage The Agency unveils new division for suburban, mid-market homes

The Agency, the brokerage best known for marketing some of Los Angeles’ glitziest homes, is taking its talents to suburbia.

The firm unveiled a new division to focus on suburban homes and master-planned communities, a market dominated by traditional brokerages and homebuilders such as Lennar and Toll Brothers.

The new division, called The Agency New Home Development Group, will be co-headed by Mike Leipart, who runs the company’s new development arm, and Tom Reiser of the Reiser Group, a 23-year-old company headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area that markets single-family homes, townhouses and planned communities.

The joint venture partnership had a soft launch in October and plans to initially cater to homebuilders on the West Coast before expanding nationally.

The Agency, Reiser said, sees the “huge potential with this joint venture rather than growing organically and doing it all by themselves.”

Leipart said the Agency has long been interested in branching into lower price tiers.

“I’ve always been fascinated by the new home business,” he said. “Homebuilders are much more nimble in the market. They have a flexibility that others don’t. I am excited about the opportunities that have turned out in a short time. It doesn’t scream luxury. But it screams The Agency.”

The new division will represent homes starting at around $500,000, Reiser said, with an emphasis on mid-market single-family homes, though townhouses and condos will also be in the mix. It will take care of back office tasks, mortgage lending and even funding for projects that could range from infill communities of a dozen homes to developments of more than 100 houses.

The division plans to follow its Bay Area debut with a push into Sacramento and other markets in California and the western U.S.