But that's what they got Monday, when one of the nation's largest brokerages decided to open an office in Raleigh. Charlotte-based Allen Tate Realtors, which ranks 14th in residential transactions, said it will open its first sales office in the Triangle next month.

The company signaled its ambitious plans by recruiting Phyllis York Brookshire, the former chief of York Simpson Underwood, one of the region's largest and most established real estate companies, to direct its local efforts. Brookshire is the sister of Smedes York, chairman of York Simpson. She also is 2007 president of the Raleigh Regional Association of Realtors.

"We think the Raleigh market will grow faster than Charlotte in the next five years," company founder and chairman Allen Tate Jr. said in explaining the move.

That might be little comfort to Triangle brokers, who are finding it tougher than ever to sell homes. Although 2006 was a record, fourth-quarter sales were down 7.6 percent compared with a year ago.

Allen Tate Realtors has 40 offices in the Carolinas and 2006 sales of $6.78 billion. The latest move is part of a strategy to expand its regional presence, Tate said. In 2002, the company moved into the Triad and now has offices from Burlington to Lancaster, S.C.

"The natural transition in the real estate industry is toward regional real estate companies," Tate said. "We think of North Carolina and South Carolina as a region."

Brookshire declined to give a timetable for hiring brokers and opening other offices. "The goal is to be Trianglewide, and the strategy is to be there at the right time," she said.

It's the second time in less than a year that the Triangle's real estate market has attracted outside competition. In July, Fonville Morisey Realty, the Triangle's largest residential brokerage, was bought by the nation's third-largest brokerage, Fairfax, Va.-based Long & Foster.

That buy gave Long & Foster immediate size in the market. But Allen Tate is starting from scratch, with plans to ramp up to 10 offices and hundreds of brokers.

The company said it will tout a large relocation network, company services such as life insurance and mortgage programs, and amenities for brokers that attract top sellers.

Industry observers predicted that Tate will conduct an advertising blitz and try to lure top brokers from other firms. That's what happened in the Greensboro area, where Tate became the third-largest brokerage, with $928 million in sales last year. Prudential Carolinas Realty leads that market with $1.2 billion in sales.

"When a company comes into a market and spends a tremendous amount on advertising, it certainly causes the other firms to have to do additional advertising," said Eddie Yost, president of Yost & Little, a Greensboro brokerage. He said some firms lost sales to Tate but predicted that the newcomer won't automatically gain market share in the Triangle.

"They will find there are real strong firms that offer quality service," Yost said. "It will be interesting to see how it plays out."

Staff writer Dudley Price can be reached at (919) 829-4525 or dprice@newsobserver.com.