New members sign up to franchise agency ERA

PROPERTY franchise agency ERA has signed up new members in both Cork county and Cork city, adding to its nationwide spread now with 46 offices.

In Skibbereen, Liam Hodnett is the latest signing to the global and national network, while in Cork city new firm Downey McCarthy Murphy has also signed up to the franchise.

Liam Hodnett has been an auctioneer for over 20 years servicing the Skibbereen and surrounding West Cork territories, and is supported in the business by Eilis Cohalan, who has been with the firm for six years.

ERA Liam Hodnett will serve a broad range of clients covering both town and country properties, agricultural and the important West Cork holiday home sector.

“In our experience, more than 50% of potential buyers in West Cork can come from outside the immediate locality, so our joining the worldwide ERA network gives us the kind of buyer reach that property sellers in West Cork simply will not get from other local auctioneering firms,” claimed Mr Hodnett.

Also represented in West Cork are rival Irish franchises Sherry FitzGerald and Property Partners, and ERA is already represented in Bandon by Paddy Murray.

ERA has also just signed up a new Cork city auctioneering and mortgage firm, Downey McCarthy Murphy, formed in the last month in the city by mortgage advisers Michael Downey QFA and Sean McCarthy QFA and auctioneer Jeremy Murphy MIPAV, who between them have almost 30 years’ experience with another firm which they left to form their own company.

The trio have secured new office space at 39 Grand Parade in the city centre, which will give them one of the biggest display windows of any estate agency firm in the city.

Support staff include Vicki and Lisa Hallinan, and the company ERA Downey McCarthy Murphy will concentrate initially in the residential city market, including Ballincollig, Glanmire and Blarney.

ERA was launched in Ireland just over two years ago, has 30 affiliate national companies with 45 members now in Ireland alone, like other franchise agencies, a shared technology back-up and web access is one of the strengths. It aims to have 100 members in the 32 counties by 2005, says CEO Frank Doonan.