Iowa Realty Commercial has signed up as an affiliate of CORFAC International, a worldwide alliance of independent commercial real estate firms, and Iowa Realty Chief Operating Officer Kevin Crowley said the move will give his company an edge when working with clients who want to buy property in other markets.

“We’ve been looking for the right opportunity to team up with one of the international marketing groups,” Crowley said. “In working with a number of companies here in the United States and in some of my travels, CORFAC kept popping up on the radar screen. They’re one of the top 20 networks, and it appealed to me that they’re really on the move. Their goal is to be one of the top 10 networks in the United States and Europe over the next couple of years.”

CORFAC was formed in 1989 as a non-profit association. Independent commercial real estate companies pay an initiation fee and annual dues. However, no stipend is paid to the network for transactions. It has member companies in 140 markets around the world and is affiliated with King Sturge, a European property consultant with more than 2,000 employees in 50 offices. CORFAC ranks No. 18 on one list of national commercial real estate organizations.

Crowley said: “Globalization is kind of an overused word, but as we get into a more global era, being connected means someone in England can find someone in Des Moines and vice versa, and there’s some value to that. As European companies expand into Iowa, it’s helpful to have brand recognition, which we now have with CORFAC.”

On the surface, this move resembles the one that created CB Richard Ellis/Hubbell Commercial. However, Iowa Realty is becoming part of a network, and Hubbell Commercial is partially owned by CBRE. Hubbell Realty Co. President and CEO Rick Tollakson said: “Because we’re part of CB Richard Ellis, we share their database. It’s entirely different if you just network with each other; there’s still proprietary information involved.”