Two St. Albert realty firms have joined forces in the hope of providing better service to local home buyers and sellers.

Sutton Group-Nor-Vista Realty and Realty Executives-Masters now house 48 realtors under one roof.

David Malko, owner of the Realty Executives franchise, said he met with Sutton Group co-owner James Mabey over coffee one day. After discussing different business strategies, working together seemed like a good idea.

“It’s a business decision,” Malko said. “It makes more sense in this market to amalgamate and work together.”

Both firms are established St. Albert businesses. Mabey has now moved his operation into the Realty Executives-Masters building on Giroux Road. The blended entity will continue working under that name.

After years in the business Mabey felt it made little sense to have two equally strong companies competing against one another in the same place. Instead they agreed that by working together they could provide customers with a better service.

“Running a bigger company and bringing us together, you cut a lot of expenses and it helps us increase the variety of things that we can do for our clients,” he said.

People should not worry about a lack of competition among realtors in St. Albert, Mabey said. There are many other companies working in and outside of the city, he added.

He said Realty Executives has an advantage in the city since most other agents operate out of Edmonton offices.

“This creates a stronger focus on the local community. People prefer to work with a realtor who lives and works in St. Albert,” he said.

“And why would I work for an Edmonton brokerage when there’s this great new company that has formed in St. Albert?”

While Mabey has already moved out of his old office, the two owners will continue to share managing positions of Realty Executives-Masters.

And though he admits that there was a certain amount of redundancy among employees following the amalgamation, he said people in both offices are a good fit for one another.

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