The past few years have been a whirlwind for industry veteran Lacey Conway. In the spring of 2024, his family company Latter & Blumhas been working as CEO, it was discovered by The compasswhere he would later serve as senior vice president of mergers and acquisitions. Conway’s latest move as president to Long & Foster Real Estate HomeServices of America takes him back to his roots in regional brokerage.
“I definitely feel like Long & Foster is a bigger version of Latter & Blum,” Conway said in an exclusive interview with HousingWire. “It’s a lot to get used to that this is such a historic company with so much history, culture and heritage. I think I’m in a unique opportunity to honor that legacy and help them move forward.”
Drawing from his past experiences
While Conway admits the size and scope of Long & Foster is larger than what he was used to at Latter & Blum, he says he still feels comfortable in the job knowing he has experience leading a full-service brokerage in the past. He also enjoys sharing the knowledge he has gained and the lessons he has learned during his time at Compass.
“I can relate [to] many situations and that sets me up well for this role,” said Conway.” I have a lot to gain from my experience with Compass, which is still one of my proudest chapters, and I still love what they are doing and where they are going.”
Having been inside a large national business, Conway hopes the experience helps him find more ways to improve the partnership Long & Foster has with its parent company, HomeServices of America, while still maintaining Long & Foster’s unique brand.
“Working with M&A at Compass, I have this appreciation for partnerships and a growth mindset and leverage,” Conway said. “I feel like there are a lot of situations where one plus one equals three, and I think I bring that spirit and attitude here to Long & Foster.”
You’re ready to move on to the next sales chapter
Conway joins the HomeServices of America family as the company undergoes a leadership change, which began last April when Chris Kelly, an 18-year company veteran, was named CEO. Gino Blefari, who had led the company since 2019, stepped down to the position of chairman.
“Brokerage in general has had a dark time in the last few years with lawsuits and all the bad stuff and it feels like at HomeServices we’re done with that,” Conway said. “We attack now, we have hope, and we build the future we want instead of letting life come to us. It feels like a new chapter.”
Full-service testing, a one-stop shop
At Long & Foster, Conway said he was excited to explore and strengthen the firm’s one-stop-shop model.
“I feel like Long & Fost almost wrote the book by being a full-service store and I really try to make the home ownership experience fun by trying to attract top talent,” Conway said. “I am very impressed with the level of success that Long & Foster has in insurance, real estate, real estate and property management. This is definitely the rock of this company that we will continue to strengthen.”
Looking ahead to the industry as a whole, given his recent experience, Conway is understandably watching industry consolidation, a trend he expects to see continue at the national and regional level.
“I bring that sense of growth and love to Long & Foster,” Conway said. “I think there will be great opportunities for us to attract agents, groups and even small brokerages like the stability, longevity and strength that we offer. I’m really excited about that, and I welcome those opportunities. I’m excited about the future at Long & Foster.”
