Courtesy / Portside
Adam Dean, managing broker of Portside's Portsmouth, N.H., office
March 29, 2021
Portside's new Portsmouth office fills a market void, managing broker says
Courtesy / Portside
Adam Dean and Dava Davin, of Portside Real Estate Group, talk outside the agency's new Portsmouth, N.H., office.
By Maureen Milliken
Portside Real Estate Group, which expanded to York County in 2019, has opened its first out-of-state office, extending its reach from midcoast Maine to the Massachusetts border and filling a void in New Hampshire, the office's managing broker says.
The office at 155 Fleet St. in Portsmouth opened earlier this month and is under the leadership of Adam Dean, who comes to Portside after nearly two decades with Bean Group.
Dean, who began his real estate career 17 years ago as Bean Group's first hire, said the Seacoast region is "hungry for something fresh." He expects Portside to have as strong a presence in New Hampshire as it does in Maine, with eventually up to 75 or 80 agents in southeast New Hampshire, spread down the coast and inland into the Exeter and Salem areas.
The expansion to downtown Portsmouth "just made sense," Dava Davin, Portside founder and principal, told Mainebiz. Once the Portside Kennebunk office opened at the end of 2019, bringing more of a focus to York County, business started spreading farther, into New Hampshire, she said. Agents familiar with the territory and licensed to do business in the Granite State will build on that.
Portside, which Davin opened in 2012, recorded $635 million in sales in 2020. The firm had $40 million in sales its first year and grew to $265 million in 2018, when Davin was named a Mainebiz Woman to Watch. It grew another 39% in 2019, when Portside opened its office at 149 Port Road in Kennebunk.
In addition to Portsmouth and Kennebunk offices, Portside has locations in Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Yarmouth and Falmouth. The firm has 100 full-time agents and 12 staff.
The time was right this year to take advantage of the real estate boom, which doesn't stop at Maine's border. But Davin had also had her eye on New Hampshire for a long time. She and her husband had lived in Portsmouth when she moved back to New England in 2008, and her son was born in the hospital there.
Her plan to someday open an office in the coastal city of 22,000 at the mouth of the Piscataqua River aligned with longtime friend Dean's hope that she would, she said. When he asked her last year if she was thinking of opening in New Hampshire, the answer was not only yes, but resulted in Dean, of Newmarket, N.H., coming on board.
Portside bringing 'the whole package'
In a telephone interview from the Portsmouth office last week, Davin marveled at how downtown Portsmouth had changed since she lived there 13 years ago, with a growing food, retail and arts energy.
"It's so important to have a local leader" who's familiar with the regional real estate industry, she said.
In recent years, Dean has managed a Bean Group team of more than 700 agents across four states, and is a licensed broker in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont.
He joined Portside after 17 years with Bean because he believes Portside will fill a gap in New Hampshire's Seacoast region.
Dean said the New Hampshire market, like Maine's, is booming. It also has the same issues with lack of inventory and pockets with unreliable broadband. "Every segment of the market is stretched, with lack of inventory and a massive amount of buyers," he said.
There are national agencies and small boutique brokers, but no local agency with the reach and energy of Portside, he said.
"I was watching the growth [of Portside] over the years, and seeing where Dava was taking it," he said. "We don't have a company that brings the whole package."
He's excited about the opportunity to replicate what Portside has been doing in Maine in the New Hampshire market.
Dean was in marketing before he became a real estate broker, and said Portside's presence on the Seacoast will bring more dynamic marketing, but also a strong community involvement element.
"Portside’s deep connections to the communities it serves is a magnet for like-minded agents and clients," he said. "Being part of something bigger than just real estate was important to me as I made this decision."
Davin said she didn't want to start recruiting agents until the office opened this month, but when she did, "I was literally blown away" with the response. She and Dean plan to announce founding members in the coming weeks.
The company not only had a big year in sales, but a big one with its five-year-old charitable foundation. Portside is committed to donated 1% of its gross profits to a different nonprofit every quarter, and last year, the firm donated $81,000.
Making a difference
She said that while real estate did well in 2020, those who work at her firm recognize that many others in Maine didn't.
"At a time where those of us with privilege have benefitted, we want to share some of that and make Maine a better place," she said. "There are people who don't have a house, can't pay the rent, can't put food on the table."
The foundation is run by the agents, and each quarter there's a different focus — Q1 is poverty, Q2 education, Q3 food and Q4 substance abuse and medical access.
"We believe that small giving collectively will make a lasting and sustainable impact on Maine's future generations," she said.
The company's collective giving could reach $250,000 in 2021, combined with the foundation's community events that raise money and awareness for local nonprofits.
"We are extremely excited to launch 1% for New Hampshire along with our brokerage," she added.
She also said she hopes that other Maine and New Hampshire businesses join the effort "and use our privilege and good fortune to make a difference in northern New England."
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