YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Russell Real Estate Services’ acquisition of Volpini Realty unites two real estate firms of similar cultures, principals of both companies said.
Russell Real Estate, which is based in Strongsville, and Volpini Realty, which has offices in Boardman and Howland, announced the deal in a news release Wednesday afternoon. Terms were not disclosed.
The two family-owned firms have been in discussions since last November, Volpini Realty owner Marisa Volpini said during a phone interview. She had been looking to join with a company that shared the same culture and connected with Jeff Russell, broker/owner of Russell Real Estate Services, who is friends with her daughter.
“We’ve known each other for a few years now,” Russell, third-generation owner of Russell Real Estate, said during an interview. “There was just a lot of synergy between the two companies, so it made a lot of sense for us.”
Russell Real Estate was founded by Russell’s grandfather in 1962. Jeff Russell has been in real estate for 23 years and president of the company the past eight. Volpini has been in real estate for 44 years, and her company, which she founded with her late husband, Rick, has operated under various names for 38 years.
The deal extends Russell Real Estate’s market range, which extends west to outside Toledo and south to the Akron-Canton area, to the Ohio-Pennsylvania border with the acquisition of Volpini’s territory in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, Russell said. Volpini will be broker associate with Russell for the Ohio territories and broker/owner in western Pennsylvania.
“It really helps to expand our footprint,” Russell said.
With the purchase, Russell Real Estate will have eight locations and about 600 agents, including Volpini’s two offices and 25 agents.
“Everybody is staying on board,” Russell said. “It’s the same staff that they’ve had, and the resources of our organization on top of that as well.”