Crye-Leike Insights

Nashville, Tenn. - Sales associates and clients of Crye-Leike, Realtors' Goodlettsville branch office will soon have the convenience of mortgage lending and titles services right next door to handle their real estate transactions. Harold E. Crye, chief executive officer of Crye-Leike, Realtors, recently purchased as investment property a 11,000 square foot multi-tenant building next door to Crye-Leike's Goodlettsville branch office at 917 Conference Drive. Realty Title & Escrow Services and 1st Trust Bank for Savings have signed on as Crye's first tenants. Crye purchased the property at 913 Conference Drive for $750,000 on April 9, 2002. The property was previously occupied by Lazy Boy Furniture Gallery. With property renovations and significant upgrades, Crye estimates the project investment to be around $1.15 million. Regions Bank of Nashville is the mortgage lender. Century Construction of Franklin is overseeing the renovations with an estimated completion date of August 1, 2002. Realty Title & Escrow Services and 1st Trust Bank for Savings, together, will occupy approximately 30 percent of the building with the remaining space available to lease to third parties, notes Keith Rosenblum, president of Crye-Leike Commercial & Property Management, a division of Crye-Leike. "We are having good activity from prospective tenants with the potential of signing additional lease agreements very soon," said Rosenblum. "Our mission statement is a passionate commitment to unsurpassed service," said Crye. "Having Crye-Leike align with a mortgage lending institution and a title services company to be next door to our real estate office provides convenience and service for our sales associates and clients and is a great example of businesses working together in the name of customer service." Crye-Leike (www.crye-leike.com), a full service real estate company for 25 years, is the nation's 13th largest real estate company and the largest serving Tennessee and the Mid-South. Crye-Leike in Goodlettsville is one of 22 branch and franchise offices operated by Crye-Leike of Nashville, Inc. with locations in 10 counties within a two-state Mid-South region. Sales associates in the Greater Nashville area currently total over 800. Crye-Leike of Nashville, Inc. recorded 7,420 units sold in 2001, representing a sales volume of $1.08 billion.  

Memphis, Tenn. - Crye-Leike, the largest real estate company in Tennessee and the Mid-South, announces the opening of its Highway 64 - Houston Levee branch office in northeast Shelby County. This newest branch office expansion makes it Crye-Leike's 23nd branch and franchise office within an eight county area throughout a three-state Mid-South region, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi. The office is located at 9943 Highway 64, the southeast corner of Highway 64 at Houston Levee Road. It occupies 6,400 square feet in a newly-constructed commercial-retail strip center, accommodating up to 51 Crye-Leike sales associates. "The move creates a gateway to Fayette County for our company," said Harold E. Crye, Crye-Leike's chief executive officer. "With the infrastructure that has resulted from the widening of Highway 64 in this northeast corridor of Shelby and Fayette counties, we expect that Lakeland and Arlington will become the hottest growth areas in the Mid-South over the next five years." To commemorate the event, an open house was held on May 2, 2002, where managing broker John Criswell revealed Crye-Leike's "smart" technology facility. Criswell, a 18-year real estate veteran and top sales producer for the company, is responsible for the recruitment and management of 51 sales associates who are marketing residential and commercial properties for buyers and sellers in northeast Shelby County, including Arlington, Lakeland, north Cordova and Fayette County. "Our facility is designed to accommodate the needs of our independent agents who are tech savvy," said Criswell. "Each work space has computer accessibility to the Internet. Agents can bring their own personal computers or Palm Pilots, or utilize the firm's own personal computers. A network card allows the agents' personal computers ?to blend with the Crye-Leike network,' interacting with the company's Intranet and Internet." "With our additional marketing programs and services like Virtual Agent, Smartline, our Sales Automation Toolkit and Crye-Leike Home Services, our agents are equipped with the most leading edge technology and services within the real estate industry," said Criswell. Before its Highway 64 office addition, Crye-Leike's most northeastern offices were located in Bartlett at Stage Road and Summer Oaks. "Our Crye-Leike sales associates will now be able to better serve clients from the eastern boundaries of Bartlett to Somerville in Fayette County," said Criswell. Dick Leike, president of Crye-Leike Inc., says Criswell has exhibited strong leadership qualities in everything he has done, which is why they chose him to lead the company's new office that will serve Lakeland and Arlington areas. "He'd done a good job in managing his real estate business, " Leike says. "He has a good blend of the characteristics it takes to build good leaders. He has come a long way since joining Crye-Leike." Criswell has been affiliated with Crye-Leike for 18 years, since 1984. He is vice president of Crye-Leike, a title achieved as an elite member of Crye-Leike's Circle of Excellence, one of the highest levels of professional and personal achievement in the real estate industry. He also was elected by his peers to serve as the current president of the Memphis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR), the local organization of Realtors representing 3,500 members. Leike says MAAR's decision to elect Criswell president of the organization is a big compliment. "You have to have people who think really highly of you to be elected." Criswell has an extensive background in new construction, as well as FHA, VA and conventional loan financing. He holds several nationally recognized professional designations: a certified residential specialist (CRS) designation, the highest credential awarded to Realtors in the residential sales field; the accredited buyer representative (ABR) designation, the benchmark of excellence in real estate buyer representation; and, the Graduate Realtors Institute (GRI) designation that signifies mastery in the various aspects of residential brokerage. Crye-Leike (www.crye-leike.com), a full service real estate company for 25 years, is the nation's 13th largest real estate company and the largest serving Tennessee and the Mid-South. It has a network of over 2,200 sales associates and 59 branch and franchise offices located in 27 counties throughout a five-state Mid-South region in Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Georgia. Crye-Leike attained sales of $2.95 billion and 20,768 closed transaction sides corporate wide in 2001. Crye-Leike, Inc. in Memphis has a sales force of over 1,100 sales associates.  

Memphis, Tenn. - Crye-Leike, Realtors' branch office in Collierville, Tenn. has expanded and relocated operations into a new company-owned office plaza at 435 North Byhalia Road. The move allows the company to broaden its real estate services into new areas of growth within Fayette County and North Mississippi, Marshall County, said Harold E. Crye, chief executive officer. Crye-Leike's new location occupies 8,245 square feet of office space, accommodating 70 sales associates, a 32 percent increase in office capacity from its previous location. The office is located a few blocks north of Poplar Avenue in Collierville. "Our Collierville branch office has outgrown its space due to growth in our sales associate population, which is indicative of what is happening to the area's population growth," said Steve Brown, vice president and general manager of Crye-Leike Inc. of Memphis. " The Collierville Chamber of Commerce reports that since 1990, Collierville has led suburban communities in housing starts, with 908 single family residential permits issued in 1995 and an average of 540 new homes every year for the last five years. The Collierville Chamber of Commerce further reports that when the reserve area surrounding the town of Collierville is annexed, the town will be made up of 25,006 acres of residential properties; 3, 112 acres of commercial and office properties; 1,162 acres of industrial properties and 3,244 acres of parks and open spaces. The chamber projects population estimates to be 66,200 people by the year 2020. Crye-Leike's Collierville branch office features the company's latest "smart" technology. "Every work station in our new building is designed to accommodate the needs of our independent agents who are tech savvy," said Jeanne Lubiani, managing broker. "Each work space has computer accessibility to the Internet. Sales associates can bring their own personal computers or Palm Pilots, or utilize the firm's own personal computers. A network card allows the sales associates' personal computer 'to blend with the Crye-Leike network,' interacting with the company's Intranet and Internet." "With Crye-Leike's additional marketing programs like Smartline, an automated 24-hour information telephone line about the property, and virtual tours to Crye-Leike Home Services, a free network of home and family related services, our sales associates are equipped with the most leading edge technology in the real estate industry," said Lubiani. This one-story plaza, owned by Harold E. Crye and Dick Leike, co-founders and owners of Crye-Leike, Realtors, totals 16,800 square feet. Development of this two-acre property is valued at $2.35 million, including land and construction costs. Renaissance Group of Memphis served as the architect with Crye-Leike Commercial & Property Management as the developer. Priester & Associates of Memphis was the general contractor. National Bank of Commerce of Memphis was the lender. Crye-Leike is the primary tenant. Other tenants secured include Realty Title & Escrow Company, Inc., Edwards Jones, Quality Carpets and Kathy's Nails, reports Collins Michael, commercial leasing manager of Crye-Leike Property Management. "Currently, there is 1,500 sq. ft. of space remaining and available for lease." Crye-Leike (www.crye-leike.com), a full service real estate company for 25 years, is the nation's 13th largest real estate company and the largest serving Tennessee and the Mid-South. It has a network of over 2,200 sales associates and 57 branch and franchise offices located in 26 counties throughout a five-state Mid-South region in Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Georgia. Crye-Leike attained sales of $2.95 billion and 20,768 closed transaction sides corporate wide in 2001. Crye-Leike, Inc. in Memphis has a sales force of over 1,100 sales associates who are located in 23 branch and franchise offices in eight counties throughout a three-state Mid-South region in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi. Crye-Leike, Inc., along with Crye-Leike of Mississippi, Inc., collectively sold 9,904 units in 2001 with a sales volume of $1.5 billion. Crye-Leike's Collierville sales associates generated $78.1 million in sales volume in 2001.  

Memphis, Tenn. - Crye-Leike, the largest real estate company in Tennessee and the Mid-South, announces a branch office opening in East Memphis, its second branch office expansion within the Greater Memphis area that follows the company's recent decision to also locate into northeast Shelby County. Opening a branch office in East Memphis was prompted by the company's desire to heighten its presence in East Memphis, notes Harold E. Crye, chief executive officer. This new East Memphis office makes it Crye-Leike's 20th branch office in the Memphis region. The region includes North Mississippi and part of Eastern Arkansas as well as three franchise offices. Crye-Leike has signed a 10-year lease commitment for its East Memphis location at 585 South Perkins in Laurelwood Collection shopping center, across the street from Seessel's grocery store. The previous tenant was Blockbuster Video. Crye-Leike will occupy 6,518 square feet of office space. Native Memphian Tom Kimbrough, vice president and general manager of Crye-Leike of Nashville, Inc. for the past three years, has been named branch manager of this new East Memphis office. He will be responsible for the sales production, recruitment and management of 50 sales associates who market residential and commercial real estate sales in Shelby, Fayette and Tipton counties. Affiliated with Crye-Leike for the past 10 years, Kimbrough has over 43 years of broker experience in the real estate industry and holds professional real estate designations as a certified real estate brokerage manager (CRB), a certified residential specialist (CRS) and a Graduate, Realtor Institute (GRI). As Crye-Leike's general manager of residential real estate in the Middle Tennessee region, he also held the dual role as branch manager of Crye-Leike's Brentwood West branch office. He has served as past president of the Memphis Area Association of Realtors and is a life member and past president of MAAR's Multi-Million Dollar Club. He also was branch manager of Crye-Leike's Hickory Ridge office. He currently serves as a board member of the Tennessee Association of Realtors. "Many ask us why we haven't opened an office in East Memphis sooner," said co-founder Dick Leike. " We felt that our Quail Hollow and Kirby branch offices were sufficient enough to service clients in East Memphis, but in the back of our minds, we knew that one day we would need to open an East Memphis office." "With Crye-Leike doing more business in East Memphis, we were encouraged by our sales associates to open an office there to make it more convenient for them to serve clients in the area," said Kimbrough. "This new office will compliment our sales activities generated from our other branch offices. We plan to recruit agents to ultimately bring the total to 50 sales associates in the new facility." According to the Multiple Listing Service of the Memphis Area Association of Realtors, there were a total of 2,277 new and active listings in the East Memphis area from January 1 through October 31, 2001 compared to 2,134 a year prior. Of those listings, Crye-Leike represented 25 percent in East Memphis compared to 26 percent during this same time period one year prior. Company officials project renovations to the East Memphis Crye-Leike office to be completed by January 2002. General contractor for the project is Priester & Associates of Germantown, Tenn. Space planning and office design is by Jack Rainey of Rainey Contract Design in Memphis, Tenn. For the past three years, Kimbrough has managed 21 Crye-Leike branch offices in nine counties within Middle Tennessee. " It has been a challenging experience, but with great branch management in place and our Crye-Leike sales team achieving a closed sales volume of over $1 billion, I'm ready for new opportunities," said Kimbrough. Kimbrough recalls that he not only is returning to Memphis but also coming back to the roots of his real estate career. "My father bought 10 acres of farm land at Poplar Avenue and Perkins Road in 1946. I opened my first real estate office on that property with my father's real estate firm, R.R. Kimbrough & Co., My office was in a small framed building located exactly where Crye-Leike's new East Memphis branch office will be located today in the Laurelwood Collection which is property I still own." Crye-Leike (www.crye-leike.com) is the nation's 13th largest real estate company and the largest serving Tennessee and the Mid-South. It has a network of over 2,200 sales associates and 56 branch and franchise offices located in 25 counties throughout a five-state Mid-South region in Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Georgia. Crye-Leike, Inc. in Memphis has a sales force of over 1,100 sales associates who are located in 22 branch and franchise offices in eight counties throughout a three-state Mid-South region: Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi.  

Memphis, Tenn. - Crye-Leike, the largest real estate company in Tennessee and the Mid-South, announces the establishment of a branch office in northeast Shelby County, its newest branch office expansion making it the 22nd branch and franchise office in the Greater Memphis area. This new Crye-Leike branch office is located at 9943 Highway 64, the southeast corner of Highway 64 at Houston Levee Road. The office will occupy 6,400 square feet in a newly-constructed commercial-retail center owned by Ronnie Underberg of Memphis, Tenn. Crye-Leike plans to move into its new location in mid-December of this year. "With our Highway 64 office being strategically located near Lakeland and Arlington, the move creates a gateway to Fayette County for our company," said Harold E. Crye, Crye-Leike's chief executive officer. "We expect that Lakeland and Arlington will become the hottest growth areas in the Mid-South over the next five years." John Criswell, a 15-year veteran and and top sales producer for the company, will manage this Highway 64 branch office. He will be responsible for the recruitment and management of 51 sales associates who will market residential and commercial real estate sales. Criswell will be president of the 3,500-member Memphis Areas Association of Realtors next year. "Crye-Leike is committed to serving real estate buyers and sellers in northeast Shelby County, including Arlington, Lakeland, north Cordova and Fayette County," said Criswell, who also served as past president of the Memphis Area Association of Realtors' Multi-Million Dollar Club. "Crye-Leike intends to position itself to support the infrastructure that has resulted from the widening of Highway 64 in this northeast corridor of Shelby and Fayette counties." Before its Highway 64 office addition, Crye-Leike's most northeastern offices were located in Bartlett at Stage Road and Summer Oaks. "Our Crye-Leike sales associates will now be able to better serve clients from the eastern boundaries of Bartlett to Somerville in Fayette County," said Criswell. For the past five decades, Memphis has experienced "urban sprawling," widespread pockets of growth, according to researchers at the University of Memphis Bureau of Business and Economic Research. Population growth estimates which transpired during those decades included: the 1960s, with Whitehaven at 75,000 population growth, Memphis' biggest surge over the past 50 years; the 1970s, with Hickory Hills experiencing a more rapid growth of 55,000; the 1980s with Germantown and Collierville experiencing 25,000 and the 1990s in Cordova at 15,000. "For the next decade, the next likely areas for new growth around Shelby County are the unincorporated areas in the northeast corridor, which includes Arlington and Lakeland," said University of Memphis researcher B. Lewis Alvarado. "But how much growth in those areas will be difficult to measure with all the possible dynamics involved that have some dampening effects like affordability and zoning laws." "Memphis' logical progression is eastward," said Steve Brown, vice president and regional manager of Crye -Leike, Inc. in Memphis. "The city started at the river. The march of growth has always moved eastward for new housing starts." According to data compiled by Garner Chandler of Chandler Reports, LLC which publishes Memphis area real estate data, housing starts and closings within the 38002 Zip Code area, which includes Arlington and Lakeland, started to show a steady increase after 1994. There were a total of 204 new housing permits issued in 1994, doubling since 1995 to 385 and remaining steady at 428 new housing permits issued in 1998. Closings of new homes were 209 in 1994 and doubled to levels of around 400 units since 1996. Crye-Leike (www.crye-leike.com), a full service real estate company for 25 years, is the nation's 13th largest real estate company with a network of over 2,200 sales associates and 56 branch and franchise offices located in 25 counties throughout a five-state Mid-South region in Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and North Georgia. Crye-Leike attained sales of $2.9 billion and 20,406 closed transaction sides corporate wide in 2000. Crye-Leike, Inc. in Memphis has a sales force of over 1,100 sales associates who are located in 22 branch and franchise offices in eight counties throughout a three-state Mid-South region in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi. Crye-Leike, Inc. (Memphis), along with Crye-Leike of Mississippi, Inc., collectively sold 10,268 units in 2000 with a sales volume of $1.5 billion. Crye-Leike of Arkansas in Jonesboro reported year-end sales volume of $36 million with 454 closings.  

Nashville, Tenn. - Crye-Leike, Realtors, the largest real estate company in Tennessee and the Mid-South, has signed a 10-year lease, a $1 million commitment, to open its third branch office in Clarksville, Tenn., the fifth largest city in the state. "Establishing a long-term lease, along with opening office No. 3, demonstrates that Crye-Leike intends to be in Clarksville for 'the long haul'," said Joey Haley, managing broker of the new Clarksville - Sango office. Crye-Leike's Clarksville office is located in the Sango area at 2204 Madison Street, Suite D, which is three miles south of Interstate 24 West at Exit 11. Clarksville, located in Montgomery County, is 40 minutes northwest of Nashville, Tenn. The decision to open a third Crye-Leike branch office in Clarksville was prompted by the area's surge in population growth as well as steady growth in residential and commercial development, noted Harold Crye, chief executive officer of Crye-Leike. Clarksville, with a population growth of nearly 40 percent, is Tennessee's fastest growing city behind only Memphis and Nashville, according to the U.S. Census of April 2001. Population for the city of Clarksville is 103,455 and Montgomery County is 134,768. "Crye-Leike is committed to serving home buyers and sellers in all of Middle Tennessee," said Crye. "We intend to position ourselves to support the area's growth." "Our new Clarksville branch office provides a more central location for our company in southeast Montgomery County," said Haley. "Our Crye-Leike sales associates will now be able to better serve clients in Montgomery County as well as in the neighboring counties of Cheatham, Dickson, Robertson and Stewart." Crye-Leike will lease 6,400 square feet of office space in Madison Center, occupying 50 percent of the 12,800 sq. ft. in this one-story retail shopping strip center. The new facility will accommodate 53 sales associates. Leasing agent is ACI Investment Group of Clarksville. Crye-Leike has invested over $200,000 in facility renovations in this office location to feature the latest in "smart office technology, noted Haley. "Every working space in our new building is designed to accommodate the needs of our independent agents who are tech savvy. Coupled with our additional marketing programs like Virtual Agent, Smartline, our Sales Automation Toolkit and Home-Link, our agents are equipped with leading edge technology for the real estate industry." Renovations are expected to be completed by the end of August with a projected opening date by mid-September. General contractor for the project is Mark L. Suggs Construction of Clarksville, Tenn. Space planning and office design is by Jack Rainey of Rainey Contract Design in Memphis, Tenn. Upon the opening of Crye-Leike's Clarksville - Sango branch office, Crye-Leike will have 21 branch and franchise offices in the Middle Tennessee area, noted Tom Kimbrough, vice president and general manager of Crye-Leike of Nashville, Inc., "potentially increasing the total number of Crye-Leike sales associates to well over 1,000." Offices are currently located in Bellevue, Brentwood, Clarksville, Columbia, Franklin, Goodlettsville, Green Hills, Hendersonville, Hermitage, Lebanon, Mt. Juliet, Murfreesboro, Priest Lake, Smyrna, Southeast Nashville and Springfield. Crye-Leike (www.crye-leike.com), a full service real estate company, is the nation's 13th largest real estate company and the largest serving Tennessee and the Mid-South. It has a network of over 2,200 sales associates and 56 branch and franchise offices located in 27 counties throughout a four-state Mid-South region in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and North Georgia. Crye-Leike attained sales of $2.9 billion and 20,406 closed transaction sides corporate wide in 2000.  

Memphis, Tenn. - Construction is underway on a 16,633 square foot commercial building in Collierville, Tenn., the future home of Crye-Leike, Realtors' Collierville branch office which will relocate just north of its present leased location at 791 E. Poplar Avenue. Owned by Harold E. Crye and Dick Leike, co-founders and owners of Crye-Leike, Realtors, the one-story building will rest on two acres of land and has a project value of $2.35 million. The site is located at 435 North Byhalia Road, a few blocks north of Poplar Avenue in Collierville. "We are expanding due to the growth in the Collierville community and the growth of our agent population," said Crye. "We are providing a more convenient location for our customers and a better work environment for our sales associates with such added office amenities as 'smart' technology enhancements to give our associates better accessibility to computerization." Crye-Leike, Realtors' new location will occupy 8,245 square feet of office space, allowing for 70 sales associates, a 32 percent increase from the previous 53 agents at their current location. The remaining office space will be divided and leased between third parties, First Trust Bank for Savings' Mortgage Lending Division and Realty Title, both of which will open satellite offices there. Renaissance Group of Memphis is serving as the architect for the project with Crye-Leike Commercial & Property Management as the developer. Priester & Associates of Memphis is the general contractor. National Bank of Commerce of Memphis is the project's lender. The building's projected date of completion is September 1, 2001. "As we expand our Crye-Leike branch office in Collierville, we also will be expanding our service areas going southward into north Mississippi and Marshall County as well as east into Fayette County," said Jeanne Lubiani, managing broker of Crye-Leike's Collierville branch office. " We have recruited new agents licensed in Mississippi so we may step up our marketing efforts into these new areas of growth." "Our Collierville branch office has outgrown its space, which is indicative of what is happening to the city's population," said Steve Brown, vice president and general manager of Crye-Leike Inc. of Memphis. " Additionally, there were more houses sold over $400,000 in Collierville last year than in River Oaks in Memphis." Crye-Leike Commercial & Property Management, a division of Crye-Leike, is a full service commercial real estate company offering business and investment real estate services from its three regional commercial offices in Memphis, Nashville and Chattanooga. It has 27 commercial brokers and affiliate brokers in Memphis who completed over $73.5 million in property sales and lease volume in 2000. Combined, the three regional divisions completed over $87.2 million in property sales and lease volume in 2000. Its commercial brokers and affiliate brokers, which total 58 company wide, have an 18-year history of providing comprehensive real estate assistance, including commercial sales, leasing and buyer representative services. Crye-Leike (www.crye-leike.com), largest real estate company in Tennessee and the Mid-South, has a network of over 52 branch offices, 2,200 sales associates and over 480 employees. Crye-Leike is ranked No. 13 among the nation's top 500 largest residential real estate brokerage firms and No. 8 among the nation's 136 largest privately owned and independents, according to REAL Trends, Inc., the leading provider of information and analysis for the residential real estate industry. These rankings were based on Crye-Leike attaining sales of $2.9 billion and 20,406 closed transaction sides corporate wide in 2000. Crye-Leike of Memphis has 22 branch and franchise offices located in nine counties throughout a three-state Mid-South region in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi with over 1,100 sales associates.  

Hernando, Miss. - Crye-Leike Realtors, the largest real estate company in Tennessee and the Mid-south, has acquired Action Realty Associates in Hernando, Mississippi, announced Harold E. Crye, chief executive officer of Crye-Leike. Crye-Leike, Realtors closed Action Realty Associates, which was located at 111 West Commerce Street in Hernando, Miss., and consolidated operations into Crye-Leike's Hernando, Miss. branch office, located at 2170 Highway 51 South where Diane Tippitt-Pettis, former managing broker of Action Realty Associates will now be located. "Diane was a former top producer of Crye-Leike for over 10 years. She has a strong presence in the Hernando real estate market and brings with her over 13 years of experience in residential sales," said Crye. "We are delighted to have Diane back with Crye-Leike." Tippitt-Pettis holds the certified residential specialist (CRS) designation. She also was a recipient of Crye-Leike's Circle of Excellence award in 1996, one of the highest levels of professional and personal achievement that a sales associate of Crye-Leike, Realtors can attain. The Circle of Excellence, founded in 1987, has a total of 117 sales associates within Crye-Leike who have attained this elite distinction out of Crye-Leike's 2,200 sales force. A long-time Hernando resident, Tippitt-Pettis left Crye-Leike in 1997 to form her own real estate company called Action Realty Associates because she saw the opportunity to serve the needs of the booming Hernando market. When Crye-Leike opened its Hernando office in 2000, she had the opportunity to be acquired by Crye-Leike. "It seemed like a wise business decision to consolidate our efforts. With all the technological advances in the real estate industry, such as virtual home tours and Internet-based multiple listing service, it would be difficult, if not be impossible, for a small brokerage firm like mine to provide that level of service," said Tippitt-Pettis. "I felt the desire to provide my clients with the best possible service through the latest technological innovations available today. I knew from my prior affiliation with Crye-Leike that they were always the company that set the new industry standards in our market. It just made good business sense to join forces." "Crye-Leike is very pleased with the tremendous reception it has received in both the community and real estate market since we established our Hernando branch office," said Lynette Magee, managing broker of Crye-Leike's Hernando branch office. "Having a top producer like Diane Tippitt-Pettis back with Crye-Leike is a win - win situation for us and the Hernando community." Crye-Leike (www.crye-leike.com), ranked No. 10 among the nation's top 500 residential real estate brokerage firms, as reported in May 2000 by REAL Trends Magazine, has a network of over 52 branch offices and 2,100 sales associates. It attained sales of nearly $3 billion corporatewide in 2000, the second best year in the company's 23-year history. Crye-Leike, Inc. in Memphis has a sales force of over 1,100 associates who are located in 22 branch offices and nine counties throughout a three-state Mid-South region: Tennessee, northern Mississippi and Arkansas. Its Mississippi branch offices are located in Hernando, Olive Branch and Southaven, including three Crye-Leike franchises in Tupelo, Lee County, Oxford, Lafayette County and New Albany, Union County. Crye-Leike, Inc. (Memphis), along with Crye-Leike of Mississippi, Inc., collectively sold 10,268 units in 2000 with a sales volume of $1.5 billion. As a full service real estate company, Crye-Leike offers real estate and related services, including: mortgage lending facilities; an insurance division, a commercial property division, a property leasing and management company, a home improvement division, a title company, an auction division, a relocation services company, franchise division, premier properties division and builder resources division.  

Nashville, Tenn. - Crye-Leike, Realtors is branching out into Northeast Tennessee with its first branch office established in Johnson City, marking its 45th location for the largest full service real estate company in Tennessee and the Midsouth. The branch office is located at 128 Princeton Road, Suite 2. "Our presence in Northeast Tennessee reinforces our company's commitment to offer real estate services in all regions of the state," said Harold E. Crye, chief executive officer of Crye-Leike. "It further compliments our company's future growth into neighboring states." Grand opening ceremonies were held November 28 - 29, 2000 with the Johnson City Chamber of Commerce conducting the ribbon cutting ceremony. Members of Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors (NETAR) as well as customers, clients and vendors of Crye-Leike, Realtors had the opportunity to tour the newly-remodeled 4,000 square foot office which will serve the counties of Washington, Sullivan, Carter, Greene and Unicoi. Nancy Rowe, a native of Johnson City, has been appointed as managing broker of Crye-Leike's Johnson City office. Rowe has 20 years of real estate experience and is a member of the NETAR Million Dollar Club. In 2001, she will serve as a director on the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors and as secretary for the Johnson City Broker's Council. Rowe holds designations as a certified premier properties specialist (CPPS), certified residential specialist (CRS), graduate of the Realtor's Institute (GRI) and an accredited buyer representative (ABR). There are currently16 sales associates who have joined Crye-Leike, Realtors as affiliate brokers of its Johnson City office. They are: Marlene Adams; Emily Clouse, GRI; Stephanie Conner, GRI; Nancy Frazier; Tony Gouge; Diane Haynes, CRS, GRI; Millie Henderson, CRS; Frances Itaro; Marilyn Robertson, CRS, GRI; Pat Rogers; Dorothy Shell; Roger Sluss; Betty Smith; Goldia Sommers and Linda Workman. "Collectively, our associates have over 111 years of real estate experience to offer the community," said Rowe. "We intend to recruit more sales associates to reach the office's maximum capacity of 33 sales associates." Crye-Leike's Johnson City branch office will be open seven days a week. Crye-Leike also offers the only fully automated appointment center in the Tri-State area, according to Rowe. "We make it easy for any real estate agent in the area who wants to show a Crye-Leike property to be able to make an appointment for a showing," said Rowe. "The appointment center is open 12 hours a day, seven days a week, coordinating showings from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m." "We also offer SmartLine, an automated 24-hour information line which allows potential buyers instant access to information about a home 24 hours a day, seven days a week while giving our sales associates instant notification of the callers on these listings," noted Rowe. Crye-Leike (www.crye-leike.com), the largest real estate company in Tennessee and the Mid-South, has over 2,100 sales associates. Its 45 branch offices are located in 17 counties throughout a four-state Mid-South region: Tennessee (Chattanooga, Memphis, Nashville), Arkansas (Jonesboro, West Memphis), Mississippi (Hernando, Olive Branch, Southaven) and Georgia (Fort Oglethorpe). Independently owned and operated, Crye-Leike's sales volume of $3 billion in 1999 ranked it No. 10 among the nation's top 500 residential real estate brokerage firms, as reported in May 2000 by REAL Trends Magazine.  

Chattanooga, Tenn. - With Catoosa County being the fastest growing real estate market in the Tri-State area and North Georgia, Crye-Leike, the largest real estate company in the Mid-South and Tennessee, is opening its first branch office in the state of Georgia on Monday, November 27, 2000 in Fort Oglethorpe. Crye-Leike's Fort Oglethorpe branch office is located in Crye-Leike Plaza at 69 Crye-Leike Drive, named after the company's founders, Harold Crye and Dick Leike. Crye-Leike Plaza, located directly across the street from the Wal-Mart Super Center on Battlefield Parkway, is a 23,000 square foot office plaza on 6.5 acres of land in Catoosa County that was just built and completed by Crye, chief executive officer of Crye-Leike. "Crye-Leike's Fort Oglethorpe branch office will occupy a significant portion of the plaza space, accommodating 40 sales associates with room for expansion into a larger facility, if necessary," said Crye. "The remaining space is available for lease as retail and office space." "Crye-Leike already has had a lot of its sales associates doing business in North Georgia even before we had an office there," notes Jack Webb, vice president and general manager of Crye-Leike, Realtors in Chattanooga. "Out of the 230 sales associates with Crye-Leike in the Metro Chattanooga area, 100 of them are already licensed to do business in North Georgia." "Our Crye-Leike Fort Oglethorpe office will compliment and add to our existing seven branch offices that serve the real estate community in the Greater Chattanooga area," said Webb. Offices are currently located in Athens, downtown Chattanooga, Cleveland, East Brainerd, Hixson, Signal Mountain and Soddy Daisy. New sales manager and broker named. With a newly established office comes a new sales manager and broker. Crye-Leike has secured the top real estate sales associate in the North Georgia area, Randy Durham, to be its sales manager and broker for the Fort Oglethorpe office. Durham recorded over $9.4 million in sales volume in 1999 while associated with Realty Center Better Homes & Gardens in Fort Oglethorpe. While only being in the real estate business since 1993, Durham also has made his mark by serving in leadership positions within the real estate community. He currently serves as president-elect of the Chattanooga Association of Realtors, which includes the North Georgia area, and is a state director for the Tennessee Association of Realtors, a position he has held since 1998. He served as past president of the Northwest Georgia Council of Realtors in 1997, the first year after the Northwest Georgia Board merged with the Chattanooga Association of Realtors, and was state director of the Georgia Association of Realtors in 1996 and 1997. He was voted three times among his peers as "Most Professional Realtor". "Some sales associates from other Crye-Leike branch offices will be transferring to this new location to better serve their clients, as well as new sales associates who have expressed an interest," said Durham. Crye-Leike's Fort Oglethorpe branch office will be open seven days a week. Crye-Leike also offers the only fully automated appointment center in the Tri-State area, according to Durham. "We make it easy for any real estate agent in the area who wants to show a Crye-Leike property to be able to make an appointment for a showing," said Durham. "The appointment center is open 12 hours a day, seven days a week, coordinating showings from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. It's customer service value is reflected in the number of calls Crye-Leike receives daily, which totaled 1,213 for the month of October for listing appointments set in the Greater Chattanooga area." "We also offer SmartLine, an automated 24-hour information line which allows potential buyers instant access to information about a home 24 hours a day, seven days a week while giving our sales associates instant notification of the callers on these listings," noted Durham. Company shows record growth in Chattanooga. In Chattanooga, Crye-Leike continues to show a strong percentage of growth in quarterly sales since its offices were established in 1998, up 23.41 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year. The company attributes its steady growth to its aggressive expanded presence and menu of services in the market. "In the past 2 1/2 years, Crye-Leike of Chattanooga has grown from four branch offices to soon eight branches in the Greater Chattanooga area and from 95 to 230 sales associates," said Webb. Crye-Leike (www.crye-leike.com) is independently owned and operated. Crye-Leike's sales volume of $3.3 billion in 1999 ranked it No. 10 among the nation's top 500 residential real estate brokerage firms, as reported in May 2000 by REAL Trends Magazine.  

Nashville, Tenn. - On October 11, 2000, the Gallatin Planning Commission has rezoned and approved the site and development plan for Crye-Leike, Realtors to build a real estate branch office in Gallatin, Tenn., Sumner County. The site, approximately one acre, is located at 1184 Nashville Pike (Highway 31), west of the city. The parcel includes a vacant house that was rezoned for office use. The property was purchased by Harold E. Crye, chief executive officer of Crye-Leike, in April 1999 for $185,000. Crye plans to add a one-story 1,652 square foot expansion to the existing structure, making the project a total of 3,874 square feet of office space for Crye-Leike's new Gallatin branch office. Crye's investment in land and improvements will exceed $350,000. Dale Bennett of GEDS, Inc. in Gallatin is serving as the principal engineer for the Crye-Leike project with Keith Rosenblum, president of Crye-Leike Commercial & Property Management of Brentwood, Tenn., serving as the developer. "We are very enthusiastic about the growth in Sumner County. Our Hendersonville office continues to have record sales and is at full agent capacity," said Tom Kimbrough, vice president and general manager of Crye-Leike of Nashville, Inc. "This new Crye-Leike Gallatin office will allow us to better serve our clients in the area." Adding Gallatin to Crye-Leike of Nashville's list of branch offices will bring the total to 21 in eight counties in Middle Tennessee: Davidson, Maury, Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Wilson and Williamson counties. Crye-Leike Commercial & Property Management is a division of Crye-Leike (www.crye-leike.com), the largest real estate firm in Tennessee and the Mid-South. Independently owned and operated, Crye-Leike's sales volume of $3.3 billion in 1999 ranked it No. 10 among the nation's top 500 residential real estate brokerage firms and No. 3 among the nation's largest 161 privately owned independent real estate companies, as reported in May 2000 by REAL Trends Magazine.  

The No. 1 real estate firm in the Mid-south has established its first franchise in Arkansas. Crye-Leike has sold a franchise to Crye*Leike Missco Realty in Blytheville, representing its fifth franchise with others in Oxford, New Albany and Tupelo, Miss, and Monteagle, Tenn. Crye-Leike is distinguishing its franchises from its branch offices by substituting the hyphen in the company name with a star, notes Randall Hall, director of franchise sales for Crye-Leike, who sold the Arkansas franchise. "The public will notice a slight modification to our business signage for these new franchises, but the overall look and distinctive red and white colors will remain the same." Sandy Bagwell, a native of Marion, Ark, is the owner and managing broker of Crye*Leike Missco Realty. The office is located in the center of Blytheville at 404-A Park Street. Blytheville is located 60 miles east of Jonesboro, Ark. and 65 miles north of Memphis, Tenn. Bagwell named the franchise Missco Realty because Blytheville rests in Mississippi County, one of a few counties that has two county seats, Blytheville and Osceola, and is regarded as one of the largest counties by square miles in the state. As the current president of the Blytheville Board of Realtors (BBR), Bagwell sees the positive side of competition in a small town. "The members of the Blytheville Board of Realtors have a highly competitive spirit but we work well together." Over the past six years of her real estate career in Blytheville and as a spokesperson for the BBR, Bagwell reports that a large portion of real estate sales activity in Blytheville is in farmland and home sales as a result of industry and steel mills. "Many would say that the closing of the U.S. Air Force base has hurt the growth of this town, but Realtors are seeing other businesses and families moving in," said Bagwell. "We are experiencing a bustling economy, a big exchange of land and home sales, but Realtors cannot pinpoint exactly where this surge in real estate activity is coming from. But we do know that the city's proximity to being a levee town on the Mississippi River and Interstate 55 is attractive to new industry," said Bagwell. Crye-Leike currently has branch offices in Craighead and Crittendon counties of Arkansas. Those offices are located in Jonesboro and West Memphis. The Crye-Leike connection to Blytheville is two-fold. Harold Crye, chief executive officer of Crye-Leike, grew up just 16 miles from Blytheville in Osceola, Ark. Also, Crye-Leike's director of franchise sales, Hall, is a native of Blytheville who has brought several other businesses to Blytheville, including two Subway sandwich shops and an athletic store, Sports Hall. All of Crye-Leike's franchising is handled by its newly-established division of Crye-Leike called Crye-Leike Affiliates Inc. "Franchising allows the parent company to enter markets where it would not normally open an office because of market size and location," said Hall. "Franchising provides a way for real estate brokerages to grow and build their networks," said Crye. "We are able to open offices but do not have the expense of owning and operating them." "But, it's a win-win situation," added Crye. "We may not own the franchise, but we can provide our vast resources and nearly a quarter of a century of real estate expertise to assist all of our franchisees to make their local offices stronger and better. That in turn provides strength to our parent company." Crye-Leike (www.crye-leike.com) , the largest real estate firm in Tennessee and the Midsouth, has over 2,200 sales associates who operate in 46 branch offices, located in 19 counties and six regional areas, Arkansas, Chattanooga, Johnson City, Memphis, Mississippi and Nashville. As a privately held company with over 480 employees, it attained record sales of $3.3 billion corporatewide in 1999, the best year reported in company history. Nationally, Crye-Leike is ranked No. 10 among the nation's top 500 residential real estate brokerage firms and No. 3 among the nation's largest 161 privately owned independent real estate companies, as reported in May 2000 by REAL Trends Magazine.  

Brentwood, Tenn. - Crye-Leike, Realtors is expanding its branch offices into Bellevue to meet the exploding neighborhood growth in Cheatham and Dickson counties, reports Harold E. Crye, chief executive officer of Crye-Leike, Inc. A 9,400 square foot commercial building at 224 Old Hickory Blvd. has been purchased by Crye to accommodate a new Bellevue branch location for Crye-Leike, Realtors. The property was owned by Belle Forest Associates I, LLC in Nashville and sold for $710,000, $75 a square foot, on June 30, 2000. Bellevue, a part of the greater metropolitan Nashville area, is a community located on the west side of Davidson County and Interstate 40. The Bellevue office will be the first of several expansion offices Crye-Leike plans to open to the west of Nashville, says Tom Kimbrough, vice president and general manager of Crye-Leike of Nashville, Inc. "Crye-Leike is committed to serving home buyers and sellers in all of Middle Tennessee. We intend to position ourselves to support the impact on land development that is anticipated to result from the completion of Interstate 840 in the western counties." "Our new Bellevue branch office provides a more central location for our company in west Nashville, says Crye. "Crye-Leike sales associates will now be able to better serve clients from Cheatham County to Belle Meade. Previously, our Green Hills and Brentwood branch offices were the farthest west our offices were located." said Crye. Renovations are expected to begin in late July with a projected opening date by the end of September, reports Keith Rosenblum, president of Crye-Leike Commercial Sales & Leasing in Brentwood, Tenn. who is the procuring agent and construction manager for the project. Space planning and office design for the project is Jack Rainey of Rainey Contract Design in Memphis, Tenn. The mortgage lender for the sale was First Union National Bank. Premier Title & Escrow, LLC in Green Hills handled the title and closing. Many years have gone by since the first real estate office appeared in Bellevue, ERA Adams, Realtors. Crye-Leike will be the area's second. But why so few? Real estate companies have been discouraged from establishing branch offices in the Bellevue area because of two key reasons, notes Rosenblum. "Commercial land is expensive in Bellevue: $10 to $12 per square foot or $500,000 to $600,000 an acre. Secondly, it is almost impossible to get zoning changes. So, real estate companies are forced to search for an existing building in that area that meets their needs and has already met zoning requirements." Upon completion of Crye-Leike's Bellevue location, Crye-Leike will have 23 branch offices in the Middle Tennessee area, notes Kimbrough, "potentially increasing the total number of Crye-Leike sales associates to well over 1,000." Offices are currently located in Brentwood, Clarksville, Columbia, Franklin, Goodlettsville, Green Hills, Hendersonville, Hermitage, Lebanon, Mt. Juliet, Murfreesboro, Priest Lake, Smyrna, southeast Nashville and Springfield. Crye-Leike (www.crye-leike.com) , the largest real estate firm in Tennessee and the Midsouth, has over 2,100 sales associates who operate in 50 branch offices, located in 20 counties and six regional areas, Arkansas, Chattanooga, Johnson City, Memphis, Mississippi and Nashville. Crye-Leike also has affiliate offices in Oxford and Tupelo, Miss. and Monteagle, Tenn. As a privately held company with over 480 employees, it attained record sales of $3.3 billion corporatewide in 1999. Nationally, Crye-Leike is ranked No. 10 among the nation's top 500 residential real estate brokerage firms and No. 3 in among the nation's largest 161 privately owned independent real estate companies, as reported in May 2000 by REAL Trends Magazine.  

Memphis, Tenn. - In an effort to keep up with the rapid growth in DeSoto County, Miss., Crye-Leike, Realtors will be further expanding into North Mississippi, with a third branch office. The new branch office will be located in the county seat of Hernando at 2170 Highway 51 within the Oak Tree shopping plaza. "We see continued dynamic growth in North Mississippi," said Harold E. Crye, chief executive officer and co-owner of Crye-Leike, Inc. "This year, one of our goals was to have a third office in DeSoto County. Our new Hernando location will bring us closer to the casinos which is part of the catalyst for the growth in this area." Crye noted that this is one of Crye-Leike's smaller offices, at approximately 2,000 sq. ft., but for a reason. "We intend to stay in this leased space over the next three to four years, and then build our own building in a new Hernando location once we determine the market size," he stated. The current office is planned to accommodate 14 sales associates, "some of whom may be relocating from other Crye-Leike Mississippi offices in Southaven and Olive Branch," said Crye. He added that no managing broker has been named at this time. When the lease agreement begins July 1, Crye said that extensive remodeling will be made to the existing office space over the next 30 to 60 days. Crye-Leike (www.crye-leike.com) , the largest real estate firm in Tennessee and the Midsouth, has over 2,100 sales associates who operate in 50 branch offices, located in 20 counties and six regional areas, Arkansas, Chattanooga, Johnson City, Memphis, Mississippi and Nashville. Crye-Leike also has three franchise offices in Oxford and Tupelo, Miss. and Monteagle, Tenn. As a privately held company with over 480 employees, it attained record sales of $3.3 billion corporatewide in 1999. Nationally, Crye-Leike is ranked No. 10 among the nation's top 500 residential real estate brokerage firms and No. 3 among the nation's largest 161 privately owned independent real estate companies, as reported in May 2000 by REAL Trends Magazine. Recently, Crye-Leike was ranked No. 36 among the Top 100 private companies in Memphis based on revenue as reported by the Memphis Business Journal.  

Memphis, Tenn. - Crye-Leike Inc. recently completed a two-story 7,200 square foot expansion of its existing 15,000 square foot office building at 894 Germantown Parkway in Cordova, Tennessee. This original Crye-Leike Office Building was built in 1988 to accommodate Crye-Leike's Cordova branch office. The second floor of the Crye-Leike Office Building houses Crye-Leike, REALTOR?'s Cordova branch office. The 3,600 square feet added to this floor will accommodate up to 116 sales associates. The existing office space was remodeled in September 1999. "The addition features 14 new private offices for Crye-Leike sales associates who attain $2.5 million in sales for the year as well as 14 semi-private office spaces," said Hank Hogue, vice president and managing broker of Crye-Leike's Cordova office. "The remaining 3,600 square feet on the first floor is available as leased office space at $18 per square foot annually with full service," said Collins Mikell, commercial leasing broker of Crye-Leike Property Management, Inc. The property is managed and leased by Crye-Leike Property Management, Inc. General contractor was Priester and Associates of Memphis who has built many Crye-Leike properties, including Crye-Leike's 100,000 square foot corporate office at 6525 Quail Hollow. "Expansion was necessary to accommodate the explosive residential sales growth in the Cordova area," said Dick Leike, vice president of Crye-Leike, Inc. Since Crye-Leike's Cordova branch office first opened in 1988, there have been 12,839 new houses built, according to Garner Chandler of Chandler Report LLC, a real estate research firm in Memphis, Tenn. "Cordova is the most active area of Shelby County for both construction and sales of homes. Nearly 25 percent of all new homes built in Shelby County since 1988 have been in the Cordova area, and I see that trend continuing," said Chandler. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, zip code area 38018 in Cordova has experienced a population growth of 264 percent between the 1980 census and 1990 census. The 1990 census reported the Cordova population at 22,122. Claritas, a national demographics service, estimated Cordova's population at 42,611 in 1999, with a five-year projection in 2004 at 50,801. Crye-Leike (www.crye-leike.com) , the largest real estate firm in Tennessee and the Midsouth, has over 2,200 sales associates who operate in 46 branch offices, located in 16 counties and four regional areas, Chattanooga, Johnson City, Memphis and Nashville, along with select Crye-Leike offices in Arkansas, Mississippi and North Georgia. As a privately held company, it attained record sales of $3.3 billion corporatewide in 1999. Nationally, Crye-Leike is ranked No. 10 in the nation among the top 500 residential real estate brokerage firms and No. 3 among the nation's largest 161 privately owned independent real estate companies, as reported in May 2000 by REAL Trends Magazine.  

Chattanooga, Tenn. - Crye-Leike, Realtors, the largest real estate company in Tennessee and the Midsouth, continues to expand in the Greater Chattanooga and North Georgia areas since it first entered Chattanooga's real estate market in December 1997. Two office plazas, both to be called Crye-Leike Plaza, are currently under construction in Cleveland, Tennessee and Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Together, these two projects represent an estimated $4 million and 37,400 square feet in new construction. Crye-Leike Plaza of Cleveland, Tennessee will be a 14,400 square foot office plaza, located at 4631 North Lee Highway in Bradley County. Crye-Leike's Cleveland branch office will occupy 4,000 square feet within this office plaza and accommodate a total of 30 sales associates and administrative offices. The remaining 10,400 square feet will be available for lease as retail and office space. Crye-Leike Plaza of Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. will be a 23,000 square foot office plaza on 6.5 acres of land in Catoosa County. Crye-Leike will occupy a "significant portion of that space for its North Georgia branch," said Harold Crye, chief executive officer of Crye-Leike, which will accommodate a total of 45 sales associates and administrative offices with the remaining space available for lease as retail and office space. Crye-Leike secured the approval from the city of Fort Oglethorpe to name the street on which Crye-Leike's Fort Oglethorpe branch office and office plaza are located as 69 Crye-Leike Drive. "We selected the Fort Oglethorpe site because Catoosa County is the fastest growing county in the Tri-State area and North Georgia, as well as the fact that Battlefield Parkway is a highly desirable location," said Crye. The office plaza is located directly across the street from the Wal-Mart Super Center which is also on Battlefield Parkway. The Strauss Company of Chattanooga is the general contractor and Solar Bear, Inc. (SBI) of Chattanooga is serving as the engineering firm. They estimate completion of these projects in the fall of 2000. "Excavation has been completed at Crye-Leike's Fort Oglethorpe site and construction of the building has begun," said Keith Rosenblum, president of Crye-Leike's Commercial Sales & Leasing of Brentwood, Tenn. who is the leasing sales associate for both Crye-Leike Plazas in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. and Cleveland, Tenn. "Our Cleveland branch is one step behind, with the initial site work in progress." There are two out parcels adjacent to the Fort Oglethorpe property available for sale that are .96 and 1.31 acres in size, "each with high visibility on Battlefield Parkway," notes Rosenblum. Upon completion of the Crye-Leike Plazas, Crye-Leike will have six branch offices in the Greater Chattanooga area and one in the North Georgia area, reports Jack Webb, vice president and general manager of Crye-Leike of Chattanooga, "potentially increasing the total number of Crye-Leike sales associates to 250." Offices are currently located in downtown Chattanooga, Cleveland, East Brainerd, Hixson, Signal Mountain, and Soddy-Daisy. Crye-Leike (www.crye-leike.com) has over 2,200 sales associates who operate in 46 branch offices, located in 16 counties, primarily in Tennessee, along with select Crye-Leike offices in Mississippi and Arkansas. As a privately held company, it attained record sales of $3.35 billion companywide in 1999. Crye-Leike of Chattanooga recorded sales of $50.19 million in its first quarter of 2000, up 43 percent from same-quarter results a year earlier. Nationally, Crye-Leike is ranked No. 13 among the top real estate brokers in the United States as reported in 1999 by Real Trends Magazine.