Luxury real estate brokerage Deasy Penner will acquire Podley Properties to expand its presence in Southern California. The deal will create a sales force 300 strong spanning Southern California with an estimated annual sales volume of roughly $1.6 billion.

"We're honored to have this opportunity," Deasy Penner Chairman Mike Deasy said in a statement.

"We have been looking for both the right Westside and Eastside acquisitions for a while. Not only is Podley an exceptional brokerage, with excellent agents and a great reputation, there's also a very positive cultural alignment between our two firms," he added.

This is the latest occurrence in a trend of consolidation in the real estate industry as smaller firms struggle to compete in a competitive market. With a lack of affordability squeezing would-be homebuyers, purchase volumes are sagging and ratcheting up competition for deals.

Deasy Penner cites independence as an advantage in its market, but for many firms, market conditions have made independence financially untenable and created a slew of merger/acquisition opportunities throughout the real estate industry.

Podley was one such firm.

"We had the opportunity to sell to many firms, but Deasy Penner was the natural choice," Podley Properties Chairman Bill Podley said in a statement.

"DPP is locally owned and operated by leaders who are technologically innovative, but more importantly, understand the value of people and community," he added.

According to the announcement of the acquisition, Podley will relinquish all executive duties and voting rights and will remain a sales agent in the newly expanded Deasy Penner.

"This acquisition allows us to capitalize on the strengths of both Deasy Penner and Podley, from marketing and design capabilities, to technology platforms and continued education opportunities for the benefit of our valued agents," Penner said.