Charleston-based Firm Helps Fortify the International Brand Within Appalachia
MADISON, N.J., (Feb. 18, 2024) — ERA Real Estate, a global franchising leader within the Anywhere Real Estate Inc. (NYSE: HOUS) portfolio of brands, announced today its latest affiliation with ERA Property Elite, a full-service brokerage based in Charleston that serves most of central and southern West Virginia.
Established in 2013, the firm is led by broker/owner, Craig Allison, and co-owner Chris Luzier. Allison is a West Virginia native who never strayed far from his hometown community in Kanawha Valley. After graduating from St. Albans High School, Allison began a career focused on customer service, first working at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield for several years and later opening his own local tanning salon. While running his salon, Allison honed his skills as a client-facing leader and was often recommended by clients to pursue real estate thanks to his natural ability to connect with others. In 2009, he took their advice and obtained his real estate license, eventually welcoming some of those same salon clients as agents at his new brokerage.
Joining Allison at the firm is Luzier, a successful attorney at a Charleston-based law firm who also grew up in West Virginia. One of Luzier’s areas of focus includes real estate, which he has leveraged not only to benefit his clients but also to guide and inform his peers at ERA Property Elite. Thanks to Luzier’s professional legal insight and the duo’s lifetimes of south-central West Virginia experience, the firm has been able to develop a glowing reputation amongst local residential buyers and sellers.
Now as part of the ERA® network, Allison, Luzier, and their full-service company’s affiliated agents will be able to utilize the brand’s robust business-building tools and help leverage the most up-to-date marketing programs to connect buyers and sellers. With the help of these tools, the duo plans to expand their firm’s footprint via potential M&A opportunities and through an enhanced recruiting effort.
While the firm’s recent affiliation bolsters Allison and Luzier’s plans for growth, their client-first philosophy remains unchanged. The duo both have an in-depth understanding of their community’s values, trends, and culture and only want to welcome real estate professionals who share that same passion for their corner of West Virginia. Although the professionals at ERA Property Elite are constantly evolving alongside the ever changing real estate landscape, clients can be assured that they will always receive the quality assistance that the company is known for.
Based out of Charleston, the largest city in West Virginia and also the state capital, ERA Property Elite is located in one of the most desirable areas in the Mountain State. Sat on the banks of the Kanawha River, Charleston offers the typical outdoor beauty commonly found throughout the Appalachian Mountains, including plenty of fishing spots, hiking trails, and camp sites. As the home to the University of Charleston, much of the city’s economy and recreation is also driven by its identity as a college town, providing plenty of nightlife, restaurants, and sporting events.
Details:
- Allison and Luzier intend to leverage their brokerage’s affiliation with the ERA® brand to enhance scalability and pursue potential mergers and acquisitions.
- The brokerage’s recruiting efforts will be enhanced by the ERA® brand’s highly engaged global referral network and the brand’s state-of-the-art technology suite, including the MoxiWorks® platform, which supports the delivery of a seamless, fast, connected client experience that can help drive business and boost productivity.
- Team ERA University can support organic growth through increased productivity as affiliated agents access the extensive professional development resources in the brand’s proven learning platform.
- Affiliated agents can also benefit from the ERA® brand’s consumer-focused marketing programs such as TextERA, an effective lead generation tool that transforms yard signs into interactive property marketing, and the automated ERA Buyer and Seller Follow-Up Programs that help affiliated agents keep in touch with clients after the transaction, which can lead to referrals and repeat business.
- ERA Property Elite is deeply committed to the revitalization of Charleston. The company partners with several local businesses and charities to host fundraising events throughout the year, including Habitat for Humanity, the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association, and local women’s shelters. Allison himself is also the current Vice President for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern West Virginia Board of Directors.
- According to realtor.com®, the median home list price in Charleston, WV is $154,000.
Quotes:
“Craig and Chris have done an excellent job of growing their company to become a formidable force in West Virginia’s real estate industry, without sacrificing the family values typically exclusive to a small, boutique brokerage. We know they have big plans when it comes to growing their company, and we’re confident that ERA Real Estate can provide what they need to execute on these plans whilst still maintaining the values and culture that have helped their company become what it is today. It’s incredibly exciting to work with two forward thinkers, who don’t overlook the small, day-to-day tasks that ultimately contribute to future success.”
– Alex Vidal, president of ERA Real Estate
“Providing best-in-class customer service is in my nature. My entire career has been defined by the relationships that I’ve been able to build with clients across various industries and establishing those relationships have been some of the most fulfilling moments of my professional career. When I felt it was time to take our firm to the next level, I didn’t want to do it at the expense of getting to experience those genuine interactions. Fortunately, ERA Real Estate provided us with the solutions that would still allow me to do both. With their centralized systems and services, we can quickly educate new agents, while affording myself with extra time to focus on what really matters – getting to help more people.”
– Craig Allison, broker/owner, ERA Property Elite
“Over the past several years, people have been flocking to West Virginia, abandoning large, expensive metros in favor of the quieter, more affordable lifestyle that our state has to offer. With this steady stream of incoming residents, we’re poised to continue growing, but in order to do so, we need to prepare our agents by providing them with more advanced tools than what they currently have. Affiliating with ERA Real Estate is our key to accessing those tools, without abandoning our current best practices.”
– Chris Luzier, owner, ERA Property Elite
About ERA Real Estate
ERA® Real Estate knows that real estate is as local as it gets. We believe that our core business values of collaboration, innovation, diversity and growth are needed more than ever. As a global leader in the residential real estate industry for over 50 years, ERA features a powerful network of like-minded entrepreneurs supported by the brand’s game-changing technology, products and powerful lead generation.
The ERA Real Estate network includes more than 43,000 affiliated brokers and independent sales associates and approximately 2,400 offices throughout the United States and 39 other countries and territories.
ERA Franchise Systems LLC (www.ERA.com) which operates the ERA Real Estate system, is a subsidiary of Anywhere Real Estate Inc. (NYSE: HOUS), a global provider of real estate services. ERA Real Estate information is available at www.ERA.com.
© 2025 ERA Franchise Systems LLC. All rights reserved. ERA® and the ERA Logo are registered service marks owned by ERA Franchise Systems LLC. ERA Franchise Systems LLC
Media Contact:
Randi Rispoli
ERA Real Estate
973-407-5241