Shorewest, REALTORS® celebrated an incredible milestone of 70 years in business this year. Through three generations, Shorewest has remained a steady name in Wisconsin real estate.
Shorewest, REALTORS® began as a humble one-man office in the home of John A. Horning in 1946, then known as Wauwatosa Realty. Through his hard work and with the support of his family, Wauwatosa Realty opened their first office and hired their first sales agent later that year. What helped launch Horning and Wauwatosa Realty to success was his innovative ideas that kept leading and changing the industry. Shortly after opening his second office, the company was hitting sales record and became Wisconsin’s Largest Home Seller™. Horning then added an in-house printing department, bringing new marketing opportunities to both the sales associates and the company, which was the first of its kind in the Milwaukee area.
During the 1980s when second generation leaders, John E. Horning, son of John A. Horning and Donald F. Horning, nephew of John A. Horning, took over Wauwatosa Realty, eight more offices opened with the continued mission to serve more families. Heritage Title Services was founded, as well as Wisconsin Mortgage Corporation, to offer families a higher-level of service when buying or selling their homes.
In 1997, after 51 years of doing business, Wauwatosa Realty outgrew its name. After much consideration, the company’s name changed to Shorewest, REALTORS® — indicating their presence from the shores of Lake Michigan to all points west.
Current and third generation leaders Joseph A. Horning and John P. Horning continue to lead the company with innovation, technology and marketing, as Shorewest is still Wisconsin’s Largest Home Seller™, operating 23 sales offices covering Southern Wisconsin. Over Shorewest’s lifetime the company has had $47.8 billion in sales and the privilege of helping over 330,000 families find their homes.
In addition to helping families buy or sell their homes, Shorewest is proud to be a member of the communities they serve, and contributing to their surrounding areas is always a priority. Shorewest’s own charity Christmas is for Kids started helping families in need of Christmas spirit over 30 years ago, and is now a year-round cause that they support. Casual Days for a Cause provides added support to families and charities that need financial help. It also aids the Red Cross during disasters, blood drives, food drives, families needing medical assistance and other worthy causes.
Shorewest celebrated its 70th Anniversary in February with an awards ceremony and program to commemorate excellence within its family of companies. It was a wonderful event for company members to come together as a family to celebrate individual and company-wide accomplishments.
Over the past 70 years, Shorewest sales associates, leadership and staff live out the mission that John A. Horning created and founded the company on: to work together to serve clients — and care about each family that they serve. In the beginning, Shorewest sold 40 homes that averaged $12,500 sales price in 1946. In 2015, Shorewest increased business with 12,000 homes sold for $2.6 billion in sales. This mission has served Shorewest and their associates well by keeping the core family values at the forefront of their business every day.
Tags: #1 Top Real Estate Workplace, 70th Anniversary, Donald F. Horning, Heritage Title Services, joe and john horning, John A. Horning, John E. Horning, John P. Horning, Joseph A. Horning, shorewest, Shorewest Christmas is for Kids, shorewest family, Shorewest Realtors, wauwatosa realty, Wisconsin Mortgage Corporation, wisconsin's #1 top workplace, wisconsin's largest home seller
Categories: Community, Community Feature, Quarterly Newsletter, Real Estate News
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