One of Maine’s largest real estate companies is merging with another to expand its reach up the coast into Mount Desert Island.
Portside Real Estate Group, based in the greater Portland area, has merged with Swan Agency Real Estate of Bar Harbor. The Swan Agency will join Portside — the larger company of the two — but keep its name, as it has grown to be a recognizable brand in Hancock County, said Dava Davin, Portside’s founder.
The merger will allow Portside Real Estate Group to extend its reach into the Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island area to meet demand it has felt from consumers, Davin said.
Merging two locally owned and operated companies also bucks a growing nationwide trend of real estate agencies moving to be entirely virtual, Davin said. This ensures Mainers still have the opportunity to visit brick and mortar offices and work with agents face-to-face when selling or buying real estate.
“You can solve so many problems when you’re belly-to-belly,” Davin said. “Real estate needs to be local, tender and attentive. You can’t do that if you’re a virtual company.”
Since its founding in 2012, Portside Real Estate Group has grown to include eight offices across Maine and New Hampshire. The company will also open a new flagship location in Portland later this summer.
The company saw a historically profitable year in 2024. The company’s agents sold 775 properties in the past 12 months to slightly more than 1,000 buyers and achieved more than $1 billion in sales — a 25 percent growth over 2023, according to the agency’s website.
Aside from expanding Portside’s territory, the merger launched the company’s new hospitality division, which will specialize in the sale of hospitality properties, such as bed and breakfasts. Dana Moos of the Swan Agency will head the division, according to a statement from Portside.
In the 50 years since its founding in 1975, Swan Agency Real Estate has grown to become a recognizable brand in Hancock County and found success in luxury oceanfront homes, commercial real estate and hospitality properties.
Kim Swan, who has led Swan Agency Real Estate since 1994, said the merger made sense because both agencies are women-owned, independent and have a passion for giving back to their communities.
The Swan Agency’s “Share Our Success” initiative is similar to Portside’s “1% Back,” which has allowed the firm to donate more than $1 million to nonprofits in Maine and New Hampshire.
“Mount Desert Island is where I grew up, spent my company ownership career growing a second generation family business and prospered in a community that has been so supportive, enabling me to be in a position to give back and that’s what I appreciate most,” Swan said.
