Press Release

Weichert, Realtors Announces Eleven New Franchise Offices in Seven States

MORRIS PLAINS, N.J. - Weichert, Realtors, the nation’s largest privately owned providers of home ownership services, is pleased to announce the addition of eleven new franchise offices in Alabama, Florida, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and South Carolina through its Weichert Real Estate Affiliates organization. Weichert launched its first franchise in January 2002 and now has 133 open offices in 16 states.

Martin J. Rueter, president of Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, welcomed the new offices saying, “We are pleased to have these superior companies join the Weichert Family. They are true leaders in their markets and we look forward to a great partnership in serving their communities.”

The newest Weichert affiliate offices include:

• Weichert, Realtors® - Southern Properties, Mobile, AL - The new firm, owned by broker Jimmy Mills and co-owners Russ Davidson and Chris Howell, is the first Weichert franchise in the city of Mobile. The new company is located at 5613 Cottage Hill Road. The partners chose to affiliate with Weichert to take advantage of the company’s recruiting, training and agent-friendly systems.

• Weichert, Realtors® - Gateway to the Gulf, Gulfport, FL -- Maddy Guenther is broker/owner of the new firm. Guenther is a Florida native with a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing. Home to a core team of 19 agents, the new company is located at 5314 Gulfport Boulevard.

• Weichert, Realtors® - Town Center Group, Weston, FL - Dr. Carlos Valentin and his wife, Brenda, are owners of the new company located at 1200 Weston Road. Founded in 2000, the company is one of more than 40 Weichert offices in Florida. The couple cited Weichert’s superior reputation as the reason for joining the franchise organization.

• Weichert, Realtors® - Southern Choice, North Port, FL - Brokers/owners Fred Kijak and Diane Knight have opened a second location for their franchise at 328 Tamiami Trail in North Port. The first office opened in November 2003 at 2886 Tamiami Trail in Port Charlotte, after being in business as an independent for several years.

• Weichert, Realtors® - Yates & Associates, Tampa, FL -- Jeanette Yates, broker/owner has opened the franchise’s second office located in Somerset Professional Park at 15249 Amberly Drive, Tampa. The 29-year-old company became a Weichert® affiliate in September 2002 at its West Busch Boulevard location.

• Weichert, Realtors® - First Residential Group, Baldwinsville, NY - This is the second Syracuse-area office for the franchise and is located at 15 E. Genesee Street in Baldwinsville. Broker Memory Hopkins launched the first franchise for the company in April 2003 in Cicero, later expanding into new space in North Syracuse.

• Weichert, Realtors® - Craven & Company, Concord, NC - Owned by Allen Craven, the new firm is the 24th office to open in the Carolinas. Located at 845 Church Street in Concord, the company operated for more than 27 years as an independent. Craven joined Weichert to benefit from Weichert’s unique recruiting

• Weichert, Realtors® - Professional Associates, Bryan, OH - The new office, located at 132 West High Street, is run by owner Ken Wortkoetter and broker of record Leo Siebenaler. A longtime real estate investor, Wortkoetter previously worked in human resources management, earning his license in 1997. Wortkoetter stated that he joined Weichert for the extensive agent training programs that Weichert offers.

• Weichert, Realtors® - Engle & Hambright, Lancaster, PA - Terry Wiley is broker/owner and Chris McMurtrie is co-owner of the new company located at 2122 Marietta Avenue. The firm was originally established in 1896 and now joins Weichert for its advanced tools and systems including hands-on sales and management training.

• Weichert, Realtors® - Acclaim in Brodheadsville, East Stroudsburg, PA -Charlie Marzzacco, founder and CEO, has announced a second office location for the franchise which has been serving the Poconos area since April 2003. The new office, located at 46 Crystal Street, is managed by broker of record James Birmingham and supported by sales coordinator Maria Harrington.

• Weichert, Realtors® - Ray Covington, Inc., Lexington, SC - This is the second office for the franchise owned by president/broker Ray Covington. The company opened its first office in Columbia in 2003. The new Lexington office is located at 5001 Sunset Boulevard and is managed by Steve Gamble.

Entrepreneur magazine listed Weichert Real Estate Affiliates as #10 in its 2005 list of the 50 top new franchises started up within the past five years. The company also placed high as one of the fastest growing franchises.

Weichert has more than 14,600 sales associates in over 325 company-owned and franchised sales offices in key markets throughout the U.S. A family of full-service real estate and financial services companies, Weichert helps customers buy and sell both residential and commercial real estate, and streamlines the delivery of mortgages and home and title insurance. For more information, call Weichert's customer service center at 1-800-USA SOLD or visit Weichert's Web site, www.weichert.com. Each Weichert franchised office is independently owned and operated.