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ERA Strother bets on downtown Fayetteville with Hay Street move

By Stacie Borrello, posted May 29, 2026 on BizFayetteville.com

ERA Strother Real Estate recently relocated its long-time office headquarters to 229A Hay St., trading its Ray Avenue site for a street-level presence on Hay Street, one of downtown's most visible corridors.  Photo by GFBJ.

When Denise Strother decided to move the real estate firm she founded to the heart of downtown Fayetteville, she used it as a way to show love and faith in Fayetteville, a city she says has momentum. 

ERA Strother Real Estate recently relocated its long-time office headquarters to 229A Hay St., trading its Ray Avenue site for a street-level presence on Hay Street, one of downtown’s most visible corridors. The move places the firm at the center of a downtown revival increasingly attracting significant investment. 

“I wanted us to be in the hub of our hometown,” said Denise Strother, founder and owner of ERA Strother Real Estate. “Our campaign — the reason why we moved — is to be in the heart of our hometown.”

THE HAY STREET ADDRESS WILL EVENTUALLY BE HOME TO THREE AFFILIATED OPERATIONS UNDER ONE ROOF: 

• ERA Strother Real Estate 

• Empower Commercial Group — the firm’s property management arm 

• 5 West Media Group — an in-house media and marketing operation supporting agent branding and property promotion

ERA Strother’s arrival on Hay Street is the latest chapter in a long career for Strother who earned her license in 1989. She entered the business during Desert Storm, when military deployments from Fort Bragg had slowed the local housing market. 

“My first year was during Desert Storm, and how in the world I made it, I don’t know,” she recalled in a previous Greater Fayetteville Business Journal profile. “The streets rolled up because everybody was in Iraq fighting that war.” 

She eventually launched her own company before joining the ERA franchise system more than two decades ago, a move she said gave her agents access to broader tools and relocation resources. 

Today, ERA Strother operates across a six-county region including Cumberland, Harnett and portions of southern Wake County, as well as Moore County communities, including Pinehurst and Southern Pines. The company has more than 80 licensed agents and operates offices in both Fayetteville and Sanford. 

The firm has also expanded beyond traditional brokerage with its newer endeavors: Empower Commercial Group, which handles property management, and 5 West Media Group, which provides marketing support for agents. 

On the commercial side, Strother said business is focused on growth with the firm’s core residential sales operation. “We have a broad reach,” she said. “Residential is our big focus, but we’ve really grown on the commercial side.”

That growth, she added, could foreshadow a stronger housing market if interest rates ease. 

“Anytime in real estate, when commercial growth peaks, it’s not long after that the residential will grow as well,” Strother said. “We’ll see if our interest rates will come down just a little bit to inspire people to jump back into the marketplace again.” 

The Fayetteville residential market has remained relatively resilient compared to many similarly sized metros. According to Redfin data, median home sale prices in Fayetteville reached roughly $240,000 in early 2026, remaining well below the national median and continuing to attract affordability-minded buyers. 

For Broker-in-Charge Joshua Sparks, the move to Hay Street was as much a business decision as a civic one. 

“For me, as far as the broker-in-charge, it’s visibility. It’s being a part of the community,” Sparks said. “It’s helped bring in more agents as far as recruiting-wise. It’s helped make us more a part of the community.” 

Moving from a second-floor office on Ray Avenue to a ground-level storefront has increased the firm’s interaction with neighboring businesses and downtown foot traffic, Sparks said.

“We’re right there in all the action on Hay Street,” he said. “All the businesses have just welcomed us in. We’re looking forward to getting referrals or anything that might come when people say, ‘Hey, walk right across the street, and Josh and ERA will take good care of you.’”

Strother said the new space’s accessibility was a major draw. 

“We’re on the bottom floor. We have walk-by traffic. It’s all about being a part of the neighborhood and the community that makes it special,” she said.

Downtown Fayetteville continues to see redevelopment interest, with the plans for a $70 million mixed-use project atop the Hay Street Parking Deck, Segra Stadium and the rehabilitated Prince Charles Hotel apartments, part of an ongoing trend of increasing downtown residential density and commercial activity.

For Strother, the move reflects more than a real estate strategy. She sees it as a long-term investment in Fayetteville itself.

“We’re collaborating with our neighbors and with our community in regards to making this place an even greater place to live than it already is,” she said. “It’s hard to believe that we can try to improve on greatness, but there's always a little something you could add to it.”

A formal grand opening is planned once signage and interior work are complete.

For a company that weathered Desert Storm, the financial crisis, a pandemic and a volatile interest-rate environment, the move to Hay Street represents more than a relocation — it represents confidence in where downtown Fayetteville is headed.

 

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