Warren Buffett Is Now America’s No. 2 Real Estate Broker

Warren Buffett didn’t have much luck in the blockbuster-deals department last year, but his real estate brokerage business is on a tear.

HomeServices of America Inc., an operation that Buffett said he “barely noticed” when Berkshire Hathaway Inc. bought it in 2000 as part of an electric company, has grown steadily through acquisitions to become the second-largest residential brokerage owner in the U.S. Now, after the purchase last year of one of its biggest rivals, Long & Foster Cos., an even loftier perch is within range.