Lederer & Co. Merges with YWGC

Lederer & Company, an independent Carroll County real estate brokerage firm with 26 licensed agents, has merged with YWGC Realty. As a result of the merger, Scott Lederer, Owner and Broker of Record of Lederer & Company, will assume the role as Executive Vice President and General Sales Manager of YWGC Realty. The announcement was made today by William Yerman, CEO of The Strata Group, a full-service real estate organization and parent company of YWGC Realty.

"I am pleased to welcome Lederer & Company and its team of 26 agents to our growing organization," said Yerman. "We were looking to expand our outreach into Carroll County and South Central Pennsylvania and Lederer & Company was the perfect match."

With the acquisition of Lederer & Company, the number of YWGC Realty offices has grown within the past year to six with further expansion plans to be announced by the end of 2009. The offices include: Clarkview (headquarters in Baltimore County), Federal Hill, Canton, Bel Air, Phoenix and its newest location - Westminster.

"This is unprecedented growth in our industry," stated William Yerman. "Some recent Baltimore County and Baltimore City-wide real estate industry statistics have placed YWGC Realty as the third largest producing real estate brokerage firm in the area, an increase from eighth place during the same period in 2008. In spite of these challenging economic times, YWGC Realty has attracted and maintained a hard working team of agents that continue to set the standards of success for other competing agents to follow."

In his new position as Executive Vice President and General Sales Manager of YWGC Realty, Mr. Lederer will be responsible for managing and overseeing the operations of YWGC Realty's six offices throughout the area: He will supervise the agent recruiting programs for each office as well as assisting with contract resolutions and agent retention.

Mr. Lederer has been a real estate agent since 1979. He opened Lederer & Company in March, 2001 and has since grown the company to be the largest independent locally owned brokerage firm in Carroll County. He is an active member in several real estate industry groups including, Past President of the Carroll County Association of Realtors, Past President of the Board of Directors of the Sales and Marketing Council of the Home Builders Association of Maryland; Adjunct Professor at Carroll Community College; a Graduate of the Maryland Association of Realtors Leadership Academy; and a member of the board of directors of MRIS.

"I've always wanted to work with other real estate professionals that lead the industry and bring new perspectives to our field," said Scott Lederer. "My company's merger with YWGC Realty affords us many opportunities for growth and proven systems of success. As Executive Vice President and General Sales Manager, I look forward to leading the team and working with this exciting group of real estate professionals."

The Strata Group, established in 2006, is a full-service real estate collaboration providing extensive real estate, legal and financial services in Maryland. The Strata Group currently consists of six distinct companies: Yerman Witman Gaines & Conklin Realty, Real Estate Mortgage Funding, Real Estate Title & Escrow, Strata Law, Strata Financial Services and Strata New Homes Sales, with offices in Federal Hill, Baltimore Metro, Bel Air, Canton, and most recently Westminster.