PEGGY DOEPPER – A growing market
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage has added an office in Woodbridge after purchasing a well-known firm, Harriet Cooper Assoc., its first acquisition in Connecticut this year.
The acquired firm has served Woodbridge, Orange, Hamden and Bethany. Woodbridge has the highest per-capita income of all towns in New Haven County, according to the U.S. Census.
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, which serves both Connecticut and Westchester County, N.Y., wanted a presence in the growing market there, said Peggy Doepper, the firm’s president and chief operating officer.
“It expands our presence in New Haven County,” she noted. “We wanted to be a part of that [growing market].”
Harriet Cooper Assoc. has a good reputation in the area, Doepper said.
“In pursuing a way into this affluent and burgeoning market, we looked for a real estate firm that reflects our strong customer focus and found a perfect fit with Harriet Cooper Assoc.,” Doepper said in a prepared statement. “Our new office will allow us to offer a winning combination of unmatched personalized service to more homebuyers and sellers in the area.”
‘Local Knowledge’
Harriet Cooper herself is well known in the community. She has been the Woodbridge firm’s owner and executive director since its inception in 1985. She also has been named one of the area’s “20 Noteworthy Women” by the Business Times for her contribution to Greater New Haven.
Cooper’s firm accounted for a total closed sales volume of more than $55 million during the last 12 months. It will maintain its current location at 270 Amity Road in Woodbridge. Cooper has been a top producer in the Woodbridge market for 30 years and will continue to work with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. The 16 associates who worked at her firm will work for Coldwell Banker.
“By joining Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, we will increase the resources available to our sales team and improve their ability to support customers,” Cooper said in a prepared statement. “Our commitment to quality service and local knowledge is our foundation for success, and I am confident that the newly created synergy will spur tremendous growth opportunities.”
Cooper has been a sponsor of the Woodbridge Road Race, which donates food and fuel to needy area families, for 15 years. She also has served on the board of directors of the New Haven Association of Realtors and was a member of the Woodbridge Library’s capital campaign.
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Connecticut and Westchester County made its last acquisition in April, when it acquired a firm in New Rochelle, N.Y. The last acquisition in Connecticut was Bob Tendler Real Estate in Newtown, which was ranked as the No. 1 local residential real estate brokerage in the town.
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage now has 2,135 sales associates and 48 offices, which accounted for nearly $7.7 billion in total closed sales volume across Connecticut and Westchester County in the past year. The company’s corporate offices are located at 51-53 Kenosia Ave. in Danbury.
