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Edina Realty is staking a claim on the Iron Range.

The Twin Cities-based real estate brokerage has opened an office in Virginia, Minn., that will serve the broader Arrowhead region with six agents and broker Mary Jacobsen, who formerly operated as Coldwell Banker Properties North — Virginia.

Jim Young, senior vice president and regional manager for Edina Realty, said the company had been on the hunt for opportunities to open a more remote office in the area, so when Jacobsen's Coldwell Banker franchise agreement expired, they joined Edina Realty. The nearest Edina office is in Duluth.

Jacobsen, who has been in the business in the area for more than 25 years, said in a statement that when the franchise agreement expired the agents and broker gathered to discuss options.

"When we looked at everything Edina Realty has to offer, we knew it was the right fit for us," she said. "We are happy to be joining a Minnesota-grown company that continues to expand into markets such as ours."

The deal is part of a broader outstate strategy for Edina Realty, which operates hub offices that support satellite offices. In Wisconsin, for example, the company has six hub offices and about 10 satellites.

"The technology we're employing and giving agents allows them to be more mobile," said Young. "In this case it allows us to add a satellite office to that Duluth hub and serve agents with support right out of Duluth."

In early 2015 the company acquired Prudential Elite Realty, the leading brokerage in Marshall, Minn. That deal included 11 agents, and earlier this year Edina Realty acquired Century 21 New Horizons in Little Falls.

"We anticipate more of those in the future," said Young.

Edina Realty has more than 75 real estate offices and nearly 2,400 Realtors throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin; the bulk of its agents are in the Twin Cities metro.

The company is also in the title, insurance and mortgage business. The firm closed nearly 29,700 real estate transactions and $8.7 billion in sales volume in 2018.

Virginia and the broader Iron Range is part of the Minnesota Association of Realtors (MAR) Arrowhead region, which includes Ely, towns along the north shore of Lake Superior and Duluth. Agents who work outstate markets often belong to more than one multiple listing service, which sometimes have overlapping coverage areas.

During September, according to MAR, there were 594 new listings and 451 sales during the month in the Arrowhead MLS.

The median sales price of those closings was $160,000 and on average homes sold within 80 days of hitting the market.

Twin Cities-based Edina is an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway and a wholly owned subsidiary of Minneapolis-based HomeServices of America, Inc., which has offices in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

Jim Buchta • 612-673-7376