Bean Group real estate company continues to expand despite economy

MEREDITH — With much of the world mired in a persistent recession, one which had a real estate market bubble at its core, it might seem like a good idea for real estate agencies to trim their sails in hopes that they can ride out the storm. That's just what Michael Bean hopes they'll do.

"When other people are waiting, it gives you the chance to grow," said Bean, who in 2003 founded Bean Group Real Estate in Portsmouth. In the years since, his company has grown to nine offices, spread throughout New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. The latest new office, in Meredith, held a grand opening celebration on Thursday afternoon. The office, located in the same plaza that houses the Hannaford supermarket, replaces a previous, smaller office Bean Group operated in Meredith.

Brian Neidhardt is one of the dozen realtors who will work out of the new office. The Meredith-based realtors, along with a group of realtors out of an office in Wolfeboro, will service the Lakes Region for the Bean Group. Neidhart has been in real estate since 2002 and has been with the Bean Group for three years. During that time, he's watched the company grow.

"The business model is different enough that it has allowed that growth to happen," Neidhardt said.

The growth has been significant, even in the face of a supposedly depressed market. Bean said his company has increased its list of realtors by 40-percent in the past year, and year-over-year sales are up 54-percent.

Bean said the growth has been due to the focus his company places on its web presence. When he started his company, he said, New Hampshire real estate companies weren't providing the informative and helpful web sites that customers were looking for. So, he started his company by buying a web development firm and turning it into an in-house information technology department, which builds a complimentary web site for each of its realtors.

"The model began to attract more agents and more customers," he said.

Neidhardt was one of those agents who was lured away from another company. With the Bean approach, he said there's no storm to hide from. "Things are not nearly as bad in the real estate market as you might be led to believe," he said.

CAPTION for BEAN in AA:

The Bean Group real estate company celebrated the grand opening of its new office in Meredith on Thursday afternoon. Shown here, from left to right, are founder Michael Bean, realtor Brian Neidhardt, vice president of sales and marketing Paul Ringuette and realtor Ruth Neidhardt. (Laconia Daily Sun photo/Adam Drapcho)