Catherine Himelfarb-Borden (contributed)
Forest Hill Real Estate is joining forces with a fellow decades-old, family-founded Toronto brokerage, Slavens & Associates, in a strategy designed to pool resources and talent to face a competitive marketplace head-on.
The transition, completed this week, brings Forest Hill’s agent count to about 1,000, said Forest Hill president and CEO Catherine Himelfarb-Borden. In an interview, she and Darren Slavens said that the “vast majority” of Slavens’ more than 40 agents made the move to Forest Hill’s Village branch.
“The real estate industry has undergone significant realignment in recent months,” said Himelfarb-Borden. “This collaboration allows us to combine our resources, tools, and training to create a stronger, more competitive presence in the marketplace.”
The two firms have similar origins. Forest Hill was founded in 1985 by Ronni Fingold at her kitchen table. Himelfarb-Borden, Fingold’s daughter, joined the business in 1993. In the last 15 years, her own children, Richie Himelfarb and Rebecca Himelfarb, have also come into the business. The brokerage has branch offices throughout Toronto, and in Muskoka and Montreal.
Slavens & Associates goes back even further. Paul Slavens founded the brokerage in 1969. It has changed ownership and partnership structures over the decades, with Slavens taking increasing control of the business his father founded, buying out his partners four years ago.
Forest Hill has taken on the majority of Slavens & Associates’ agents, staff and active listings, but did not acquire the brand, which will dissolve. Both sides are describing the deal as a “soft acquisition.”
While the terms of the deal are not disclosed, Slavens said jokingly, “I didn’t do it for free.”
Why Slavens chose Forest Hill
Darren Slavens (contributed).
Slavens said he had other offers, ones that would have bought him out entirely, but he turned them down.
“I wanted to hitch my wagon to my agents and to believing in Cathy,” he said. “Cathy’s the reason for the deal, because I trust her with the people I’ve loved for a long time.”
Slavens will stay on in a leadership and support role, focusing on mentorship, business planning and sales strategy. With many of the responsibilities of owning a business off his plate and his agents taken care of, he says he’s excited to devote his attention to sales.
“Now I just get to focus on the part that I love,” he said.
The pressures of running an independent
The real estate market has been difficult for boutique brokerages in recent years. Slowing sales, rising costs and growing competition from large international brands have put pressure on smaller independents.
“It’s very difficult to compete with larger brokerages,” Slavens said. “As the industry’s changed and you try to adapt, it’s a challenge, and the market’s been difficult the last few years.”
Managing overhead had also become a strain. “It costs a fortune just to keep the doors open every month,” he said.
The premier real estate market has also become more saturated with the expansion of large international brands like Berkshire Hathaway, Corcoran, and Douglas Elliman into the Canadian market.
Himelfarb-Borden argues that independent brokerages still have an edge.
“That name is never going to replace the personalized service and the long, good reputation and the good relationships we have,” she said. “At the end of the day, this business is only based on relationships. It’s not based on printouts of listings, or AI, or how well you wrote a brochure.”
Courtney Zwicker is a digital reporter and associate editor for REM. Based in Atlantic Canada, she has over a decade of experience covering daily business news.
