I've been pleased and amazed with the number of emails, calls, and comments I've received with the news of our recent acquisition of George J. Smith & Son, a Milford-based real estate firm. Everyone has been excited for us, and happy to hear that Pearce is growing. Real estate competitors have been the most flattering of all, which is a testament to our industry.
It's also a testament to the common desire for the bad economic times to end, and the hope of a better future for the economy. Although things are on the upswing for us, we know that many uncertainties remain in the outlook for the near term, including the possibility that bad news will sink the recovery before it can really take hold.
Our commitment to growing our firm into new territories and services is almost as important in reassuring those who are nervous as is the optimism and faith shown by the Smith brokers in combining with us. Their belief in the potential of our merged firms is compelling, and has prompted others to speculate that we will see more transactions like it in the fairly immediate future. That latter feeling is particularly inspiring to me, as I see it as a vote of confidence in the future of independent brokers. Just as with banks and airlines, I think that the prevailing trend toward mega-companies will be followed inevitably by the rebirth of smaller ones. Not everyone wants to be a number, either as an employee or as a client. And that is what we, and Smith, are betting on!
