- Page 50 LONG-TERM SUCCESS IN ANY MARKET How NextHome Helps Brokers and Agents Remain Competitive
© 2021 Home Security of America, Inc. All rights reserved. 21-0247 They’ll thank you for it. Buying a home is an exciting time, but does come with a lot of responsibilities. Having a plan allows new homeowners to focus on enjoying their new home because they know exactly what to do when it comes to household breakdowns. Our coverage also benefits you as a real estate professional. Your home buyers will call us — not you, when something goes wrong. And giving them a year of protection can result in more referrals from satisfied clients. ReachQuestions?outto your HSA team member or visit onlinehsa.com today. GIVE YOUR HOME BUYERS THE GIFT OF COVERAGE.
LeadingRE.com 550 COMPANIES | 4,700 OFFICES | 136,000 SALES ASSOCIATES | 70+ COUNTRIES | 1.2 MILLION GLOBAL TRANSACTIONS INDEPENDENT DOESN’T MEAN YOU HAVE TO GO IT ALONE. Scenes from 2022 LeadingRE Conference Week | Las Vegas Built for leading real estate firms, LeadingRE is an invite-only business-to-business community, interconnecting top local and regional independent firms across the world. We provide our members best-of-class assets, like elite training and education, marketing and technology resources, referrals, unparalleled networking and support—giving them an edge and ultimately helping them generate more business.
Pillar To Post Home Inspection Packages include even more exclusive and innovative features than ever. These new services deliver speed, ease and convenience, getting you to closings faster, saving you time and delighting your clients. The Ultimate Home Inspection ExperienceSM Standard with every Home Inspection: InteractivePTP360* 360° Visual Inspection Summary • Brings the inspection report to life • Includes every room and the exterior • Accessible any time PTPEstimates* Powered by PunchList Cost estimate for Inspection Summary items • Learn what recommended repairs will cost • Estimate based on local costs • Request an estimate with just a click Also included with Premium and Prestige Packages: AnPTPFloorPlanaccuratefloor plan of the entire home • Use to determine furniture fit and placement • Share dimensions with contractors for estimating PTPHomeManual Powered by Centriq The digital owner’s manual for the home • Download user manuals/warranty information • Find safety recalls on appliances • Indicates age and useful remaining life of systems Get a Preview Here 800-294-5591 pillartopost.com *Where available. Not all services are offered by every office. Each office is independently owned and operated.
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 3 Happening This Month @RISMEDIA INSIDE THE COVER This past July, RISMedia Founder John Featherston sat down with four dynamic CENTURY 21® affiliated brokers representing different parts of the country. The topic of conversation? Reinvention for the future. In this month’s cover story on page 42, see what these brokers had to share—then watch the video of the discussion at www.rismedia.com/. RISMedia is back with the annual industry networking event of the year: The 26th Annual Power Broker Forum, Reception & Dinner. The Forum is open to registered attendees of the 2022 NAR NXT conference at the Orlando Convention Center. The Power Broker gala will be held at Orlando’s Rosen Centre hotel. Find out more at power-broker-annual-2022/.www.rismedia.com/rismediaSAVE THE DATE: November 11, Orlando, Florida THERE’S STILL TIME TO NOMINATE A NEWSMAKER! The nomination deadline for RISMedia’s 2023 Real Estate Newsmakers has been extended to September 15. Tell us about those deserving candidates who made headlines for their worthy accomplishments in 2022, whether within their own communities or on a national scale. Visit www.rismedia.com/newsmaker-nomination for more information and to nominate your Newsmaker. SCAN THE QR CODE TO SEE WHAT ELSE REPORTSACCESSRISMEDIA!HAPPENINGISATMISSION-CRITICAL Join RISMedia’s Premier to gain access to our exclusive, monthly in-depth reports designed to provide the intel you need to build your business. Coming this month: The Broker & Agent Marketing Study, featuring the results of our proprietary survey with Ipsos. Visit www.rismedia.com/ premier/ for more info.
42 Setting Its Sights: The Fearless Future of the CENTURY 21® Brand
58 Developing a Winning Go-ToMarket Strategy for Reaching Your Business Goals
HEADLINERS 11 Marketwatch 12 NAR Power Broker Roundtable: Strategies for a More Balanced Market
For most real estate professionals, it’s a bumpy ride, filled with unpredictability and challenges. But not for ‘NextHomies’ who have a powerful engine and culture behind them to facilitate their success in any market—no matter how rocky the waters get. In this month’s cover story, we sit down with Vice President of Sales Charis Moreno for an inside look at how NextHome is uniquely prepared for times just like these. ESTATE
CONTENTS
HIGHLIGHTS 18 Great Spaces: Own Your Own Hawaiian Resort In this month’s Great Spaces, we look at a beautiful beachfront property in Hawaii.
54 New REALTOR® Benefits Offers: Exclusive Tools to Better Serve Your Clients and Boost Business PunchListUSA offers next-day repair estimates as well as discounts on repair or renovation services, while Arcadia Publishing provides a quality printed guide for clients and prospects.
14 Women in Real Estate: Breaking the Cycle of Homelessness for Female Veterans ON THE COVER 50 Long-Term Success in Any Market
How NextHome Helps Brokers and Agents Remain Competitive
A special roundtable discussion looks at how the brand is helping affiliates reinvent and accelerate business.
As the economy continues down an uncertain path, the ripple effect is felt throughout the real estate market as homebuyers and sellers struggle to fulfill their housing goals.
Regis Hadiaris, vice president of product marketing at Rocket Central, shares how real estate professionals can develop a go-to-market strategy and reach new levels of success.
5818 September 2022/Vol. 38, No. 9 4 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 5 17 Meet the Newsmakers: Leaders Who Guided Growth 21 Policy & Legal Matters: A Partnership to Solve Supply 22 CRD Connect: How You Can Meet the Needs of Hispanic Homebuyers 27 Power Broker Perspectives: An Eye for Detail COACHING 29 Buffini & Company – How to Thrive in the Upcoming Recession 30 Sherri Johnson – Keep Your Scripts Up to Date With These 4 Tips 31 Darryl Davis – 5 Ways to Mentor a Brand-New Agent 32 Terri Murphy – One Is a Lonely Number When It Comes to Sales 35 The Experts at McKissock Learning – Gen Z and Emerging Technologies Upgrade Real Estate BUSINESS BUILDERS 36 American Home Shield®: Delivering Security and Comfort to Clients 37 Rocket Mortgage: Enhance Your Business With an Unmatched Mortgage Experience 38 Real Estate Webmasters: Catapulting the Client Experience to the Next Level 39 ShelterZoom: How One Agent Builds His Brand Through Blockchain 40 Curbio: Extracting Maximum Value in a Competitive Market FEATURES 48 A Beginner’s Guide to Becoming a Real Estate Influencer 50 Long-Term Success in Any Market 55 Do You Know Who Your Competition Is? The Answer Might Surprise You 56 Affordability Crisis Boosts Borrower Appetite for ‘Riskier’ Loan Products 60 NAR Spire Propelling New, Emerging Agents Forward 63 Your Local Recession: What a Downturn Looks Like in Disparate Markets TRENDS & ISSUES 66 Michael Minnard – How Brokerage Leaders Can Help Agents and Teams Adapt to Market Changes 67 Jordan Grice – U.S. Unemployment Hits Pre-Pandemic Levels as Job Growth Surges in July 68 Daniel Ramsey – 4 Ways to Increase Real Estate Lead Conversion 69 RISMedia Staff – Why Millennials Can’t Afford Homes in 2022 70 Luis Padilla – Reducing the Wealth Gap by Improving the Housing Supply 72 Meagan O’Leary – What Kind of Marketer Are You? 73 Anthony Lamacchia – Maintain a Growth Mindset Through a Changing Market 74 Daniel Ramsey – What Virtual Assistants Can and Cannot Do for Loan Processors 75 Josh Harley – Which Team Model Is Best for You? 76 Chad Ruggles – Brokerage Value Comes From the Top BROKER STRATEGIES 78 Tracy and Stacy Mathews –Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Premier Properties 79 Robert J. Bailey – Bailey Properties, Inc. TEAM TALK 80 Power Team Profile – Training Is Key for Vallee Gold Team 83 Verl Workman – Bringing Value to the Journey EVERY ISSUE 3 Happening This Month @RISMedia 7 From the Publisher 84 Service Profiles 92 Referrals 95 Index of Advertisers 96 RE: Real Estate – 360 Degrees of REALTOR® Safety 56
It DID happen to 60,000 of your colleagues in one year alone. That’s how many REALTORS® reported being a victim of a violent crime, including assault, sexual abuse, rape, robbery, and murder. It’s your life—don’t leave work without it. MAKE IT HOME. Learn more at nar.realtor/safety
FROM THE PUBLISHER T here are many advantages to being a decades-old company. RISMedia, for example, is now in its 42nd year, and the institutional knowledge and diversity of experience we bring to our readers and clients is truly invaluable. But veteran companies can also suffer from an Achilles heel—a weakness in spite of their strength. And that weak ness is the tendency to sacrifice change for comfort. With a widely recognized brand name, a proven track record of success and a rich history of leadership in the mar ket, it’s easy to understand why well-established companies would avoid change. Why fix it if it’s not broken? But as consumer needs, market conditions and technology offer ings change, so must companies. We understand that at RISMedia, and clearly, so does Century 21 Real Estate. In this month’s cover story (page 42), we highlight the extraordinary opportunity I had to moderate a roundtable of four CENTURY 21® affiliated brokers. Each represents a different aspect of the brokerage community: two relatively small brokerages with less than 15 sales associates; one ex tremely established, mid-sized firm; and a larger, multi-office organization. No matter their company size, however, all were extremely optimistic about their ability going forward to be a relevant and trusted resource for buyers, sellers and investors in this challenging “new” marketplace. All four were also duly impressed by their 51-year-old brand’s ability to reinvent and re-energize itself over the past few years to become even more relevant and valuable, helping their firms attract more talented professionals in an increasingly competitive environment. Under the leadership of CEO Mike Miedler, CENTURY 21 has proven to be a hands-on organization, developing strong relationships with their franchisees of all sizes and lis tening to their concerns. Getting to know these four brokers gave us incredible insight into what it means to be part of the CENTURY 21® network.
Established yet evolutionary firms like CENTURY 21 help inspire us at RISMedia to enthusiastically embrace change as we hurtle forward through a shifting landscape. The challenges and obstacles ahead for all of us—whether an individual agent or iconic brand—are ripe with opportunity, and offer a chance to just keep getting better. John E. Featherston CEO & Action-Item Bradford
Real Estate Agent, Keller Williams Home Town Realty Join ACESocial Today! Simplify Your Social Media Strategy RISMedia’s ACESocial is here to help you grow your real estate brand with exclusive content automatically posted across your social media accounts every day! Engage and resonate with your audience with an affordable and simple social media strategy. With ACESocial, you can… • Let your friends and followers know who you are with customized branded landing pages that include your logo, headshot, URL and more. • Automatically deliver exclusive consumerfocused real estate and lifestyle content, including articles, infographics and professionally produced videos, to your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Instagram coming soon! • Showcase your MLS listings on your branded landing pages, complete with lead generation form. • Measure your results, including engagement and impressions, with metrics and reporting tools.
Wishing you continued success,
Publisher Making Evolution an
For more information, visit acesocial.rismedia.com or contact ace@rismedia.com or (203) 855-1234 ext. 1. “In order to garner additional followers, you have to provide people with content—that’s where ACESocial comes into play for me.” Janice
Save the Date (Held during the annual REALTORS® Conference & Expo) To learn more, please visit rismedia.com/events Photo Credit: AJ Canaria of MoxiWorks RISMedia’s Power Broker Reception & Dinner Friday, Nov. 11, 2022 Rosen Centre Hotel, Orlando, Florida
Copyright® 2022 by The Relocation Information Service, Incorporated-RISMedia, Norwalk, Connecticut. All rights reserved. Editorial and executive offices at 69 East Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06851. Telephone: (203) 855-1234. Magazine subscription rate $83.40 per year, including postage ($166.80 for two years); Canadian subscription rate $200.00 (U.S.) per year, including shipping and handling ($400.00 for two years). All subscription and advertising correspondence call 1-800-724-6000. Material in this publication may not be stored or reproduced in any form without permission. Requests for permission should be directed to Managing Editor, RISMedia, Inc., 69 East Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06851. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of specific authors and columnists and are not intended to or do not necessarily represent the opinion or views of the publisher, his staff, other authors, advertisers, or subscribers. CEO & Publisher John E. Featherston ExecutiveEDITORIALEditor Maria Patterson Vice President, Online Editorial Beth McGuire Senior Managing Editor Paige Tepping Managing Editor, Social Media/Blog Paige Brown Senior Editor Jordan Grice Senior Editor Jesse Williams Associate Editor Brendan Racius Editorial Intern Devin Meenan Contributing Editors Lesley Grand; John Voket; Barbara Pronin; Keith Loria; Andrew King CREATIVE SERVICES & MARKETING Senior Vice President Kelli McKenna Marketing Director Philip Lodato Email Marketing Specialist Brit Owen Production Manager Susanne Dwyer Associate Designer Janet Yung-Balbin Video Content Specialist Aidan Whalen Digital Content Specialists Liz Ruggiero; Paschal Chukwu CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT Senior Vice President Jay Featherston INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Chief Information Officer Edward T. Kingston Senior Software Engineer Kal Salim Web Designer Kevin Kirwan Web Developers Hema Yemmireddy; Firas Abbas Director, Client Solutions Peter Di Salvo Information Technology Manager James Jones CLIENT SERVICES & EVENTS MANAGEMENT Vice President, Client Experience Brett Johnson Director, Client Services & Events Darcy Sledge Client Services Representative Kristen Schlesinger SeniorSALESVice Presidents Kara T. Stripay; Anne Kraft Director, Business Development Colleen Featherston 69HEADQUARTERSEastAvenue,Norwalk, CT 06851 RISMedia: (203) 855-1234 Fax: (203) www.top5inrealestate.comwww.rismedia.com/acesocialwww.rismedia.com852-7208PUBLICATIONS&SERVICES Real Estate magazine Annual Power Broker Report & Survey ACESocial (Automated Content Engagement) www.rismedia.com (Daily News) blog.rismedia.com (Housecall) RISMedia’s Real Estate CEO & Leadership Exchange Power Broker Forum, Reception & Dinner Real Estate Newsmakers Reception & Dinner Real Estate’s Rocking in the New Year For more information, visit acesocial.rismedia.com “ACESocial helps me get some relevant content on my page very quickly, for an inexpensive price.” Lee Goldstein Broker/Owner, InTrust Realty Inc. Join ACESocial Today! Simplify Your Social Media Strategy Grow your real estate brand with exclusive content automatically posted across your social media accounts every day! Engage and resonate with your audience with an affordable and simple social media strategy. With ACESocial, you can… • Let your friends and followers know who you are with customized branded landing pages that include your logo, headshot, URL and more. • Automatically deliver exclusive consumerfocused real estate and lifestyle content, including articles, infographics and professionally produced videos, to your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. • Showcase your MLS listings on your branded landing pages, complete with lead generation form. • Measure your results, including engagement and impressions, with metrics and reporting tools.
Earn your ABR® Designation. Get started at abr.realtor or scan this QR code:
MARKETWATCH RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 11 Recession Coming, Says NAHB CEO Jerry Howard NAHB CEO Jerry Howard cites decreased demand due to rising mortgage rates and supply chain impediments to homebuilders. Massive Rise in Foreclosures ATTOM Data finds that foreclosures have risen 219% since the beginning of 2022, with 96% of U.S. metros experiencing an annual rise in foreclosures. Home Prices Set to Rise and Fall Across the U.S. Corelogic and Fortune analyzed U.S. markets for signs of home price drops. Markets set to see drops include San Francisco, Boston and Philadelphia. Markets likely to avoid drops include Nashville, Houston and Phoenix. Canadian Real Estate Investors Offloading Bloomberg reports that Investors, who make up one fifth of Canada’s homebuyers, are looking to sell as rising interest rates cut into profit. FOR SALE $
NAR POWER BROKER ROUNDTABLE 12 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE Chris Kelly, 2022 Broker Rela tions Liaison, National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), President & CEO, Ebby Halliday Cos., North Texas: We hear a lot these days about the “R” word—recession—and de pending on who you talk to, we’re either in one or we’re not. As those of us who’ve been around long enough to remember can attest, in only two of the last six recessions did housing values decline. In the other four, prices actually went up. What I do see now, with interest rates still reasonable and more inventory available, is a market returning to normal—one with plenty of demand. Am I overstating that, Charlie? Charles Oppler, CEO, Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty, Tenafly, New Jersey: I don’t think so. Ups and downs are par for the course in this business, and as the market normalizes, it’s time to take a breath and talk about adjustment—and education—both for newer agents and for consumers who haven’t been through these kinds of market shifts. Do buyers have less buying power than they did a few months ago? Sure. Are bidding wars less heated? Yes, and it may take fix ing that fence or being more realistic about your home’s true value in order to get the best and fastest sale.
For an expanded version of this article and other NAR Power Broker Roundtable topics, please visit www.rismedia.com.
CK: So, statistics are a little different depending on where you are, but the basic tenets are the same; as the market becomes more balanced, our strategies need to change. What are you focused on right now?
JC: It’s also a time to reeducate consumers who’ve had some skewed notions about what to expect over the past couple of years. We’re using social media and a lot of direct mail to paint a more realistic picture.
CK: What’s your outlook for 2023?
AK: People always need to sell, and people always need to buy. No matter what happens in 2023, that fact will not change.
LE: We’ll be a little leaner and meaner in budgeting, but we are doubling down on tools and resources. This isn’t a time to freak out, but it is a time to mentor and prepare.
The Power Broker Roundtable is brought to you by the National As sociation of REALTORS® (NAR) and Chris Kelly, NAR’s Broker Rela tions Liaison. Watch for this column each month, where we address broker issues, concerns and milestones.
Joe Clement, Broker/Owner, RE/MAX Colorado Properties, Colorado Springs, Colorado: We’re seeing quite a cooldown as well—there were 2,300 listings on our MLS last time I looked as opposed to 600 last Janu ary, and a few more price reductions of late. But there’s still some competitive bidding going on for desirable, right-priced properties, and frankly, we’re overdue for a bit of a breather. The frenzy of the past two years was not sustainable.
Ann King, President, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty, Jacksonville, Florida: I agree. After two years of pandemicdriven drama, we are beginning to see a more balanced market—and that’s to be expected. Yes, we’ve doubled our inventory over the past few months, but that still only gives us a two-month sup ply. That’s way down from the six-month supply we consider normal. Prices are holding in our market, which continues to be a popular destination, and when sellers are realistic in their expectations, properties sell very quickly.
AK: Education. We’ve kicked it up a notch for agents with videos and marketing materials, and our company-wide meeting this month will be packed with roundtables, tools and resources on how to reset that referral button, be a bet ter negotiator and get going with best practices.
JC: We’ve got the lowest unemployment numbers in de cades, and people have money in the bank. There’s an op portunity for buyers and sellers, and for agents who know about buydowns and strategies to help bring them together.
Linnette Edwards, Partner/As sociate Broker, Abio Properties, Oakland, California: We’ve seen a much more dramatic change in North ern California’s East Bay, where I would say we’re now on pace with our 2019 numbers. We have a five-month supply of inventory, and pending sales have dropped significantly. So have home prices—sometimes as much as 10%, especially in the higher range, say $2 million and above. There’s no question we’re seeing a market adjustment and the quickest turnaround I’ve seen in my 20 years in the business.
Strategies for a More Balanced Market
CO: And if you look at the stats, there’s something like fiveand-a-half million home sales projected for 2022–23. That’s 11 million sides—and that’s a lot of business up for grabs. RE
1RateShield Approval is a Verified Approval with an interest rate lock for up to 90 days. If rates increase, your rate will stay the same for 90 days. If rates decrease, you will be able to lower your rate one time within 90 days. Please contact your Home Loan Expert for additional information. This offer is only valid on 30-year FHA, VA and conventional purchase loan products. RateShield Approval not eligible for clients with a signed purchase agreement, on Charles Schwab loans or on new construction loans. Additional conditions and exclusions may apply.
Rates may be rising, but with Rocket your clients have an advantage. Help clients lock and shop today. With RateShield®, your clients can lock their rate for 90 days while they search for a home. If rates rise in that time, theirs is safe, so they can shop with confidence.1
2If client locks their initial rate on a purchase loan between 7/19/22 and 9/30/22 and that loan closes, client is eligible for Rate Drop Advantage. Refinance offer must be claimed by locking initial rate between 120 days and 36 months from purchase closing date. Refinance loan must be on the same subject property as the original purchase loan. Rocket Mortgage will cover the following fees as a lender paid credit: first appraisal fees, credit report, tax certification, mortgage recording fee, flood certification and life of loan, notary fees in Pennsylvania and New York, and if a conventional loan, processing and underwriting fees. Rate Drop Advantage is only valid on conventional conforming and government loans in our retail channels. Offer may not be redeemed for cash or credit and is nontransferable. Offer cannot be retroactively applied to any loans. Offer may not be used with any other discounts, promotions or interest-only/buy-down and second lien products. This offer is subject to changes or cancellation at any time at the sole discretion of Rocket Mortgage. Additional restrictions/conditions may apply. This is not a commitment to lend and is contingent on qualification per full underwriting guidelines. Refinancing may cause finance charges to be higher over the life of the loan. Rocket Mortgage, LLC; NMLS #3030; www.NMLSConsumerAccess.org. Equal Housing Lender. Licensed in 50 states. AL License No. MC 20979, Control No. 100152352. AR, TX: 1050 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48226-1906, (888) 474-0404; AZ: 1 N. Central Ave., Ste. 2000, Phoenix, AZ 85004, Mortgage Banker License #BK-0902939; CA: Licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act; CO: Regulated by the Division of Real Estate; GA: Residential Mortgage Licensee #11704; IL: Residential Mortgage Licensee #4127 – Dept. of Financial and Professional Regulation; KS: Licensed Mortgage Company MC.0025309; MA: Mortgage Lender License #ML 3030; ME: Supervised Lender License; MN: Not an offer for a rate lock agreement; MS: Licensed by the MS Dept. of Banking and Consumer Finance; NH: Licensed by the NH Banking Dept., #6743MB; NV: License #626; NJ: New Jersey – Rocket Mortgage, LLC, 1050 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48226, (888) 474-0404, Licensed by the N.J. Department of Banking and Insurance.; NY: Rocket Mortgage, LLC, 1050 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48226 Licensed Mortgage Banker-NYS Department of Financial Services; OH: MB 850076; OR: License #ML-1387; PA: Licensed by the Dept. of Banking – License #21430; RI: Licensed Lender; WA: Consumer Loan Company License CL-3030. Conditions may apply.
Your client’s participation in the Verified Approval program is based on an underwriter’s comprehensive analysis of their credit, income, employment status, debt, property, insurance and appraisal as well as a satisfactory title report/search. If new information materially changes the under writing decision resulting in a denial of the credit request, if the loan fails to close for a reason outside of Rocket Mortgage’s control, or if the client no longer wants to proceed with the loan, their participation in the program will be discontinued. If the client’s eligibility in the program doesnot change and their mortgage loan does not close, they will receive $1,000. This offer does not apply to new purchase loans submitted to Rocket Mortgage through a mortgage broker. This offer is not valid for self-employed clients. Rocket Mortgage reserves the right to cancel this offer at any time. Acceptance of this offer constitutes the acceptance of these terms and conditions, which are subject to change at the sole discretion of Rocket Mortgage. This is not a commitment to lend. Additional conditions or exclusions may apply.
Time is limited. To be eligible to receive the refinance savings, your clients need to lock their rate on their new purchase loan by September 30, 2022.
Help clients get exclusive refinance savings. Plus, with Rate Drop Advantage, if rates drop within 3 years of their home purchase, they’ll get exclusive savings when they refinance at a new, lower rate.2
©2000 – 2022 Rocket Mortgage, LLC. All rights reserved. Lending services provided by Rocket Mortgage, LLC, a subsidiary of Rocket Companies, Inc. (NYSE: RKT). Rocket Mortgage, 1050 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48226-1906
Security and certainty in today’s market.
Veterans In an effort to break the cycle of homelessness for the area’s female veterans, the Philadelphia Foundation’s Coles House Fund awarded a $95,000 grant to the VBC Giving Foundation (VBCGF). The grant is designated to supply security deposit, rent and utilities assistance to female veterans seeking permanent housing at VBCGF’s Veterans Village, a new, 47-unit affordable housing community for veterans, locat ed in Northeast Philadelphia’s Frankford neighborhood. This is the first project VBCGF has funded in fulfillment of its mission to provide highquality and affordable housing for those in need nationwide.
RE For more information, please visit www.philafound.org/.
Breaking the Cycle of Homelessness for Female
“Women are assuming combat roles in the military,” says Dana Spain, president of VBCGF. “It is im perative we support them when they return, as we see an increasing num ber of female veterans come home with PTSD and other challenges. Having a safe, respectful place to call home is the first step to ensuring their future Accordingsuccess.”toSpain, the donation will help female veterans transition from shelters and recovery programs into permanent housing at Veterans Village. “This funding will directly help these women break the cycle of homelessness,” she explains.
The Coles House Fund has a rich history of supporting women in the Philadelphia area. The donor-ad vised fund, established at Philadel phia Foundation in 2002, traces its roots to the Young Women’s Board Home Association founded in 1865 by Mary Coles to advance the abil ity of women to get jobs by providing them with safe, comfortable and affordable housing when they came to Philadelphia for work or study. The housing proved so popular that Coles secured donations to ac quire four adjoining townhouses in the 900 block of Clinton Street that eventually accommodated 74 women. When the organization ceased operations after more than 135 years, the buildings—by then listed on the National Register of Historic Places—were sold, with the proceeds used to create the Phila delphia Foundation fund to support in perpetuity the housing needs of women in Philadelphia.
WOMEN IN REAL ESTATE 14 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
Spain
The VBCGF was created by Volu metric Building Companies (VBC) to address the housing crisis in Ameri ca, and to give back to the communi ties it serves. Through the foundation, VBC’s mission is to bridge the hous ing gap and provide supportive and affordable housing for those in need including special needs adults, Vet erans, seniors, working families and other demographics.
Veterans Village is a 47-unit affordable housing community in Northeast Philadelphia’s Frankford neighborhood.
by RISMedia Staff
© 2022 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. All rights reserved. CENTURY 21 Commercial®, the CENTURY 21 Commercial Logo, CENTURY 21® and C21® are registered service marks owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC. Century 21 Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each office is independently owned and operated. CENTURY21.COM JOIN RELENTLESSTHE SO MORE PEOPLE PEOPLE KNOW US YOU. MOREKNOW
When you earn the Resort and Second-Home Property Specialist (RSPS) certification, you'll gain access to continuing education and marketing materials, and be welcomed into a vibrant community of like-minded professionals. We are offering a live-virtual RSPS course on September 15th with award-winning instructors Brett Brown and Holly Mabery. Learn more by scanning the QR code to the right or visiting nar.realtor/resort. Grow your business by making second-home sales your first resort.
RISMedia’s Real Estate Newsmakers is brought to you by
HALL OF FAME Candace Adams President and CEO, Berk shire Hathaway HomeSer vices New England, New York and Hudson Valley Properties During 2021, Adams brought 13 new offices and 400-plus new agents to HomeServices of America, Inc. with the acquisition of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hudson Valley Properties. “I am thrilled to be a part of building this dynamic operation in the North east,” said Adams. “The talent that we are attracting is of the highest caliber, and we are so proud to be expanding with such quality.”
CRUSADERS Kathleen Kuhn Executive Vice President, MooveGuru Kuhn is all about collaboration when it comes to real estate tech firm MooveGuru. She and her fellow leadership team mem bers have worked to foster strategic alliances with com panies that can benefit from MooveGuru’s services and offer improvements to those services. In 2021, Kuhn and her team launched Your Home Hub, an innovative prop tech franchise opportunity.
HALL OF FAME Pamela Liebman President and CEO The Corcoran Group Since becoming president and CEO of the Corcoran Group in 2000, Liebman has consistently led the company to growth. In 2020, she launched the Corcoran Affiliate Network, which grew to 10 markets worldwide within the first year, and marked its one-year anniversary in 2021 with the launch of its first global franchise in the British Virgin Is lands. “I’m so proud to see that the more we’ve grown, the stronger we’ve gotten.”
FUTURISTS Charles Myslinsky Chief Product Officer, Ojo Labs In 2021, Myslinky and his team at Ojo Labs grew their company tenfold year-over-year. “I am proud that we have found the intersection point of technology and people,” said Mys linsky. “We are betting that the unique talents of people— empathy, intellect and intuition—can be scaled widely, consistently and made available to all to help confidently navigate one of life’s biggest decisions.”
MEET THE NEWSMAKERS RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 17
Visit www.rismedia.com/2022-newsmakers/ to learn more about this year’s more than 300 Real Estate Newsmakers.
Leaders Who GrowthGuided By RISMedia Staff
Growing your business is a challenge during a downturn or crisis. However, that’s a challenge that many of RISMedia’s Real Estate Newsmakers were prepared to meet. Here are just a few who grew through the tough times.
ACHIEVERS Jeff Murtaugh President and CEO, Realty Executives Arizona Territory Murtagh has led Realty Ex ecutives Arizona Territory to expansion since 2020, shep herding the acquisition of local brokerage Realty Executives White Mountains. Despite Murtaugh’s focus on growth, he still makes time to keep in touch with the 600-plus agents on his team.
“I’m so proud to see that the more we’ve grown, the stronger we’ve gotten.”
- PAMELA LIEBMAN President and CEO, The Corcoran Group
BS: That eventually is a problem in the upper end of the market because you need to keep creating an experi ence, bringing people here and hav ing it be “welcome to Hawaii.” The Aloha spirit—you need the whole thing.
PROPERTY HIGHLIGHTS: Where: Lahaina, Hawaii Listing Price: $46,127,254 Features: An oceanfront section of the Kapalua Resort, the property stretches 10 acres, from the house to a courtyard and beyond. 10G internet mixed with fruit trees create a down-to-earth, yet modern appeal. This property also includes a conservation easement for local birds.
Added Appeal: Five en suite bedrooms, two half bathrooms, three commercial washers and dryers, two full kitchens and a pantry with three commercial freezers. The property is within walking distance of local beaches and resorts. Who wouldn’t want to live in a Ha waiian resort? 9 Bay Drive, located in the Lahaina neighborhood of Maui, can offer you just that. Part of the Kapalua Resort, the property of fers an amazing oceanfront setting. If that level of luxury isn’t enough, the house is also within walking distance of resorts such as Montage Kapalua Bay and The Ritz-Carlton Maui. RISMedia spoke to the property’s listing agents, Roy and Betty Saka moto of Sakamoto Properties, who not only explained their selling strat egies, but also the state of the Ha waiian luxury market and how they keep up the “Aloha” spirit in their business transactions.
Devin Meenan: What’s the cur rent state of the Hawaii luxury market and how has that affected your efforts in selling this Bettyproperty?Sakamoto: One of the prob lems with the luxury market here is we have almost zero inventory for the first time in forever. We’ve had a lot of interest and a couple of people that could pull the trigger at any time, but that hasn’t happened.
GREAT SPACES 18 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
Roy Sakamoto: Overall the luxury market—$5 million on up—remains pretty strong. Inventory is a little weak, even in these luxury markets, but the demand is still there. We’ve got a list of people looking for prop erties up to $20 million, but we can’t find inventory to present to them. The market for local housing is starting to weaken, and lack of inventory plus rising interest rates has created an is sue. One issue we have, and it’s not localized to Hawaii or Maui, is af fordable housing.
Own Your Own Hawaiian Resort by Devin Meenan In this month’s Great Spaces, we learn what it takes to sell luxury properties in Hawaii.
DM: What was the price-setting process for this property? RS: First of all, the uniqueness of the property—10 acres, oceanfront, in a world class resort…that alone is almost priceless. How do you fig ure out what that’s worth? We had a variety of appraisals and we took a median. Initially, we had it listed at $59.5 [million]. The owner has ad justed it, and now it’s starting to get lots more action.
RS: Asia has been a big market for us. With Covid and so forth, travel has been restricted. We have a cou ple of Singaporeans, for instance, who have expressed interest, but travel restrictions are pretty strin gent and they haven’t been able to travel for the last two years. So we’ve been hampered from a mar ket standpoint with Asia fairly well closed down. We’ve done some articles, we’ve had some coverage in the Wall Street Journal, Bloom berg and Robb Report picked up on it, and we’ve done some advertis ing in some luxury magazines and publications. I think one big source of leads that we’ve gotten has been through the Global Luxury Network of Coldwell Banker. At last count, we’ve had 350 inquiries off that exposure—just had one yesterday from Columbus, Ohio.
DM: What makes 9 Bay Drive a great space? BS: I believe that there’s nothing in the world like it. Nothing. On one side of it is the Montage resort— spectacular, great restaurants, ev erything you’d ever want. On the other side is the Kapalua Bay Villas. There’s a Ritz-Carlton you can walk to, and another restaurant and resort nearby, Napili Kai. There are beach es all along here—smaller, private beaches for the most part.
BS: I think some of the wealthiest people, maybe coming to Hawaii in particular, don’t come here to show off wealth. You’ve got to treat everybody like a buyer, like a per son part of an ohana—part of your family. Because that’s what people want to hear—they want to be part of a family. RS: What’s interesting, too, is we’re getting a little bit of corporate inter est. We have two very large corpo rations that are looking at this as a possible area for having a think tank to send their top execs over and kind of isolate them. They each have their own bedrooms, can meet on a daily basis and just have their own pri vate space. That’s a market we kind of overlooked, thinking it would be a wealthy individual [or] a wealthy family.
RS: You’re on Maui, you know… what’s so bad about that? RE For more information, betty-and-roy-sakamoto/.https://www.sakamotoproperties.com/visit
DM: What’s your strategy for marketing the property? BS: We have a lot of people com ing in shortly and we’ll definitely have them see it. They own proper ties here…[people] that could pur chase something like this or spread the word. It could be somebody who has been here, they know the prop erty and have talked about it.
GREAT SPACES RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 19
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To that end, NAR recently contributed to a new report published by Up for Growth, an organization founded to achieve housing equity, eliminate sys temic barriers and create more homes. Up for Growth issued the “Housing UnderproductionTM in the U.S. 2022” report, with feedback from trade as sociations, housing producers, eco nomic development organizations and public policy advocates focused on social justice, the environment and affordability.Thereport explains the depth of the housing deficit across the country, dialed down to cities and counties, examining what local policies may be causing the shortage or driving up infrastructure costs and what reforms are alleviating underproduction. For example, from 2012 to 2019, the housing deficit grew in 230 metro politan areas, while only 25 saw their housing deficit shrink. After analyzing the trends resulting in the housing shortage, the report offers effective and practical solutions to produce more affordable homes, grow tax revenues, increase gross regional and gross national product, decrease the amount of land needed for housing and infrastructure, and lower green house emissions, while making sure that such benefits are available to all communities.BryanGreene, NAR’s vice presi dent of policy advocacy, also con tributed to the report, examining the wealth gap between Black and white households that persists due to past discriminatory practices. He explains how the current shortage and afford ability crisis threatens to exacerbate inequality further, and that repairing the harm caused by racially restric tive covenants, redlining, unfairly devalued communities and other of ficially sanctioned discrimination must be part of the solution. As discussed with the Biden administration, Greene wrote about the need for a compre hensive plan to address housing sup ply and housing equity that includes zoning reforms, investment in new construction, expansion of financing and tax incentives to spur investment in housing, and the conversion of un used commercial space to residential. Introduced in the report is “A Bet ter Foundation™,” a new resource for cities and towns to use as they evaluate policies to decide where and what types of housing to build. It focuses on places where new hous ing would be the most socially, eco nomically, fiscally and environmen tally beneficial. Developed using a racial equity lens, this mapping tool is designed to promote affordabil ity by evaluating optimal housing conditions for a given area, assess ing factors including high economic mobility, access to jobs and exist ing infrastructure, to maximize home production.NARwill continue to work with industry partners to reverse policies that exacerbate housing unafford ability and racial disparities while actively promoting economic oppor tunities for more communities. See the latest efforts at www.nar.realtor/.
RE Christie DeSanctis is the director of Federal Banking, Lending & Housing Finance Policy and of Federal Policy and Industry Relations for the National Association of REALTORS®
By Christie DeSanctis T h e lack of housing supply continues to dominate discussions amongst real estate industry professionals and policymakers in Washington, D.C. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is at the forefront of these conversations, confronting the bar riers to building, and supporting solutions to tackling these challenges. NAR has partnered with innovative and influential organizations looking to solve the ongoing supply and affordability crisis through data-driven resources that spur localized action and can be replicated nationally.
POLICY & LEGAL MATTERS RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 21
A Partnership to Solve Supply
Become familiar with the preferences of Hispanic homebuy ers. Consult the latest research and reports to get a clear picture of the Hispanic consumer and what they typically look for in a home. Start with these resources: 1. U.S. Census data
2. NAR’s 2022 Snapshot of Race and Home Buying in America
CRD CONNECT 22 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
Research their unique challenges. While the Hispanic homeownership rate is projected to increase, there are several challenges that may im pact these numbers. The most press ing issue is the lack of affordable inventory—particularly in the areas where most Latinos live. Additionally, higher price points, increasing interest rates and the current market’s hostil ity toward first-time buyers using low down-payment loan products dispro portionately impact Hispanic home buyers. Understanding these chal lenges will help agents guide clients through the process. Learn about financing options. Re search shows that Latinos may have a harder time qualifying for traditional mortgages. Expanding your knowl edge of financing options and downpayment assistance programs will help you add value to your services. Consider CRD’s new Home Finance Resource (HFR) certification course at https://crd.realtor/hfr.
Create an inclusive environment for diverse clients. Making con sumer resources available in multiple languages and using ethnically di verse imagery in your marketing and educational materials will help create a welcoming, inclusive environment.
NAR’s collaboration with Photofy al lows REALTORS® to customize and share consumer-focused “That’s Who We R” social media graphics in seven languages, including Spanish. Learn more at https://nar.realtor/photofy.
ABR® designees also have access to a selection of consumer one-sheets in Spanish. Additionally, two new Span ish language step-by-step guides to home buying and selling have been added to https://nar.realtor/nar-enespanol. Resources for Latino REALTORS® The NAR en Español website and Facebook page serve as resource hubs for Spanish-speaking REAL TORS® and provide access to infor mation, education and tools. They include links to translated reference books in NAR’s digital library, con sumer handouts and guides in Span ish, webinars and more. Additionally, .realtor™ domain templates are now available in Spanish. Several Spanish educational sessions will be offered at NAR NXT, and the live ABR® desig nation course will be offered in Span ish periodically throughout the year. Finally, keep your eyes peeled for a new episode of the CRD podcast fea turing Gonzalo Mejia. RE Jennifer Rzeszewski is the vice president of Member Development and the executive director of the Center for REALTOR® Development (CRD), NAR’s home for education.exceptionalLearnmore about CRD at https://crd.realtor.
How You Can Help Meet the Needs of Hispanic Homebuyers
A c cording to the National Association of REALTORS®’ (NAR) 2022 Snapshot of Race and Home Buying in America, the homeownership rate for Hispanic Americans has increased to 51.1%, its highest level in history. As we move into Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15), it’s an opportune time to reflect on how agents can better serve the needs of this growing homebuyer segment. Here are some suggestions to get you started.
3. The National Association of His panic Real Estate Professionals’ (NAHREP) annual State of Hispanic Homeownership Report®
By Jennifer Rzeszewski
4. The 2021 Hispanic Homebuyer Profile on realtor.com®
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GR: Our market is strong. We weath ered the recession fairly well in 2008, ‘09, ‘10 and ‘11. We saw erosion in prices, but fortunately, had diversi fied our economy and that helped us in those years. Combine that with the quality of life we have in Colorado, and we’ve had a crazy market. This year is cooling a bit—maybe some one is competing against two to three offers instead of 20 to 30—but it’s still fairly competitive. What makes a new agent a good fit for your firm?
GR: One of the founders of the com pany used to say, “Does the person have fire in the belly?” I think that still resonates with us today. We generally are not a training-ground company; we don’t typically take brand-new agents, unless we see that fire or they have a good business background. We want someone who is going to work hard and is building for the future. In what ways do you champion women at the firm?
GR: I love that we have a good blend of men and women on our leadership team. I do like to promote women, but not exclusively. I am a champion of women and diversity, and someone who I feel will add to the fabric of our team. I don’t want everyone to be the same. I welcome different experienc es and points of view.
Gretchen Rosenberg: I think there are a few things that lead to success. One is attention to detail. Another is attentiveness to your consumer. How has the Denver market fared in the first half of 2022?
GR: New tech is a challenge, which is a blessing and a curse. It’s hugely beneficial, but there are so many shiny new things being thrown at us. We have to be very mindful of what’s going to move the needle for agent productivity. That’s what we focus on, and not just every tech solution out there. How do you maintain a proper work/life balance? GR: If you love what you do, you are in balance. Years ago, someone said to me that I work too much, but I re ally love what I do. I do try to shut off in the evening when I can and spend time with friends and family, and en joy Colorado, because it is a beautiful state.
VITALS:
How is your firm unique in your marketplace?
GR: We are known as a luxury firm, but we don’t exclusively do luxury because Denver offers a lot of hous ing types. We treat everyone with that luxury touch. How important is it to introduce the latest tech to the firm?
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received about your career? GR: “Don’t pay attention to the chat ter.” Real estate is a notoriously gos sipy profession. Stay true to yourself and work hard for your clients and the rest will follow. What’s the key for keeping brokers happy? GR: We’re very good at retention at our company; our average tenure is 19 years. I think we have an extreme ly strong management team and be lieve in our brokers. We’re always in our offices, [creating] great relation ships and a great culture here. Eye Detailfor by Keith Loria O hio native Gretchen Rosenberg came to Colorado to attend the University of Denver where she earned a degree in Public Affairs and International Studies, then an MBA in marketing. Kentwood Real Estate Years in business: 41 Size: 4 offices, 258 agents Coverage Area: Front Range of Colorado 2021 Sales Volume: $2,937,266,366 2021 Transactions: 3,545 units
RE An
Looking for a career change as a single mom to an 18-month-old, she received her broker license then helped found the Kentwood Real Es tate Cherry Creek office in Colorado. Today, she serves as president and CEO of Denver-based Kentwood Real Estate, the exclusive Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices affiliate in Colorado. What’s the secret to success in your industry?
Power Broker Perspectives is brought to you by POWER BROKER PERSPECTIVES RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 27
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At Buffini & Company, our coaches are leaders who have collaboratively served 1.7 million coaching calls and have more than 1 million hours of coaching, working with clients through all types of market shifts, in cluding the Great Recession of 2008. One of those clients is Kathy Terhune, who has been with us for 22 years.
Prioritizing Your Work
By Buffini & Company As the real estate market rapidly changes, it’s natural to feel uncertain about how to proceed. The best advice? Stop, take a deep breath and return to the basics that have helped you achieve success so far. Strengthening the fundamentals of your business will allow you to feel in control and ready to handle whatever happens next.
We all have the same amount of time in the day, but it’s what we do with that time that matters. You can’t work 24/7. It’s not healthy, and it’s not productive. You need time to refresh and enjoy all the parts of your life, not just the business side. Before you shut down each eve ning, write your to-do list for the next day and prioritize the tasks. The next morning, tackle the highest priorities. Not only will this get them off your list, it will also create a sense of ac complishment you can carry with you throughout the day. Consider using a time manage ment technique such as the Pomo doro Method. It’s simple but effec tive. Set a timer for 25 minutes and work on one specific task. After the time is up, take a five-minute break before returning to the task or mov ing onto another. Delegate Sometimes we think, “I’m the only one who can do this.” But consider what tasks you can delegate. Is it worth exchanging some control for time to focus on higher priorities or time for yourself? If you don’t have an assis tant, consider hiring someone for a few hours a week, such as a retiree, stay-at-home parent or student. Share With Others Talk to others in the industry who have gone through market changes, especially during recessionary times. Agents who survived—and thrived— during tough times can offer advice, encouragement and tips on best practices.Talking to your peers can also help. Join a Facebook or LinkedIn group where you can learn how other agents are facing the changing mar ket. You’ll learn new ideas and might inspire others as well.
How to Thrive in the Upcoming Recession
”Following the financial basics, I was able to survive the recession,” she says. “I couldn’t have done it with out my coach at the time, Jules, in my corner.”Linda Farish, who has been a mem ber for 21-plus years, agrees. She notes that Buffini & Company staff, as well as her fellow members, “are a constant source of strength, encour agement and support for me through personal trials, recessions and even pandemics.”“Icontinue to achieve family, per sonal and business goals I never dreamed I could accomplish,” she adds.Don’t let the upcoming recession stop you in your tracks. Contact Buffini & Company today for a free consultation. We’ll help you grow your business and ensure that you thrive, not just survive, during the re cession and beyond.
The Value of a Coach A supportive coach can be invalu able in helping you transition during stormy times. They can help you es tablish realistic goals, help you stay calm and measured, and equip you with strategies to weather any chal lenges ahead.
RE To learn more, www.buffiniandcompany.com/bc.visit
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 29 COACHING
Real estate agents often use outdated, irrelevant scripts and phrases to navi gate new issues facing us weekly or even daily. Scripts from two months or even two weeks ago may be com pletely irrelevant and cost your agents time, money and lost opportunities. Many markets are seeing a drop in value, with homes sitting on the mar ket longer. In contrast to the multiple offers we’ve become accustomed to, we’re seeing homes sell within 10 days with one offer. This shift re quires your agents to be ahead of the change. This is a lot easier for the agents who have been in the business for more than three years. But regard less of your agents’ experience, what they were saying 30 days ago, or even 14 days ago, is most likely not effective in today’s market.
Therefore, it’s necessary to train and coach your agents on how to use more successful strategies to win and sell more listings, negotiate better and convert more leads into closed busi ness. Use these methods to provide your agents a way to speak confi dently, add more value—and most importantly—get hired: 1 Train using new scripts and dialogues. Conduct a work shop on how to deliver an impactful listing and marketing presentation. Teach and train your agents on the best scripts to use in this changing market to best manage expectations.
3 Discuss pricing strategy op tions. It’s important to have a pricing strategy that achieves the sell er’s goal. Talking about their options, and the risks and benefits of each op tion, allows your agents to hone in on what is most important for the seller. Instead of bringing all the comps, discuss a competitive market analysis where your agents can position their home at the highest fair market value to achieve an offer.
Keep Your Scripts Up to Date With These 4 Tips By Sherri Johnson T he person that can adapt the most will succeed the most. In our fast-changing, highly competitive market, your agents need to be ahead of the curve. They can start by taking a quick inventory of their strategies and determining which are effective or ineffective in today’s environment.
30 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE COACHING
4 Manage expectations with a negotiation strategy. Teach your agents to cover the negotiation strategy before the offer comes in. They should discuss the price at which the offer may come in and what the next course of action will be. This will help your agents manage expecta tions more effectively, removing the emotional reactions that can hamper a win/win negotiation. The truth is, it’s still a good time to buy and sell. It’s important that your agents communicate an enthusiastic, value-added and solutions-based message that displays confidence. Provide options that equip clients with solutions and effective strategies to accomplish their real estate goals. Your agents can practice and roleplay these strategies so they can com pete at a higher level and win. RE Sherri Johnson is CEO and founder of Sherri Johnson Coaching & Consulting. Johnson offers individual and group real estate coach ing, and is a preferred coach for multiple national brokerages. She consults and speaks for many lead ing organizations, including RISMedia, NAR, McKissock Learning and Homes.com.
2 Determine seller motivation. Help your agents learn how to ask leading questions to determine seller motivation. With home values resetting, it’s important for agents to discuss strategies for obtaining the highest fair market value that meets the seller’s timeline.
5 Have them shadow you. Bring them along on listing appointments to observe, and later you can involve them more and more.Astime goes on and newer agents grow in their skills and knowledge, they can take on more and more responsibilities until a true partner ship is reached. They’ll have a stron ger foundation for their career, and you’ll have a team member who has learned the ropes in such a way that you can feel confident about the contribution they are making to your team. RE Darryl Davis has trained and coached more than 100,000 agents globally. He is a bestselling author of “How to Become a Power Agent® in Real Estate,” which tops Ama zon’s charts for most-sold book to real estate agents. Davis hosts a weekly webinar to help agents succeed in changing times. Visit com/Online-Training/.www.DarrylSpeaks.
4 Slowly introduce them to clients. They can begin doing more activities like making phone calls, scheduling inspections, helping plan and run client events and taking on some showings.
Mentoring is one of the most fulfilling challenges an experienced agent can take on, especially for those wanting to grow their team with the right talent. Training a new agent by tapping into the wisdom you’ve intolearnisthroughgainedexperienceawin-winastheyandgrowtherole.
3 Have them host a few open houses. This is a great way to get comfortable meeting potential clients, showing homes and working to calm those initial nerves that brand-new agents will have. Visit https://bit.ly/12openhousetips/ for 12 strategies that can help them and you.
Building Confidence Step by Step Training a new agent by tapping into the wisdom you’ve gained through experience is a win-win as they learn and grow into the role. It will help them start off on the best possible footing and ensure that their interac tions with your clients will be positive from the get-go. When bringing in a brand-new agent, it’s vital to set them up with wins in the beginning to build con fidence and skills. To boost their chances of early success:
5 Ways to Mentor a Brand-New Agent By Darryl Davis
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 31 COACHING
1 Start them off like an assistant rather than a full partner or co-worker. This isn’t to make them feel like they are less important, but it’s the best way to learn the business from the ground up. Understanding the backend of the business while starting to connect with clients without the pressure of having to win the listing, negotiate the terms or hold the sale together when something goes wrong will build confidence as much as it will help teach through observation.
2 Provide them with the right tools for success. This might include reading materials, timely training and tools to learn the ins and outs of the real estate industry, your local market, your specific team dynamics and culture, as well as any niche you specialize in.
“One is the loneliest number you’ll ever do.” This opening lyric to the ‘60s pop
dynamics in so many ways. onpercentSeventy-sixofagentsstatedthatbeingateamearnedthemgreaterincome.
•Use reports like DISC/Motivators assessments to identify the behavioral style of candidates. All be havioral styles have their strengths, but it’s important to place them in the right position. These reports also give team leaders insight on how to better communicate with and motivate team members by understanding their goals, talents and motivators.
•Schedule one-on-one sessions with agents to help stay on tar get. Often, agents get caught up in reaction mode working with cli ents and neglect monitoring their progress. Work with each team member to develop their own stra tegic plan within their short- and long-term business plans to better monitor, measure and modify their outcomes.
Here’sachievements.afunexample of nurturing: One successful team leader surprised each team member and staff with a gas gift card to help them offset the rising price of fuel. Being part of a community larger than “one” is how teams outperform a one-stop shop. Report 2022 For a full team report, Terriwww.WorkmanSuccess.com/.visitMurphyisacommunication ment specialist, author, consultant and Master Coach with Workman Success. She is the author of five books, a TedTalk® speaker and the founder of Wom en’ Wisdom Network on Facebook. Contact her at www.TerriMurphy.com/ or Terri@TerriMurphy.com.email Terri Murphy rock song “One,” by Harry Nilsson by Three Dog Night, team
•Newer agents need continued training to advance their skill set. Require mandatory attendance at huddles, meetings and tactical training (learning). Role-play calls, team-prospecting activities and active participation in client ap preciation events will support these newbies with initiatives to build their own sphere of influence and leverage those relationships to the •team.
•business: Hire the right team members using a full onboarding protocol. Plat forms like WizeHire offer coaches to review and prioritize the top picks. Polling your top MVPs and researching local agent production is also a great place to start.
engage
and recorded
RE *CGK
A 2022 study done for Workman Success Systems by CGK* revealed that 85% of agents believe that being on a team keeps them motivated to improveSeventy-sixsales.*percent of agents stat ed that being on a team earned them greater income. A solo agent can only do so much, whereas a team can offer multiple services. If you want to work with a team or are looking to expand, here are a few tips for building a more profitable
32 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE COACHING
Have a plan to continue supporting team-member relationships after they have joined the team. Schedule annual retreats and goal reviews, and create individual vi sion boards to monitor annual goal
One Is a Lonely Number When It Comes to Sales By
written
applies to real estate
Anthony Lamacchia Owner | CEO Crush It in Real Estate Lamacchia Realty Willie Miranda MirandaBroker/OwnerRealEstate Jackie Louh Chief Operating Officer Crush It in Real Estate Lamacchia Realty Dave Karoly VP of Sales Crush It in Real Estate Lamacchia Realty Lindsay Favazza VP of Marketing Crush It in Real Estate Lamacchia Realty 2022 SPEAKERS/PANELISTS September 23, 2022 WESTIN FORT LAUDERDALE BEACH RESORT Alicia Cervera Lamadrid CerveraREALTOR®RealEstate Miami Veronica Figueroa Team Leader/REALTOR® Fig Team/eXp Realty Orlando Prince Hassan REALTOR®Compass Fort LauderdaleKaren Johnson President of 2021 Broward Palm Beaches & St. Lucie REALTOR® Association Amie Balchunas LamacchiaREALTOR®Realty Fort LauderdaleChad Gray REALTOR®Compass Fort Lauderdale David Serle RE/MAXBroker/OwnerServices Boca RatonLaurie Finkelstein Reader REALTOR® Laurie Finkelstein Reader REPlantationJorge Guerra, Jr. Real Estate Broker Real Estate Sales Force BrianMiamiMiranda Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, & Associate Broker Miranda Real Estate Clifton Park, NY EMCEE SECURE YOUR SEAT! TRAINING EVENT SEPTEMBER 23, 2022 Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort Fort Lauderdale | FL Scan to Register Crushing It In This Changing Market
Our annual “who’s who” in real estate honors the industry’s most noteworthy leaders, changemakers and successful doers. Don’t miss your chance to recognize and celebrate your colleagues and peers for this one-of-a-kind awards program. Don’t wait! Nominate a Newsmaker www.rismedia.com/newsmaker-nominationat RISMEDIA’S REAL ESTATE NEWSMAKERS IS BACK! Deadline Extended: Nominate a 2022 Newsmaker by September 15!
By the Experts at McKissock Learning
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 35 COACHING
As part of the Colibri Real Estate family of premier education brands, McKissock Learning helps hundreds of thousands of real estate professionals each year achieve sustainable success throughout each stage of their career via continuing education and professional development courses.
RE
Emerging technologies have drastically changed the process of the real estate industry. Innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data have made it easier for real estate agents and investors to sort properties and qualify leads in a fraction of the time. From marketing listings to viewing properties to signing contracts, these new technologies have significantly streamlined many real estaterelated activities.
Gen Z and TechnologiesEmergingUpgradeRealEstate
As a real estate agent, staying on top of these trends is critical to your success and how you interact with potential clients, particularly Gen Z homebuyers. Here’s what you should know about the connection between these new technologies and Gen Z homebuyers. How All of These Technological Changes Tie in With Gen Z Homebuyers According to the Institute of Business Management, nearly 74% of Gen Z spend their free time online instead of doing other activities. When broken down into what online activities they participate in, 73% use it to stay con nected via text messaging and online chatting, 59% access entertainment and 28% want to learn new things or make more money. These responses demonstrate that their generation is deeply invested in improving them selves financially and personally. Therefore, Gen Z consumers are in the know and have extensive peerto-peer knowledge through shared research and experiences in buying, selling and investing in properties. Staying current with the latest tech nological capabilities could help you find more potential leads and clients. For example, data and AI can help agents monitor which renters might be ready for homeownership through rental client management tools. As a result, it will be easier to see which renters can afford high rent prices, which can be a critical indicator that they might have the capacity to take on a Realmortgage.estateagents can also host property tours through online formats such as YouTube, TikTok or Instagram. TikTok is the hottest social media plat form with Gen Z consumers, so learn ing the ins and outs of this platform could help build your reputation as a local real estate expert and expand yourAlongbusiness.these same lines, develop ing a robust search engine optimi zation (SEO) strategy can help you make a presence online where digi tally inclined clients start researching homeownership. This can help you cast yourself as the local expert they can trust to help them navigate the process. Staying Ahead of the Competition With the changing landscape of real estate, particularly the introduction of technology into nearly all aspects of the real estate process, staying ahead of the competition requires you to re main up to date with the latest news, industry trends and technology. This can help you find new ways to en gage with potential clients and dis cover what strategies they are using to learn more about real estate and find agents in their area. Connect with real estate organizations that will provide you with access to exclusive reports about the changing facets of the in dustry and how you can use this infor mation to advance your business.
RE For more information, please visit www.ahs.com/realestate/.
-ANDREW LINN Broker/Owner, ERA Davis & Linn
Delivering Security and Comfort to Clients AMERICAN HOME SHIELD® HOME WARRANTIES HELP PROTECT BUYERS AND SELLERS THROUGHOUT THE REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION
Linn also notes that the low cost for the rekey service is “amazing.”Whenitcomes to his agents, Linn is determined to ensure that they are educated on everything AHS has to offer— and the local American Home Shield team does just that.
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In addition to educating customers about the break downs that can be covered under a home warranty, agents at ERA Davis & Linn are provided unique oppor tunities to grow their business while feeling secure in their transactions.Fromseller and buyer coverage to the additional home services offered, such as the rekey service, Linn encourag es his agents to discuss the home warranty plans with their clients, highlighting valuable benefits to both their buyers and sellers. “One of the biggest things that is overlooked in a trans action is the seller coverage option,” Linn explains. “So many issues with systems and appliances can happen while a home is listed, and I think the benefit of having a plan to help cover the repair costs is a great negotiating tool on both Accordingsides.”toLinn,
the seller coverage option offers buy ers reassurance at the time of the inspection in addition to covered repair and replacement expenses. On the seller side, there is a level of comfort knowing that the home is protected while on the market. Rekey coverage is another service that Linn and his team utilize, giving his agents greater opportunity to win leads and“Thislistings.has been a tool that has been talked about, lever aged and sold,” says Linn. “Customers may not think about getting their home rekeyed, so to know that this service is offered within the coverage of the home warranty is huge.”
“When preparing a customer for a breakdown before it actually hap pens, a home warranty is the solution,” says Andrew Linn, broker/owner of ERA Davis & Linn in St. Augustine, Florida. Since beginning his career with ERA, Linn and his team have worked with American Home Shield (AHS®), offer ing home warranties to both buyers and sellers. “I’ve been around long enough to know that offering a home warranty brings comfort to the customer knowing that they are covered,” says Linn. “We train our agents to do just that.”
By Paige Brown Linn “When preparing a customer for a breakdown before it actually happens, a home warranty is the solution.”
“The local team that serves us is more than fantastic. Tracey and her team take part in new agent orientation and continue to educate agents on their products and ser vices on a regular basis,” says Linn. “They have been very informative in keeping us up to date—where we are, where we should be, new products and tools, etc.,” adds Linn. “As far as a resource to have things worked out, such as being on call and responsive, our local team has been extremely helpful.”
Operating as an independent team under the Berk shire Hathaway HomeServices umbrella, Lainer notes that his agents are outperforming the volume of lead ro tation within the larger umbrella.
“I had a client who was using Rocket online, and we had a loan officer rep through that client who initially introduced me to Rocket,” explains Lainer. “We tried to give business to that same loan officer a couple of other times, and while some were successful, one was not. That was one of those hard-to-manage clients who eventually got us into Chris Osterlund’s hands, who deal-salvaged that client and got the deal done.”
“We know how to use the system. Our agents are bet ter trained based on a team environment and can deter mine which clients are ready to go faster. They can even help develop those who are not ready to go so that we can run them through the Rocket Pro Insight software,” says Lainer, who appreciates how Rocket notifies him when there’s an advantage or incentive program they can“Foroffer.us, it’s about customer service and being able to make time for clients on their time,” adds Lainer, who concludes that last month, the team closed 13 transac tions in his name alone with Rocket Mortgage. RE The above article is sponsored content. For more information, please visit www.RocketPro.com/RealEstate/. Keith Loria Lainer
Starting out as a buyer, he transitioned into the role of investor before launching his own team nearly 20 years ago.
“Chris has been extremely good at communicating not just with clients but also where the company is going in its development,” says Lainer. “I’ve been able to have open communication with the development team as well as Rocket Pro Insight, and they understand my concerns being that I’m at a high volume with a number of different agents.”While Rocket Pro Insight continues to evolve, Lainer feels that the company’s willingness to do its best and listen to the needs of the REALTOR® is where they shine brightest.“Rocket Pro Insight gives us a way to communicate by adding our entire inventory of clients. Not only does this help get everyone onboarded, but it also ensures that our approval letters get over to us as well,” says Lainer.
“At the time, there were many REALTORS®, agents, clients and coworker colleagues asking me how I was going to become successful as a private investor, and I knew if I was going to do that, I needed to get a license and work for other people,” says Lainer. His continued success comes from implementing savvy strategies and looking for the best choices for his clients, which is how he came to use Rocket Mortgage® and le verage Rocket Pro Insight to enhance his business.
Enhance Your Business With an MortgageUnmatchedExperience ROCKET PROSM INSIGHT RAISES THE BAR FOR REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS AND CLIENTS ALIKE By
Don Lainer, a REALTOR® with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nevada Properties, has been in the real estate industry since 1989.
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 37 BUSINESS BUILDERS
A President’s Club Loan Originator, Triple Crown award recipient and overall mortgage rockstar, Oster lund has gone above and beyond to serve Don Lainer’s Platinum EIite Group clients.
“He stayed with us from that point forward and has giv en us a level of service that the prior loan officer didn’t,” says Lainer. “Plus, Chris was licensed in more states, and we were starting to do international referral business, so it made sense to work with him going forward.”
One of the things Lainer likes about working with Rock et Mortgage is that he can communicate directly with the company. Based on conversations with Osterlund and his team, he knows that everyone is upfront and honest with regard to where the organization is headed.
REAL ESTATE WEBMASTERS UNVEILS NEXT ITERATION OF REW CRM By John Voket Carey “With this new CRM launch, we can now proudly share that all of Real Estate Webmasters’ tools and services are best-in-class status.”
“Renaissance refers to our front-end platform, or what the consumer sees—the website, MLS search and other features—but the backend, our customer relationship man agement system (REW CRM), got a major upgrade when we launched Renaissance,” says Carey, CEO of Real Es tateCommittedWebmasters.tolaunching new Renaissance features on a quarterly basis, the company released its new CRM in beta form in August. “This is the next full version, offering a completely new user interface and a lot of features that never existed be fore,” says Carey. Carey and his team have consistently launched frontend enhancements that rate 10 out of 10 for SEO, design and compliance. This new CRM user interface might just be an “We’ve11. been awarded best website, best lead genera tion and best IDX, but our CRM hasn’t been best-in-class, and that’s where we like to live,” says Carey. “This new user interface is addressing all the feedback we’ve been getting from our customers who have a good CRM but want a great CRM,” he adds. According to Carey, it’s this robust user feedback, in addition to Real Estate Webmasters’ talent, that has cata pulted REW CRM to the head of the pack.
Last but not least is the biggest element missing up until now: a robust dialer. The upgrade, which will be available in the fourth quar ter, will give customers the ability to track both the time and length of calls, with added options providing call and con versation storage within the system.
-MORGAN CAREY CEO, Real Estate Webmasters
First and foremost is a new querying engine or filtering system that can create granular-level smart lists whether the user is a broker, team leader or frontline agent.
Catapulting the Client Experience to the Next Level
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“The dialer is the one thing team leaders have always specifically asked for, so this is the last missing piece to integrate in the fall,” explains Carey.
“We matched hundreds of fields—hundreds of data points—and you can combine them all,” says Carey. “I don’t think this level of detail and querying can be pro duced anywhere else.”
With the public getting its first look at the latest iteration last month, Carey points to three aspects that will ultimately change the game when it comes to taking the existing cli ent experience to the next level.
An upgraded “views” module will give customers ex actly what they requested via a “power mode” that pro vides unprecedented access to customization of data with drag-and-drop display sorting. You can create a super complex view or enjoy a simple mobile view. Users can jump between customized views with the push of a button.
“Now, each individual user can use smart lists and cus tom views and decide on the data they want to see and how they want to look at it,” says Carey. “This allows for a really powerful interface.”
“With this new CRM launch, we can now proudly share that all of Real Estate Webmasters’ tools and services are best-in-class status.” RE For more information, please visit www.realestatewebmasters.com/.
For Morgan Carey and his team at Real Estate Webmasters, after the launch of their world-class Renaissance web platform, it became clear that another aspect of the groundbreaking system could still use a few tweaks.
W hen you’re leading a real estate technology renaissance by developing a best-inclass web platform, you want to ensure that every aspect of what you’re offering is unrivaled.
“You can use their tech to cater to each individual case,” says Strickland. “Documents are recorded as an NFT, and the seller can counter back with other terms. Before it be comes a real thing, it has to be approved by both parties, so it’s taking out a lot of the unnecessary back and forth,” hePlus,adds.brokers, attorneys and lenders can all be in the mix because everything is streamlined.
“I’ve loved blockchain for a while, but I think most people associate it with cryptocurrency, not the actual technology. I was amazed at the potential ShelterZoom could have by bringing blockchain technology to the mainstream.”
ShelterZoom’s Document GPS email extension is a huge draw for Strickland because it allows him to share, edit and view important and sensitive documents and record things as they get passed along. Strickland’s use of Docu ment GPS to maintain relationships with his clients was highlighted by Gartner in one of its research publications.
Brett Strickland dreamed of a life in real estate from a young age. While he initially wanted to get involved in boutique development for communities, he eventually switched gears and found a home working as a broker for Engel & Völkers Savannah. “I’ve always been fascinated by the industry, and when I first got into it, I focused on people buying primary homes,” says Strickland. “I created some unique opportu nities for buyers and saw how impactful that could be for my business. I then started thinking outside the box as to how to find properties for people that are not openly on theThatmarket.”had Strickland pivoting to working primarily with investors, dealing with multi-family and short-term vaca tion“Myhousing.industry is saturated with people who are content with taking the easy route, but that’s boring to me,” says Strickland. “I like dealing with investors because they think outside the box as well.”
RE For more information, please visit www.shelterzoom.com/.
After meeting ShelterZoom Co-Founders Chao ChengShorland and Allen Alishahi and learning about the com pany, Strickland was impressed with the scope of products and solutions they offered. “I’ve loved blockchain for a while, but I think most people associate it with cryptocurrency, not the actual technology. I was amazed at the potential ShelterZoom could have by bringing blockchain technology to the mainstream,” says Strickland, who sees great promise in terms of what Shel terZoom can offer the real estate industry.
“What I love about Document GPS is the fact that it gives me control and allows me to stay in the loop as to whom the info is going to,” says Strickland. This oversight capa bility is a huge benefit in the competitive Savannah market, where homes are getting as many as 10 to 20 offers over asking price. “I’m creating branding for myself using ShelterZoom technology, and that’s going to set me apart, especially here in Savannah,” concludes Strickland.
-BRETT STRICKLAND Broker, Engel & Völkers SavannahHow One Agent Builds His Brand PROVIDES SAVANNAH BROKER A STREAMLINED APPROACH TO REAL ESTATE SUCCESS By Keith Loria Strickland
BlockchainThrough SHELTERZOOM
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 39 BUSINESS BUILDERS
“From a financial and logistical perspective, that kind of involvement can be overwhelming,” notes Corbin. “And the seller is already saddled with the anxiety of moving.”
Gone are the days when real estate professionals man aged carpenters, painters and myriad other contractors, while simultaneously handling other pressing priorities on a day-to-day basis.
W hen it came to developing what can best be described as a co-branding opportu nity at first sight, Trent Corbin, president and CEO of The Redbud Group at Keller Williams South Park in Charlotte, North Carolina, liked everything about what Curbio could do for his team and their clients. “They had a good idea about the kind of volume and business we do, so when we were ready to launch in the Charlotte market, they wanted to make sure we could do something together,” says Corbin.
RE
Corbin also likes that Curbio representatives are not only knowledgeable about the market areas the firm serves, but they also provide continuing education to each and every agent at The Redbud Group.
To streamline the process, every home The Redbud Group lists that could benefit from Curbio’s extensive array of professional contractors is introduced to the opportunity during the early stages of contracting the property.
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“Most sellers need at least some cosmetic work to ex tract maximum value, so working with Curbio is a great advantage for them, especially in today’s market,” says Corbin. “And Curbio seems to have a knack for sourcing and stockpiling all the right materials, so there’s typically little or no supply chain delays in getting work done.”
Extracting Maximum Value in a MarketCompetitive CURBIO’S TURNKEY HOME RENOVATION SOLUTION A COMPETITIVE DIFFERENTIATOR IN NORTH CAROLINA MARKET
At the same time, according to Corbin, even if clients are sitting on a ton of equity, it may be hard to extract that money before a sale to complete renovations.
For more information, please visit https://hubs.la/Q01jstYB0/.
In the short time since the partnership launched, Corbin notes that work has begun on several projects involving cosmetic upgrades and renovations. These projects have the potential to add significant value while boosting the selling price of several homes that are currently under contract.Providing “fix now, pay when you sell” upgrades of all sizes in the Charlotte market, the brand-building Fix & List Program from Curbio has come none too soon for Corbin, who is witnessing the changing landscape of his local mar ket“Newarea. listings are still being absorbed as quickly as they’re being listed, but that being said, not all listings are created equal,” explains Corbin. “The homes selling fast est and getting the strongest values are the ones properly updated and staged…or the homes that don’t look like they need a lot of work.”
“Not everyone has the cash on hand to finish the reno vations we recommend as necessary to extract maximum value,” says Corbin. “And what’s really great about Cur bio is that we’ve created a one-stop hub for the seller—a single source provider.”
“Curbio has been a great partner,” concludes Corbin. “They’ve been very transparent, and from the standpoint of someone with a large team always looking for more properties to list, this partnership differentiates us the min ute we walk through the door.”
Better yet, every qualified seller is offered a free estimate from Curbio, which is why agents always suggest having Curbio come out and take a look at the things they think are most impactful. “When that happens, we are always right there standing beside that Curbio representative,” adds Corbin, who goes on to explain that the co-branding relationship has barely scratched the surface as far as the client resources he believes are possible.
By John Voket Corbin
GrowWithUnited.com Whether your brokerage needs a transformation or it’s simply time to sell, all conversations are completely confidential. Having the right brokerage model and the support to run it are key to your business growing or shrinking. United Real Estate’s Cloud-Based Productivity Platform creates the operational efficiency and financial results you need to recruit, retain and grow your business. TYLER ANDERSON Vice President, Business Development TAnderson@UnitedRealEstate.comDirect:724-858-9242 We are a Brokerage and a Franchise support organization. Over 17,500 Agents and 130 offices…we are United Real Estate. Navigating the Fast Moving Waters? Is Your Brokerage Stuck in an Eddy or
By RISMedia Staff 42 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE SETTING ITS SIGHTS The Fearless Future of the CENTURY 21 ® Brand
Broker, CENTURY 21 First Group
*Study Source: 2021 Ad Tracking Study. The survey results are based on 1,200 online interviews with a national random sample of adults (ages 18+) who are equal decision makers in real estate transactions and active in the real estate market (bought or sold a home within the past two years or, plan to purchase or sell a home within the next two years). Brand awareness question based on a sample of 1,200 respondents. Results are significant at a 90% confidence level, with a margin of error of +/-2.4%. Recognition question based on consumers aware of brand in question. Results are significant at a 90% confidence level, with a margin of error of +/- 2.4%.
And it’s those clients who are the primary focus for the CENTURY 21 family. Giving back to the community and working to provide personalized, memorable moments along every step of the consumer journey is what separates them from the competition.
“Real estate agents everywhere know that when they see a CENTURY 21 affiliated office, that office is man aged by professionals who show up every day, no matter market shifts, to help them succeed,” said Koch. “We have full-time leadership in each of our 10 offices and they each have the freedom to run that office as they deem most appropriate for the agents and the clients they serve.”
“It’s about growing quality, a desire to stay boutique and recruit agents that fit the CENTURY 21 The Avenues culture,” said Pate. “I can’t tell you how many times I have had calls to my office of consumers look ing for the brand, and that’s a great feeling. It’s immediate credibility.
“The C21® stamp is so powerful. I believe in it, and I see every day the people.”bringsandpositivitysupportittoour-CarrieNuckolls
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 43
“That C21 ® stamp next to your face immediately tells people you’re a professional, well-trained real es tate agent,” she added. “I couldn’t agree more,” said Nu ckolls. “The C21 stamp is so power ful. I believe in it, and I see every day the positivity and support it brings to our people, and the brand as a Forwhole.”current affiliated agents and those considering a move to a new home, it’s the most respected name and the one consumers are most likely to work with in the future, ac cording to a study by Kantar Group Limited.* The CENTURY 21 Brand continues to be a differentiator in the market.“We enjoy working with brand new licensees, and then bringing them up to a place where they’re very successful, producing agents,” said Nuckolls. “That’s our sweet spot, and we’re going to continue to grow by excelling at that.”
The study was conducted by Kantar Group Limited, a leading global market research organization, from November 9-27, 2021.
Nailing reinvention in the highly competitive real estate industry took the global franchisor on a complex, transformative path nearly five years ago, with a focus on the future—one that removed prior routines and pat terns and brought to life a new mind set and strategic approach to out think, outmaneuver and outperform the competition. By all counts, it’s working.“Ithas also opened up doors for me to recruit and bring in new agents that I probably would not have had the opportunity to talk to,” said Rucker, who only nine months ago became the first African American female-owned CENTURY 21® fran chised office in Charlotte. “I look forward to working with the brand’s executives and growing from one to six offices. This partnership has truly been what I have been praying for.”
“You’re helping people in their highest highs and lowest lows, and by showing empathy and taking care of them, we build stronger, lifetime relationships that bleed into referrals and top-notch, third-party ratings,” said“WeNuckolls.prepare our team to answer questions that may come from a buy A s Carrie Nuckolls of CENTURY 21 First Group in Sulphur Springs, Texas, recently said, “Real estate is constantly about reinventing yourself.”
Reinvention was the topic of discus sion during a special roundtable held on July 11, 2022, where RISMedia President & CEO John Featherston moderated a panel of four dynamic CENTURY 21® affiliated brokers from around the country. Nuckolls was joined by Arica Rucker, CENTURY 21 Rucker Real Estate, Charlotte, North Carolina; Hanna Pate, CENTURY 21 The Avenues, Calhoun, Georgia; and John Koch, CENTURY 21 Alliance, Wildwood, New Jersey. The group honed in on how Centu ry 21 Real Estate LLC—the originator of the franchise model—is committed to staying relevant and helping its af filiates reinvent and accelerate their businesses.“TheCENTURY 21® Brand trans formed the iconic logo into a more rel evant, more consumer-focused icon, and it has paid huge dividends as we are now better positioned and more relevant in the markets we serve,” said Nuckolls. “They nailed it.”
theyjourneymomentsandqualityashouldpropertysellers“Homebuyers,andinvestorsdemandhigherbarofservicememorablealongthebecausedeserveit.”-MichaelMiedler
RISMedia’s President & CEO John Featherston (center) filming a special roundtable discussion with CENTURY 21® affiliated brokers (l to r): John Koch; Carrie Nuckolls; Arica Rucker; and Hanna Pate. er or a seller by educating them on what’s going on in the market,” com mented Pate. “We have the tough conversations and answer consumer questions transparently and with honesty, and that earns trust.”
CEO, Century 21 Real Estate
The CENTURY 21 ® Brand is chal lenging existing conventions in real estate relationships and progress ing the industry in ways that favor the consumer yet directly help its affiliated brokers and agents break through the clutter and noise, win in the markets they operate in and ul timately, drive growth for their busi ness. By reinventing itself and trans forming its network with a clean and clear stage for individual personali ties and unique stories to be told, the 51-year-old legacy global franchi sor has built an organization that continues to grow and be known by many consumers and industry pro fessionals alike as “the gold stan dard in real estate.” RE For more information, please visit www.century21.com/.
To break away from the sea of sameness within the industry, the CENTURY 21 ® Brand is urging con sumers to demand extraordinary ex periences from their real estate com pany and agent of choice because they deserve that level of personal ization and effort. “This mindset will take the produc tion per agent up, and if you can take your average production per agent from seven to 11, your core group is going to be even happier,” said Koch. “The learning opportuni ties are there. The coaching is there. The direction is there, and if we need anything to help us go above and beyond, we simply talk to the right people to find it, because it’s there for us to use.” “The great thing is, the brand, as well as our fellow brokers from around the world, offer all the sup port, programs and technologies we need to help us deliver the extraordi nary to our clients,” explained Pate. “We have so much support. The talent of these people—it’s unbelievable.”
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Michael Miedler on Growth, the Future of Housing and ExperiencesExtraordinaryDelivering
•Entrepreneur Magazine: No. 2 fastest-growing franchise glob ally (in any industry)
•No. 1 Leader in Brand Aware ness (23 years in a row)*
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 45
Since the 2018 award-winning rein vention of one of the industry’s most recognized* and iconic brands, those who proudly wave the CEN TURY 21 ® flag—and the thousands of offices and agents who have chosen to affiliate with us since that time—are seeing gains in business and agent growth and, more im portantly, relevance with real estate consumers worldwide. As CEO, I understand the broker mindset and the strategies neces sary to drive business growth and marketshare. My team’s laser-like focus is on coaching, mentoring and delivering the systems, tools and support necessary around four key principles: 1. Recruiting 2. Agent Retention 3. Productivity 4. Company Dollar We want agents and consumers alike to be talking about the things that we’re doing and the impact we’re having on families, commu nities, real estate and the overall global economy. It’s our personal story, but it’s also one we believe everyone can relate to through their own unique lens. The result has been a continuous “buzz” and ongoing conversations around our new mis sion: to defy mediocrity and deliver extraordinary experiences. It’s from this lens that we’re shout ing our story today—one that we are passionate about and leaning into. We are focused on progressing the industry forward in transparent and credible ways that favor the con sumer yet directly help our affiliated agents and brokers break through the clutter and noise while helping C21 ® relentless affiliated real estate professionals win in the markets in which they operate. We’re proud of the many achieve ments we have already celebrated in the first half of 2022 including:
•A nationally expanded Em powering Latinas educational stipend program with 1,400-plus applicants hoping to launch ful filling and rewarding professions in real estate As we see it, real estate is an in teractive experience, one whose impact on people and families is unparalleled. We’re working to en sure that client relationships become more personalized, and that people and families are afforded a voice in this all-important conversation. Plus, we’re shouting to the world an even greater and more appealing prop osition: Homebuyers, sellers and property investors should demand a higher bar of quality service and memorable moments along the jour ney because they deserve it. There’s no denying that this industry has been notoriously slow to change. That’s why I’m so proud that the CEN TURY 21® Brand continues to lead in expanding and openly welcoming new people and diverse voices. We develop better teams and provide better services when people with dif ferent perspectives, life experiences and backgrounds thrive. This com mitment to “expanding the neighbor hood” is what drives us to develop critical programs that empower and mentor the future leaders of our in dustry, from opening the door to professional paths in real estate with the Empowering Latinas Program and Project Destined to providing special franchise opportunities for diverse prospective owners through the Inclu sive Ownership Program. We were the first global real estate brand to partner with NAHREP® (National As sociation of Hispanic Real Estate Pro fessionals®), bring to market Spanishlanguage marketing materials and collaborate with the Eva Longoria Foundation. Enhancing DEI efforts is an integral piece of the CENTURY 21 story. New voices, new perspectives and the expansion of who’s involved in the industry—consumers and in dustry professionals alike—all lead to next-level innovation. Simply put, it’s good business. And it shows the world the empathy and caring that is baked into the culture of the CEN TURY 21® Brand. In today’s ever-evolving market, technology will continue to play a key role in future success and growth of CENTURY 21® affiliates. Access to data and analytics have helped our affiliated broker network grow their businesses and attract new talent. Pro grams such as MoxiWorks®, a dynam
•Brand consumers are “most likely to consider” for future transactions*
- Michael Miedler, CEO, Century 21 Real Estate LLC
46 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE ic portfolio of growth and productivitydriving products, the C21 TrackerTM, an AI-enabled app that elevates com munication between the agent and the consumer, 21Online.com, our propri etary agent productivity platform, and comprehensive lead generation ser vices are helping us deliver a unique value proposition to the market. We understand that our family of entrepreneurs is no longer just com peting with other real estate brands and independent brokerages, but also with large equity investors and cash buyers. Our job as a brand is to ensure that they have the right knowledge, tools and resources to stay ahead of the game and help their clients win. What’s exciting for us right now is that we are focused on telling our customer-centric story that is continuing to cut through the noise, help affiliated brokers find and build long-term relationships with consumers and help the CEN TURY 21® Brand break away from the sea of sameness. Looking ahead, real estate con sumers, who live device-heavy lives, will want more connection from their advisors and their homes. This is criti cal for the agent/client relationship of tomorrow. We need to be more accessible and more representative as real estate ownership (thankfully) is available to a broader range of citizens. And we will continue to in vigorate our brand with new (under represented) voices to better serve tomorrow’s homeowners and prop ertyWheninvestors.we began planning for the reimaging of the brand in 2017, just a few years ahead of our 50th anniversary, we knew nostalgia alone would not be enough to drive growth and innovation. We were liv ing within an experiential economy, and by leveraging our core brand identity with a relevant, new ‘look and feel’ and laser-like focus on de livering extraordinary experiences to consumers and agents, we were able to strike a balance and en hance our legacy brand to ensure it stands the test of time. Now, more than ever, it is helping CENTURY 21 independent brokers and affiliated sales professionals to reach and build relationships with more clients and grow their businesses by cut ting through the noise and offering a culture of innovation while being the industry’s quality service-standards leader. Entrepreneurs, owners and sales professionals, and their cli ents, who demand a greater level of personalized attention and indi vidual outcomes are coming to the CENTURY 21 ® Brand because they know, like we do, that they deserve extraordinary experiences along ev ery step of their real estate journey.
Whether you’re a broker who works for themselves, or an agent working for an established brokerage, having your own brand identity is crucial, even if you aren’t looking to become an influencer. Remember that a brand is more than a logo, and your brand should be personalized to you. De veloping a real estate niche is a good place to start your branding journey, however, it isn’t necessary. The key to honing in on your brand identity is connecting to and resonating with your audience, who should see you not just as a real estate agent, but a local expert and resource for all things real estate.
In today’s landscape, it is crucial to have a social media strategy, wheth er you’re looking to become an in fluencer or not. From the pandemic driving more people online to the new, social media-driven genera tions entering the market, having a strong social media presence is es sential for finding success in the real estate industry. Write down your goals and objectives for becoming an influencer, identify your audience, their interests and pain points, choose the platform(s) where you plan to ex ecute these strategies, curate content and get sharing. Increase Your Engagement In any relationship, communication is key—and this rings true when it comes to your social sphere. By interacting with your audience, you are driving up engagement, helping your audi ence grow in number and exposing your content to a wider pool. Ask your audience for comments and be sure to respond to them, even if it’s just a ‘like’ or a quick note. Be sure to tag accounts such as your company’s page, vendors and
48 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
Develop a Brand Identity
A Beginner’s Guide to Becoming a RealEstate Influencer
By Paige Brown
In today’s world, social media is king. No matter how big or small a real estate brand, broker or agent may be, to keep up with today’s demographic of buyers and sellers, having a strong presence on social media is a must. But what about those who are looking to dive a little deeper, expand their reach a little further and ultimately become an influencer?
Across social media, there are nearly endless opportunities for growth. Influ encers are established and passionate leaders who people want to follow and hear from. This is no different in the real estate industry. Here is a guide for beginners, laying out the steps you need to take and the work you need to commit to in order to boost your brand, inspire others and build your business as a real estate influencer.
Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy
Connect With Other Influencers If you’re looking to become an influ encer, what better place is there to get started than researching relevant real estate influencers? Hop onto TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and even Twit ter, and search for hashtags such as #realestate, #realestatetips, #reales tateagent, #[City]realestate, #[State] realestate, #[Niche]realestate or any other relevant keywords. Pay atten tion to their followers and likes, the interaction with their audience and the types of trends and topics covered in their content. This will help when it comes to inspiring your content cre ation and developing your social me dia strategy.
you can build your brand, grow your au dience and become an influential expert in your market. It’s important to monitor your analytics, build partner ships across social media and even pay to promote your posts. Though this may take some time, dedication and the drive to succeed will help get you started on your journey of becoming a real estate influencer. RE Paige Brown is RISMe dia’s managing editor, social media/blog. Email your real estate news ideas to her pbrown@rismedia.com.at www.get.realtor ELEVATE YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE! A .realtor™ web address gets you instant recognition, elevates your marketing materials, and helps you get found online faster. Offer more value to your agents by securing them a Free Professional Website ending in .realtor™ that can be customized to your brokerage’s brand! Get started for www.get.realtorfree! 2022_RISMedia_Half_Page_7.5x5.pdf 1 5/20/2022 11:22:55 AM
Prospecting for new connections can be as simple as sending a mes sage. Once you find a real estate in fluencer on the platform(s) on which you plan to start your journey, reach out. Direct or private message the real estate professional and share that you’re looking to grow your on line presence and become an influ encer. More likely than not, peers will be more than willing to help, answer questions or even jump into a live vid eo with you, giving you the chance to reach a wider audience. Check out these real estate influencers on TikTok for inspiration: Liz Brown, 40.2k Followers –Stephanie@lizbrownrealtordailyKebede,85k Followers –Sierra@stephaniekebedeYeager,94.9k Followers –Sean@sierrayeagerChristopher Cochran, 320.2k Followers – @thecowboyofrealestate Harley Maxwell, 350k Followers –@harleymaxwell3 So, you want to be an influencer? Becoming an influencer isn’t easy. It requires a lot of hard work and atten tion. From sharing educational and entertaining content to being your most genuine and authentic self,
even other agents, as this will also help boost your engagement, push ing your content to the top more frequently. The higher your engage ment levels, the better the algorithm across social platforms will work to your advantage.
LONG-TERM SUCCESS IN ANY MARKET How NextHome Helps Brokers and Agents Remain Competitive By RISMedia Staff 50 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
What is NextHome’s take on the current state of the housing market? Charis Moreno: The market has shifted. Higher interest rates and in flation on all goods and services are pricing out buyers and impacting home sales. Changes in the market often reveal the strengths and weak nesses in your organization, your systems and your people. Overall, we expect to see a significant reduc tion in the agent base over the next 12 to 24 months. The players who remain will be the ones with the best answers to key questions. For agents, how are you going to maintain pro duction while keeping costs under control? For managing brokers, how are you going to remain competitive with reduced revenue? What’s your new strategy for recruiting and re taining top talent? I believe NextHome members are positioned better than most in this shifting market. While we’ve al ready seen other real estate brands lay off staff, cut down on marketing and technology or reduce training opportunities to curve their bleeding bottom line, our model is designed for success regardless of which way the market is leaning. We provide the marketing, technology, training and support our brokers and agents need as an included member benefit. They don’t carry the overhead for the products and tools they need to run their day-to-day business. Backed by a fully integrated real estate plat form, our NextHomies can confident ly secure the listing and capture more marketshare. All this without having to cut their commission or compro mise the level of service and tools they deliver to their clients. Can you give us some specifics? How exactly does NextHome help brokers and agents remain competitive in their market? CM: It’s simple. Our goal is to deliver an integrated marketing and technol ogy platform that gives our members everything they need to run a suc cessful real estate business—without paying retail prices. If it adds value for our brokers and agents—we find a way to give it to them, free of charge. This is why earlier this year, we formed a strategic partnership with Inside Real Estate to bring the powerful kvCORE platform to all NextHomies, starting with IDX Web sites and Smart CRM. We’re in the process of rolling out CORE Present, CORE Listing Machine and Design Center. True to our brand promise, all of these tools are fully integrated with our single sign-on platform and con nect with the rest of our products and servicesLaunchingseamlessly.kvCORE is just one of many recent updates to our offering. To help our brokers and agents in crease production and marketshare, we launched The Academy by NextHome—an in-house coaching and accountability program that currently includes six separate courses with more to come in 2023. Led by Jim Fischetti, our vice president of Learn ing and Development, The Academy incorporates live group coaching sessions over the span of 90 days, A s the economy continues down an uncertain path, the ripple effect is felt throughout the real estate market as homebuyers and sellers struggle to fulfill their housing goals. For most real estate professionals, it’s a bumpy ride, filled with unpredictability and challenges. But not for ‘NextHomies’ who have a powerful engine and culture behind them to facilitate their success in any market—no matter how rocky the waters get. Here, we sit down with Vice President of Sales Charis Moreno for an inside look at how NextHome is uniquely prepared for times just like these. “We expect to see a significant reduction in the agent base over the next 12 to 24 months. The players who remain will be the ones with the best answers to key questions.”-CharisMoreno Vice President of Sales, NextHome Charis Moreno, Vice President of Sales, NextHome, Inc.
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 51
HumansOverHousesputting®,whichismorethanaphraseforus.It’sawayoflife.”-CharisMoreno
NextHome Member Services team. They only have to remember one password to access our entire plat form and only one phone number should they need any help using it. So, how do we help members stay competitive? It’s more than giving them the tools they need to streamline their day-to-day activities so they have more time to build relationships with their clients and their communi ties. We also put in the time and ef fort to train and support our brokers and agents on how to implement these tools into their business. I be lieve this mindset is why NextHome was named the No. 1 franchise in owner satisfaction in the country by Franchise Business Review for the second year in a row. NextHome seems hyper fo cused on the people. How does that tie into your culture? CM: Our industry is easily distracted and somewhat obsessed with the word “leads.” Operating from that viewpoint can make it easy to forget the single most important factor of buying and selling real estate—the humans. Our entire organization is focused on putting HumansOver Houses®, which is more than a phrase for us. It’s a way of life. It started back in 2014 when we partnered with the world’s leading design firm, Pentagram, to create the NextHome brand. We selected them specifically for their expertise in cre ating consumer-focused brands that stand out above the rest. Like us, they Each year, NextHome’s corporate team volunteers on Luke Day, their mascot’s birthday and franchisewide day of community outreach. “Our organizationentire is focused on
Vice President of Sales, NextHome
52 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE where members make their way through a proven curriculum for ex celling in specific areas of their busi ness. We cover working with sellers, recruiting and retention, and every thing in between. The programs are heavily rooted in the NextHome eco system and further drive the adoption of our products and services through exercises, group activities, goal set ting and homework assignments. In fact, NextHome boasts an adoption rate of 72% of our mar keting and technology tools. Much of this ininassistanceEstateNextHomiesourandandhumanallyeverythingTheyin-houseadoptionhigher-than-industry-averageratecanbecreditedtoourMemberServicesteam.arethefirstlineofsupportforinourplatform—andIremeaneverything.Thesearerealbeingswhoanswerthephonepromptlyreplytoourbrokersagentsviaemail,andtheyknowtechstackinsideandout.Ourdon’tcallInsideRealorDocuSignwhentheyneedwithaSmartCampaignkvCOREoratasklisttemplateDocuSignRooms—theycallour
Do you have any final advice for brokers and agents looking to adapt to the shifting market? CM: Change gives us an opportunity to grow, learn and expand. My ad vice would be to take a hard look in the mirror and analyze which areas of your business will need to change in order to remain competitive. If ev erything stays the same, will you still be in the business in the next six, 12 or 18 months?
It’s a harsh but true statement that independent brokerages often miss out on. They get priced out of the very products and tools that could give them an edge in their market. Franchising might not have been on your radar in the past, but there is no harm in exploring your options today as a way to prepare for the future. There is strength in numbers, in hav ing access to greater buying power, and in a growing referral network— especially in a shifting market. I might be biased, but I strongly believe that our model was specially built for such a scenario—one where flexibility can truly move the needle for a broker’s bottom line. With oneyear and five-year franchise agree ments, we make it easy for owners to give us a try. We have no growth or structure requirements. Brick-andmortar, shared space and virtual brokerages can all thrive under the NextHome umbrella. It’s this flex ibility that has allowed us to grow to over 600 locations and nearly 6,000 members across the country in eight short years. For more information, please visit www.nexthome.com/.
NextHomie Dawna Bledsoe poses with her clients and Luke on closing day “There is strength in numbers, in having access to greater buying power, and in a growing shiftingespeciallynetwork—referralinamarket.”-CharisMoreno Vice President of Sales, NextHome
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 53 recognized the value of raising the bar—making the journey to home ownership a smooth experience, one delivered with the utmost profes sionalism but also a little bit of fun. We changed the way clients engage with real estate brands by creating a uniquely shaped listing sign, adding a bed/bath/parking rider that com municates the features of the home at a glance, and introducing them to Luke, our orange French bulldog mascot. Every aspect of the brand identity is designed to create a last ing impression that helps us connect with the humans in each market. As we continue to add new team members here at the corporate of fice, enter new markets and add more brokerages and members to our network, HumansOverHouses® keeps us grounded and focused on those we serve in buying and selling real estate. We celebrate their sto ries on decisions.ALTORSwiththeyfundsbrokers,ters.havedesignedFoundation,startedmenteventhisconstantHumansOverHouses.com—areminderofwhyweenteredprofession.However,itgoesdeeperthanthat.OurcommittoputtingpeoplefirstiswhattheNextHomeDisasterReliefanonprofitorganizationtohelpNextHomieswhobeenaffectedbynaturaldisasLedbyNextHomeownersandTheFoundationdistributestothosewhoneeditmost,whenneeditmost.WealsopartneredtheNationalAssociationofRE®tobringtheAtHomeWithDiversity®certificationcoursetoallNextHomemembersasanincludedmemberbenefit.LearningdiversitysensitivityandwaystoworkinmulticulturalmarketsisjustanaturalstepintheprocesswhenamindsetlikeHumansOverHouses®isdrivingyour
Thanks to two new partnerships, RE ALTOR Benefits®, NAR’s exclusive member benefits program, has rolled out two exciting offers for members and their clients. PunchListUSA offers free next-day repair estimates as well as discounts on repair or renovation services, while Arcadia Publishing provides a free quality printed guide for clients and prospects. Put More Power in Your Business With PunchListUSA As people continue to reevaluate their homes and rethink their priorities post pandemic, NAR’s REALTOR Ben efits® strives to provide relevant new resources for our members, including those geared toward homebuyers andPunchListUSAsellers. provides a quick and streamlined online process to price out and complete repair or renova tion projects anytime in a home’s lifecycle. With the cost of homes and everyday expenses rising, it’s more important than ever for homeowners to clearly understand their home’s condition and prioritize the repair and renovation investments that maximize their home’s value and ensure longterm affordability. Based in Charles ton, South Carolina, PunchListUSA provides turnkey repair, renovation and maintenance services in 14 U.S. markets, and online repair estimates to homeowners nationwide.
Through NAR REALTOR Benefits®, Arcadia Publishing offers members a unique, free marketing publication with value-added advice and guid ance for their clients and prospects. Learn how you can land more business with professionally printed materials at diaPublishing/.www.nar.realtor/Arca RE REALTOR Benefits® is the exclusive member benefits program of the National Associa tion of REALTORS® (NAR), bringing savings and special offers just for NAR members. In one year, over 800,000 REALTORS® gained an edge by leveraging at least one REAL TOR Benefits® offering, saving $74 million on member benefits from industry-leading companies. Program partners are carefully selected and understand the unique needs of real estate professionals. Learn more and save by visiting www.NAR.realtor/Realtor Benefits/. Offers: Tools to
By the NAR REALTOR Benefits® Team T he National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has our ears to the ground, noses to the grindstone and eyes peeled—all in pursuit powerful partnerships that will help you promote your brand and position your business for strategic growth. As a REALTOR®, you’re eligible for exclusive member savings from our 30-plus industry-leading partners who offer products you use every day. These benefits are carefully vetted for our members to ensure value and save you time, and stress.
Exclusive
of
Better Serve Your Clients and Boost Business
New REALTOR® Benefits
money
54 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
Through NAR REALTOR Benefits®, PunchListUSA offers free next-day on line repair estimates to help members and their clients clearly understand and budget for repair needs diag nosed during the home inspection. Find out how you can take advan tage of home repair- and renova tion-related offers at www.nar.real tor/PunchListUSA/. Pump Up Your Sales and Marketing Efforts With Arcadia Publishing With the real estate marketing industry growing by leaps and bounds, Arca dia Publishing recognizes that many real estate professionals are looking to complement their digital market ing initiatives with impressive, quality printed materials. As part of a global publishing group based in the UK, Ar cadia Publishing has a long-standing tradition of excellence in providing in tellectual sales and marketing support in both North America and Europe.
Consistency is vital for success and that includes improvingconstantlyyourself,yourskillandyourmindset.
At Workman Success Systems, we use another concept called the 3-21 to help agents lead with revenue daily. The concept is implemented by contacting three people in your database, adding two new contacts and learning one new thing. Simple, but effective, yet most agents focus their attention on fake work that keeps them busy rather than activities that are actually dollar-productive. The good news is that’s what your com petition is doing, too. If you don’t like what you see in the mirror, I would challenge you to commit to the 3-21 concept for the next 30 days and see how these simple actions change your business. RE Sarah Michelle Bliss has been serving the Valley of the Sun in real estate since 1997. She is an original founder of RE/MAX Pro fessionals as well as their director of educa tion, an international bestselling author of “8 Ways to Dominate Any Real Estate Market,” and a master coach with Workman Success Systems.
Visit andaresources/mansuccess.com/rismedihttps://pages.worktoaccesstoolsresources.
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 55
As a master coach for Workman Suc cess Systems, I use a tool called the SWOT Analysis, which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This analysis allows us to define what an agent is good at, where they can improve, what op portunities they are missing and what threats could drive them out of busi ness. What I have found when work ing with agents on their SWOT Anal ysis is that their defined threats are actually cleverly disguised opportuni ties, and that their weaknesses are of ten not external, but rather, personal. As the market returns to prepandemic activity, some agents will see this as a threat, while others will thrive because they lean into the new opportunities that a more balanced market presents. Successful agents share one thing in common—they know who their competition really is, and it’s not all the other agents in yourYourmarketplace.competition is the person who looks back at you in the mirror every morning. The question I would be asking is not what my competition is doing, but rather, what am I doing to compete with Consistencymyself?isvital for success and that includes constantly improving yourself, your skill and your mind set. In “The Greatest Salesman in the World,” Og Mandino writes, “Weak is he who permits his thoughts to con trol his actions; strong is he who forces his actions to control his thoughts.” You are the competition that deter mines whether you will have a thriv ing real estate practice (or not). You are the one who controls your men tal outlook on the market conditions. Your attitude dictates your behavior, and as we know, success requires ac tion—daily, consistent, deliberate ac tion focused on the right activities.
Do You Know Who Your Competition Is? The Answer Might Surprise You
By Sarah Michelle Bliss L ast year, the National Association of REALTORS ® reported more than one and a half million licensed agents in the United States—the largest number of associates to ever be active at one time. That is a lot of options for consumers, and one could argue that it is your competition. But is it?
“It’s become sensible and strate gic,” Banosian says. “We’re having a lot of those conversations, and we’re finding that a lot of our clients are us ing products like seven-year and 10year ARMs in replacement of using a 30-year, fixed-rate loan.”
Affordability Crisis Boosts Borrower Appetite for ‘Riskier’
Loan Products By Jordan Grice A s the housing affordability crisis persists, aspiring homeowners are opting for riskier mortgage products that can lighten the load of the growing expenses associated with purchasing a home.
56 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
That has been evident in the adjust able-rate mortgage (ARM) market, as experts say they’ve seen a significant uptick in their popularity among bor rowers this year compared to 2021. “The main reason they are becom ing much more popular now is that usually, they offer lower introduc tory rates than fixed-rate mortgages do,” says Jacob Channel, a senior economist at LendingTree who au thored a recent report showing that the amount of ARMs offered to its us ers more than tripled in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period last year—up 230%. Experts tell RISMedia that ARMs have made a significant comeback in the past Accordingdecade.to Joel Kan, associate vice president of Economic and In dustry Forecasting for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), Lending Tree’s report is indicative of a more significant trend taking hold in the lending industry as well. Based on MBA data, the share of ARM applications has settled be tween 9% and 11% of all mortgage applications in recent months com pared to the 3% share it had during 2020 and 2021, when the refinance market boomed under record-low mortgage rates. As mortgage rates climbed from 3% to nearly 6% in the first half of the year, Kan says the shift toward ARMs indicates that borrowers are looking to remain competitive while keeping monthly payments relatively low.
That’s been the case for mortgage broker Shant Banosian of Guaranteed Rate, who says that he and his team have been having more conversations about adjustable-rate loans than they have in a long time.
That’s mainly due to the runup of borrowing costs and home prices in the past couple of years. The share of ARMs during 2020 and 2021 was negligible compared to the boom that refinancing and traditional 30year fixed-rate loans saw while mortgage rates were still at record lows.
Sharga also noted that qualified mortgage rules from the financial crisis helped mitigate unnecessary risks that came back to bite consumers during the Great Recession. In particular, most adjustable-rate products are capped at how high rates can be raised at the first adjust ment and throughout the loan’s lifetime based on the Consumer Financial Pro tection Bureau (CFPB) standards. According to the CFPB, the first rate change typically can’t go above 2% of the original rate, while the cap over the loan’s lifetime typically sits at about a 5% increase. “It was a very different scenario than we are in today when people are making reasonable down payments on properties in many cases,” Sharga says.Homeowners’ equity also provides a safeguard for borrowers as home prices have surged in the past year and a half. According to Sharga, there is $27 trillion of homeowner equity in today’s market, which is vastly differ ent from the last economic cycle. “The conditions we had 10 years ago are nothing like the conditions that we are seeing today,” he says. “There is some risk involved anytime you take out a loan to buy a house. The only risk you’re looking at right now is if rates go up during that period before your first adjustment.” Still Risky Despite the safeguards designed to protect borrowers from being over whelmed by the rate change, the na ture of an adjustable-rate mortgage is still inherently riskier than a fixed-rate product.Atthe moment, an ARM-fueled col lapse is unlikely, but Channel says that over the next several years, that could change if it balloons into another problem as it did in the early 2000s.
For those who remember the 2008 fi nancial crisis—and some of the factors that caused it—the rise of adjustablerate mortgages may evoke mixed feelings.Atthat time, ARMs accounted for 42% of all new mortgage originations before nosediving after the financial downturn. That’s not far from MBA data, which places the share peak at 36% in March 2005. The share hovered around 10% or below from 2009 through 2021. According to Rick Sharga, execu tive vice president of market intelli gence for ATTOM Data Solutions, ARMs make sense for the “right kind of borrower and the right situation.”
Remembering the Crash
RE Jordan Grice is an RISMedia senior editor. Email your real estate news ideas to him jgrice@rismedia.com.at
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 57 That’s changed significantly this year, as potential buyers are looking to borrow cheaper to remain in the market and compete, according to Banosian.“Many people, especially firsttime homebuyers, are not going to stay in these houses for 20 or 30 years anyways,” he says. “The thought is to use the seven- or 10year ARM if it makes sense and if it’s something you can be comfortable with. And if the opportunity presents itself, or if rates come down in the fu ture, consider refinancing.”
While ARMs have become more common this year than last year, Channel says they still pale compared to fixed-rate mortgages, which still ac count for the lion’s share of purchase originations. LendingTree’s report in dicated that nearly 11 30-year, fixedrate mortgages are offered for every 30-year ARM. “This means that borrowers are still much more likely to get offered a fixed-rate mortgage than an ARM,” Channel stated in the report. “That said, about 41 fixed-rate mort gages were offered for every one adjustable-rate mortgage in the first half of 2021, so the popularity gap is shrinking.”
“A lot of the people who are get ting ARMs right now are probably not going to see their rates change for the next five years, so there are mul tiple years of leeway, and certainly nobody knows where rates will be six months from now, let alone five years from now,” Channel says. “It’s worth pointing out that what led to the housing collapse last time was good intentions turned into something unsustainable,” Channel says. “There was this real push to make homeown ership more accessible and to make it so lenders could give more loans to more people, and that did help some people.”According to Channel, if home prices remain steep and rates remain elevated or climb higher over the next decade, there could be a similar push by the government agencies and lenders to become more permissive with“Youborrowers.canvery quickly find yourself on a slippery slope back to what got us into trouble last time, and I think there is potential for ARMs to be a part of that issue again,” he adds.
“It’s important for borrowers to un derstand the potential risks of taking an adjustable-rate mortgage,” Shar gaTheysays.were a popular product before the housing market collapse; however, many borrowers that got adjustablerate loans back then because of their low introduction rates ended up de faulting when the rates rose, leading to a ripple effect that dragged the global economy down. Experts agree that the current mar ket has come a long way since the days of the 2008 crash, specifically when it comes to the lending standards and regulations surrounding ARMs. “The lending standards and the en vironment where these ARMs are be ing given is just a little bit better than what it was prior to the Great Reces sion,” Channel says.
Regis Hadiaris: I joined the organization in 2004 as a founding member of our award-winning digi tal marketing team. We dramatically grew the or ganization through integrated performance, brand and digital marketing. In 2012, I moved into digital product development to lead a top-secret project that ultimately became the revolutionary Rocket Mortgage experience, widely recognized as reinventing the mortgage indus try. For the last three years, I’ve built our product marketing discipline, which drives adoption of our consumer and partner experiences.
58 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE T his month, Real Estate magazine spoke with Regis Hadiaris, vice president of product marketing at Rocket Central, who discussed the right way to develop a successful go-to-market strategy that will help real estate professionals fulfill their goals and reach new levels of success.
RH: Our product marketers are the key to effectively and efficiently bring ing things to market: new digital prod uct experiences for financial services, innovative mortgage products and so much more. We are the best at han dling life’s most complex moments so that our clients—and the clients of our Rocket ProSM partners—can live their dreams. We put the client at the center of everything we do by understand ing deeply through research and an alytics, defining a go-to-market strat egy with crystal clarity and activating omnichannel marketing with a strong sense of urgency.
PB: What is your favorite part of your job?
RH: My passion for making financial services radically simple has helped me take on a wide variety of roles at Rocket Companies®. In all of my experience, seeing our extremely tal ented team members grow their skills and accomplishments, our partners expand their businesses and our cli ents reach their dreams has been a tremendous honor for me. In my cur
Developing a Winning Go-To-Market Strategy for Reaching Your Goals
Business
By Paige Brown Hadiaris
PB: As vice president of product marketing, what are your pri mary roles and responsibilities?
Paige Brown: Tell us how you got started with Rocket Mortgage®, how it led to your current role and what exactly that role is.
•Convenience. You need to know everything your client does—and then some—to help them get to the closing table with as little ef fort as possible. Real-time track ing of every client with their lend er is another way to stand out. Once you have these experiences in place, you can deploy marketing tactics in your local market for effec tive prospecting, onboarding and nurturing to help more clients than you dreamed possible. RE The above article is sponsored content. For more information, please visit www.RocketProInsight.com.PaigeBrown is RISMe dia’s managing editor, social media/blog. Email your real estate news ideas to her pbrown@rismedia.com.at “The way to win is through the experience you deliver to clients.”your – REGIS HADIARIS Vice President of ProductRocketMarketing,Central
PB: Why is a strong go-to-market strategy important for today’s real estate professionals?
RH: A go-to-market strategy must clearly outline the opportunity. What’s going on in the market? Who are your target audiences? What jobs are they trying to do? How can you be the best at helping them with those jobs? From there, a successful go-to-mar ket strategy will clarify your distinct competencies, value proposition(s), places you will market, communica tions strategy, how you will promote and how you will enable teams like sales, customer support, etc. When all these things are defined, you can prospect, onboard and nurture effec tively to reach your business goals.
•business:Simplicity. Calls and emails just don’t cut it. Clients expect unique digital experiences to help them become financially ready to buy a home.
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 59 rent role, we’re ensuring that every thing we do in our Rocket Pro partner ships is a win for our partner and their clients.
PB: What are your goals and ob jectives when it comes to developing a go-to-market strategy?
RH: Clients have more choice in real estate agents than ever before. Whether you are a real estate agent or own a real estate brokerage, you have similar goals. You want people to know you, like you, want to work with you and, ultimately, transact. Cli ents expect that you are incredibly di aled into what is going on in the local market. You must find ways to stand out from other agents and make your marketing efforts work harder…and a strong go-to-market strategy achieves this.
RH: My team and I have developed go-to-market strategies across all our consumer and professional busi nesses and products, including Rocket Mortgage, Rocket HomesSM, Rocket Pro TPO, Rocket Pro Insight, Rocket SolarSM, Rocket Money and more. Our work is used by our award-win ning sales, marketing, training and communications teams to align and execute at the highest level.
PB: Please give us some insight on the go-to-market strategies that you have helped develop.
PB: What are some tried-andtrue strategies that real estate professionals can implement into their brands today? Why are these so important for finding success? RH: The speed of the game keeps getting faster. Client expectations about what you deliver keep increas ing. Standing out among other real estate professionals is a challenge. The way to win is through the experi ence you deliver to your clients and the word-of-mouth it generates. Here are three strategies real estate professionals can implement to attract new clients, save time, increase the percentage of winning offers, ensure timely closings and generate more
•Speed. The ability to submit a winning offer is paramount. Be ing able to fulfill this for your cli ents by adjusting offers and veri fied approval letters in real-time is a gamechanger.
Our industry, historically, is one which has lacked sufficient racial and ethnic diversity. Overall, His panics/Latinos accounted for 11% of REALTORS® in 2021, followed by Black/African Americans at 8% and Asian/Pacific Islanders at 5%. Increasing diversity in real estate professions, we believe, will also play a critical role in increasing the diversity of homeowners in America. At NAR, as across much of this country, we continue our study of the past in order to dismantle the systemic barriers impeding a more prosperous future. Consider sta tistics like those showing that the 43% homeownership rate for Black
By Bob Goldberg
As NAR works to combat discrimi nation and bias in everything we do, we maintain a focus on increas ing diversity within all real estaterelated professions. Perhaps our biggest push can be found within NAR Spire, a mentorship program relaunched this July. NAR Spire centers on multicultur al, minority communities throughout the U.S., offering valuable, oneon-one guidance from current RE ALTORS® to help Americans from every zip code identify and pursue professional opportunities in the real estate field.
60 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
Roughly 77% of NAR’s 1.5 million members in 2021 were white, according to NAR research released on July 11. This figure is down just slightly from numbers reported in 2020, but perhaps one of the most favorable and positive trends we see in the industry today is that diversity is increasing the most amongst those who are newest to the field. In fact, NAR’s 2022 Member Profile found that 37% of those with two years or less experience in real estate were racial minorities, a substantial increase from just one year prior.
NAR Spire
Propelling New, Emerging Agents Forward
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 61 Americans significantly lags the national average (65%). Compare that to the homeownership rate for white Americans (72%), and the contrast is even more stark. Alongside a steering committee of representatives from the National Association of Real Estate Brokers and the Mortgage Bankers Associ ation, among others, NAR recently helped launch the Black Homeown ership Collaborative—a missionfocused coalition intent on creating three million net new Black home owners in the U.S. by 2030. Identified within the initiative, known simply as “3by30,” are seven programs and policy chang es the Collaborative contends will help achieve this three-million-newhomeowners goal before the end of the decade. That includes broaden ing access to mortgage credit, in creasing housing supply and estab lishing a targeted down payment assistanceHomeownershipprogram.remains the cen terpiece of the American Dream. However, various market dynamics have made this goal less attainable for countless prospective homebuy ers, no matter their race, over recent years. Mentorship opportunities like those offered through NAR Spire help Americans from all back grounds learn the fundamentals of the real estate industry, explore all the generational wealth-building opportunities made available by property ownership and discover how to achieve their own home ownershipAlthoughdreams.theNAR Spire applica tion and matching process for this year is closed, associations inter ested in participating next year can apply by visiting ingdationscustomizedcareers,Realtoronetor/SpireInterestForm/.www.NAR.realUntilthen,weencourageeverytovisitwww.FutureInRealEstate.toexplorevariousrealestatetakeanassessmenttoreceivecareer-pathrecommenandlearnaboutallofthelastbenefitsofhomeownership.
RE Bob Goldberg is CEO of the National Association of REALTORS® At NAR, as across much of this country, we continue our study of the past in order to dismantle the systemic impedingbarriersamoreprosperousfuture. AssistanceDown-paymentprogram
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Your Local Recession: What a Downturn Looks Like in MarketsDisparate
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 63
By Jesse Williams A m id all the blaring national headlines of falling home sales and price declines, with all the anecdotes of listings that would have sold in hours last year sitting for months, against a background of increasingly likely recessionary conditions, the most important question for real estate professionals is, what matters most in your market?
“There are places that we know in the past have been better during eco nomic downturns, places that have what I call ‘recession-resistant econo mies,’” she says. “These will be bet ter positioned if there is an economic downturn to support continued de mand in the housing market.”
Dr. Shelton Weeks is a professor at the Lucas Institute of Real Estate at Florida Gulf Coast University. He af firms that just like the last major down turn, price drops, foreclosures and changes in consumer activity are all intrinsically tied to local conditions.
The answer might be none of these things.However badly pundits want to draw broad conclusions from national data, the truth is, every housing mar ket is its own beast. Every state, every metro and every neighborhood is go ing to experience a pullback differ ently. For anyone who actually wants to make practical business decisions in reaction to these broad market move ments, knowing the granular, individu al factors that could change how your region experiences a downturn is, in fact, the only useful way to prepare for one.Dr. Lisa Sturtevant is the chief econ omist for Bright MLS. She says that sometimes, looking at national price trends or sales becomes “meaning less” in the context of trying to understand real estate. “The question is, where are you talk ing about?” she says. Many observers, and even a few economists, have wondered if the cur rent market could see a collapse on par in size and scope to the 20062008 housing bubble. Sturtevant, along with a majority of housing ex perts, says the current downturn is al most entirely unlike that crisis. But what many forget, she says, is that not every market took an equal drubbing a decade ago, even as some homes lost half their value al most overnight. According to a 2018 Corelogic analysis, a few states only fell fractionally from their over-inflat ed peak back then. As several states saw average price declines of 40% or more, North Dakota, for instance, only saw home prices fall 2%, while a handful of other (mostly rural) states saw declines under 10%.
Even this broad truth has to be de lineated, however. Population growth that is based on one factor does not indicate the same resilience as growth based on another trend. It is up to each individual agent or broker to un derstand the granular details and his tory of their region. In Seattle, Washington, York Baur, CEO of MoxiWorks, urges real estate professionals to start researching these things now, if they haven’t already done“Trulyso. being an expert on behalf of your customer, both seller and buyer—I think that’s the goal of any good agent. And that means educat ing yourself proactively, not reactively, to the issues,” he said. Shaky or Firm Foundations It would be nice if there was a univer sal scale, or a single metric, that could be used to evaluate how a given mar ket will react in a downturn. If every market’s vulnerability to a recession
“When I think about any sort of swing in the market, the first thing I think of in terms of resiliency, and the markets that are going to be more resilient, are the ones that are experi encing steady population growth,” he says. “Nothing beats being in a grow ing market. It covers up a lot of flaws.”
– YORK BAUR, CEO, MoxiWorks
What Goes Up…
Many observers have tried to use that simple approach of assuming that ev ery region’s potential pullback is go ing to be based on how much and how fast prices and home values went up. Sturtevant says that while this ap proach is not incorrect, it is also far from the full picture.
A tech-heavy economy like Austin could see faster falling prices for this reason compared to metros like Pitts burgh or Washington, D.C., where jobs are tied to research universities and the federal government, respec tively, she says. Baur thinks tourism or travel-based job markets are vulnera ble, noting that does not just mean ar eas that attract vacationers—markets with a lot of airline-supported jobs, for instance.Butdelving even deeper, Baur adds that some industries that have tradi tionally been hit hard by recessions won’t necessarily sink in the current climate. He singles out manufacturing as a sector that has changed tremen dously in the last few years in a way that will likely weather a recession—or at least help bolster certain regions against negative impacts.
First-time buyers who were—or are—“stretching a little bit” in order to get into the market might be the hard est hit, according to Weeks. They may be forced to sell their homes due to an overall economic downturn, but sud denly completely priced out of the area by interest rates and potentially with little equity if they bought near the top of the market. Markets with significant shares of these buyers are the ones to be most concerned about. “Buyers who were buying as much as they could…with this, I hate to call it false confidence, but the idea that prices are going to continue to go up,” he describes. “Those folks that were sort of the last ones in, if the market slows down…that’s where my concern would lie.”
“What we learned in the pandemic is the fragility of the global supply chain, and that’s causing a lot of stuff to get onshored—it hasn’t happened a lot yet, but there’s all sorts of reaction and planning on that basis,” he claims. “It’s very hard to predict because where these plans would be placed has a whole process on a companyspecific basis, but there’s whole geog raphies that will actually benefit even in an economic slowdown.”
64 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE was directly correlated with its CO VID-boosted price appreciation, for example, knowing which area was about to get clobbered would be that easy.Housing markets, however, are just too complex and interconnected for that kind of simplistic approach. Stur tevant, who recently conducted her own analysis of Atlantic Coast mar kets, attempting to discern the “riski est” areas, says that she begins with five big factors: job markets, mortgage “sensitivity,” price appreciation, outof-town buyers and inventory. All of these factors taken together, Sturtevant asserts, allow for at least a rough idea of how a given hous ing market will behave in a downturn. Within all of those, there is plenty more variation, however. Weeks points out that the job sector is sometimes more important than its superficial strength, at least when it comes to housing.
Another, even broader metric to look at is socioeconomic status.
“When you think about folks that are in the tech sector, those types of skill sets will allow them to pivot much more easily than say, someone like myself, an academic. For folks like us, it’s hard to move,” he says. “That’s cer tainly a factor when you think about which communities might be able to adjust, or might see people move very quickly.”Sturtevant agrees, while adding that predicting the specific behavior of dif ferent industries is a tricky proposition. “Tech workers in Austin may be more willing to pick up and sell and do something else,” she says. “It may be that their job is gone because of an economic downturn, or it might just be that it is time for the next phase, because they did this ‘Austin COVID’ thing, and now need to go back to Silicon Valley.”
Weeks notes that generally, regions with lower-income residents will also be more affected, sensitive to in creased mortgage rates, with buyers likely to get priced out of that market. Sturtevant adds the caveat that high er-income buyers (and homeowners) often have a larger exposure to the broader economic environment and could change their behavior—declin ing to upgrade a home, for instance. In this case, even higher-income re gions could see decreased activity as families batten down the hatches against“Higher-incomefaltering. households feel a different impact of rising rates,” she says. “I think the impact on higherincome folks has to do more broadly with investment returns, and then low income-folks, with the day-to-day.”
“Some of the outlying markets that really surged in the pandemic are al lowing those existing residents that were frankly priced out by an influx of out-of-town buyers...a chance to regroup and maybe get back in the market,” she says. Demand from existing residents, along with the right kind and amount of inventory, could essentially set a
“Markets that are going to be more resilient, are the ones that experiencingaresteadypopulationgrowth.”
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 65 floor for the pullback—not preventing the pain, but getting a tourniquet on it. That extreme demand imbalance, with plenty of regions still having hordes of buyers eager to pick up a house despite much higher mortgage rates, is likely to be a significant cush ion even in places where prices have ballooned, according to Weeks. Case in point—Weeks’ own back yard in Florida, which has seen some of the most spectacular and consistent price growth over the last year or two. “We had, last month, almost a 30% jump in the number of properties listed by REALTORS®,” he says. “But we’re so far below what you would consider a healthy level of inventory…we’ve got a ways to go before we get to a level of inventory for just normal mar ketPropertiesfunction.”are now sitting for around a week instead of getting multiple of fers and disappearing on the first day, he says, which is still “ludicrous” and also a testament to the resilient and re liable demand for homes there. Inventory is a very tricky metric to interpret in a pullback. Broadly, scarce inventory could prop up prices, but a downturn could also depress new construction and leave a market starved and stagnant, according to Sturtevant.“Nowwhat builders are finding is they can’t build speculatively—or they can, but it’s getting harder and harder to price that home,” she explains. “I think—I’ve heard anecdotally—that there’s pullback from builders because they’re waiting for things to settle out a bit, and they can get better pricing.” Regions that have the potential to free up enough existing homes have a better chance of weathering the pullback because that wait-and-see approach from builders is not going away, according to Sturtevant, with no real broad overbuilding like what happened in 2008. “I don’t see a turnaround on the new construction anytime soon to help alleviate the inventory problem,” she says.
“It’s unfortunate, but I think it will fa vor the quality end of the market, and I think that’s ultimately good for the in dustry and certainly the consumer be cause it tends to favor those who are experienced and provide a high level of service,” he says. RE Jesse Williams is an RISMedia senior editor. Email your real estate news ideas to him jwilliams@rismedia.com.at “We’ve got a ways to go before we get to a level of inventory for normalfunction.”market – DR. SHELTON WEEKS, Professor, Lucas Institute of Real Estate at Florida Gulf Coast University
Weeks says that loose monetary policy has most benefited specific kinds of housing stock—high-end and luxury homes, first of all. Regions with these types of homes and buyers are also generally going to be able to “ride out the storm.” He adds that demand for condos and multi-family spaces “is going to stand up better” generally, in a downturn, as rising in terest rates squeeze the higher-priced single-family market. Agents, if they want to stay ahead of the trends, need to start checking in with their local planning department, Baur suggests, and should be “brush ing up” on the latest trends—ADUs, for instance, which are receiving more attention and support, particularly in some“Somemarkets.people are thinking of this multi-family transition as being a very long-term thing, and it is, but there are very short-term moves that can start to happen once the zoning changes,” he says.No matter the degree or the factors, though, a downturn is inherently scary. Despite the broad consensus among experts and widespread evidence that there is no mortgage crisis, no highrisk lending that could fuel a crash as ugly as 2008, many still remember that a good deal of experts denied the existence of a bubble back then—right up until it burst. The National Associa tion of REALTORS® (NAR) distributed “anti-bubble reports” in late 2005 that explicitly claimed that “the facts simply do not support the possibility of a housing Becausebust.”ofthe many reforms and regulations implemented since 2008, and because price appreciation has stemmed from a very obvious supplydemand imbalance rather than more nebulous factors, it is hard to imag ine a pullback looking like that crash, even if it is more painful than most ob serversSturtevantexpect.says that the “resetting” happening right now is actually going to be a positive development for the market.“Itisa good thing. I think it is good for homebuyers to have more options, to have more time to make their choic es,” she explains. From a purely real estate perspec tive, Baur claims that previous down turns have shown that there is an “in herent flight to quality” as far as where consumers are taking their business, and speculative or budget brokerage models could also suffer more going forward, depending on what a down turn looks like. Some agents and bro kers may not be able to stay solvent in the new environment and potentially drop out, or at least rethink how they doButbusiness.eventhat is a good thing for the industry, Baur claims.
L eadership author John Maxwell wrote, “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” And when real estate markets shift, it provides a massive opportunity for leaders. By giving your people the proper support, now can be a time for growth.
Commentary by Michael Minard
1 Set the tone from the top. If your managers, agents and teams per ceive that you’re confused about what to do next, they will respond similarly. Because what happens at the top of any organization can have a direct— and lasting—impact on everyone. As a brokerage leader, turning lemons into lemonade is what you do best, so now is the time to double down on all your efforts. You already have the tech toolbox with the items your people need. It’s time to put your tech investments to work for your agents and teams—now more than ever.Your focus should be on growth and taking marketshare. It is not time to pull back. You do that, and you’ll see many agents putting their heads in the sand. Keep spirits high by dem onstrating how laser-focused you are on helping them soar.
2 Stay connected. During CO VID, many leaders discovered the power of virtual team meetings. It’s always been tough to get agents and teams to show up for a weekly meet ing, but when the COVID chaos erupt ed, they showed up to virtual meetings in droves, looking for answers.
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After spending a decade or two (or three) in this business, you already know that change is an inherent as pect of real estate markets. However, when we are in the middle of a boom ing housing market, we forget how swiftly things can shift. The rapid rise in mortgage rates sidelined many potential homebuy ers. Home builders saw an onslaught of contract cancellations from custom ers who would no longer qualify be cause of the rate increases. This is a time when real estate agents and teams look for guidance on how to react and what to do. Here are three ways leaders can help agents and teams adjust and adapt to any significant market shift:
Connecting directly with your people—in person and virtually—is crucial when the pace of change is quickening. Are you doing daily office visits? Are you picking up the phone or texting to connect with agents and teams? If not, you should be. Hearing what leadership is thinking is great, but seeing what leaders are doing is even better.
How Brokerage Leaders Can Help Agents and Teams Adapt to Market Changes
3 Push harder. The marvel of tech today is that you can track everything. It may seem obvious, but you need to push harder by doing more of what works and eliminating whatAnddoesn’t.askyour tech partners for help. What can they do to help you grow? Good partners will provide the sup port you need and help your people doShiftingmore. markets are for the strong. By giving your people the proper sup port, now can be a time for growth. RE Michael Minard is CEO and owner of Delta Media Group, a leading and trust ed technology partner for many of real estate’s top brands, and 100% familyowned and operated.
• Employment in professional and business services added 89,000 jobs.
Key findings:
• Manufacturing added 30,000 jobs in July, with employment in durable goods industries—including products used in homebuild ing—up by 21,000.
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 67 TRENDS & ISSUES
The takeaway: “The 20 million jobs lost during the early months of the COVID-19 lock down have been fully recovered,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of REALTORS® “More Americans are working today than at any time in history. The unem ployment rate is 3.5%, matching a 50year low. Companies have increased wages by 6.2%, though that figure is unable to keep up with 9% inflation. ‘Help Wanted’ signs abound.” “Job growth in July remained strong, and with upward revisions to May and June, job growth has aver aged 437,000 per month over the last three months,” said Mike Fratan toni, SVP and chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association. “De spite the negative reading on second quarter GDP, this is not a picture of an economy in recession. And even though initial claims for unemploy ment insurance have increased mod estly in recent weeks, these data show that the pace of hiring, spurred by more than 10 million job openings, continues to exceed any increase in layoffs.” RE Jordan Grice is an RISMedia senior editor. Email your real estate news ideas to him jgrice@rismedia.com.at U.S.
A nd just like that, U.S. unemployment has recovered from its pandemic-induced doldrums. However, the labor market is still tight despite seeing significant job growth in July, according to a recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
• The average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 15 cents (0.5%) to $32.27.
Unemployment Hits Pre-Pandemic Levels as Job Growth Surges in July
By Jordan Grice
• Employment in construction grew by 32,000 positions, as specialty trade contractors added 22,000 jobs.
Based on BLS data, employers add ed 528,000 jobs in July—up from 372,000 in June. This mid-summer performance helped bring the nation al unemployment rate down to 3.5%, marking a total return to its February 2020 pre-pandemic levels. The labor force participation rate, at 62.1%, and the employment-popula tion ratio, at 60%, were little changed. According to CNBC reports, the employment gains indicate a strong labor market despite signs of eco nomic weakness in the face of elevat ed inflation and the federal response to reel it in.
• There were 5.67 million unem ployed people in July 2022— down from 8.67 million in July 2021.
• Jobs in construction were up 82,000 over February 2020.
• The U.S. added 528,000 jobs in July.
• Employment in leisure and hospitality grew by 96,000 jobs, with restaurants adding 74,000 and accommodation covering the remaining spread.
Commentary by Daniel Ramsey
A s we approach the end of the third quarter, it’s time to reflect. How have your leads been treating you? Now, more than ever, the quality of your real estate leads is essential; however, spending a lot of money on lead sources does not guarantee a high conversion rate. A small percentage of leads will convert right away, while the rest require some time. Therefore, conversion rates increase the more we connect with these leads and build relationships. This takes time and effort.
Essentially, to get your money’s worth, you need to go that extra mile and ensure that your opportunities within your lead pool are not wasted. So, how do you go about doing this?
68 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE TRENDS & ISSUES
4 Ways to Increase Real Estate Lead Conversion
4 Never give up on your leads unless they tell you to go away and they truly don’t require your services. Again, consistency is key. Make yourself enough of a pres ence in their lives so that when the time comes and they are ready to make a decision, they won’t think twice about approaching you.
2 Pay attention to the leads that you generate from your website. According to a National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) study, a majority of homebuyers be gin their search online. A buyer po tentially spends anywhere between two and 18 months searching for homes, so if someone takes the time to register on your website, be sure to give them proper attention. Reaching out to these leads sends a great mes sage, providing a good basis to be gin building a relationship with your potential prospect, especially since our business is built on relationships.
1 Determine how you want to tackle your calls and live appointments. If you work alone, designate a specific amount of time you want to spend making calls. Also, specify what kind of calls they are. Are they follow-up calls? Are they cold calls? If you have a team in place, perhaps you could have someone dedicated to follow-up calls to nurture your warm leads. A virtual assistant can handle your prospect ing as well. Delegate these tasks, but determine which ones would benefit from your personal touch so that you can still be involved in the process.
Always Have a Plan Make sure you have a clear plan for executing each step mentioned above. Make sure your team is on board and clearly understands your goals. By doing so, you are ensur ing that you are making the most of your leads, and your ROI on them will surely increase. RE Daniel Ramsey is the founder and CEO of MyOutDesk, rated No. 1 virtual assistant service by TechRadar. With over 6,000 clients and 700-plus verified five-star reviews, he helps busi nesses gain indispensable leverage with virtual real estate professionals. To learn more, services/.www.myoutdesk.com/visit
3 Find ways to engage with your leads. Be creative and consistent, send out emails, engage with them on social media and send an occasional text message. There are so many ways you can reach out to your leads. You can do it yourself or have one of your team members focus on communicating with them. Your virtual assistant can even be in charge of engaging on social media if you create a schedule they can fol low to send out monthly emails.
N early three-fourths of U.S. millennials (72%) have some form of non-mortgage debt, with the average millennial owing $117,000, according to a recent report from Clever Real Estate that takes a look at why this demographic struggles to afford a home.
•Nearly one in three millennials (29%) don’t pay off their credit card bill in full every month.
“Millennials—now in their prime working years—were steamrolled again in 2020 when the pandemicinduced recession wiped out stock market gains, retirement savings and emergency funds built in the previous decade.”
•Nearly three-fourths of millenni als (72%) have some form of nonmortgage debt, with the average millennial owing $117,000.
•one.Not saving enough is the No. 1 financial regret among millennials
•Of those who have credit card debt, the average amount they owe is $5,349.
Author’s take: “Millennials trace their financial struggles to the 2008 economic cri sis, when the oldest members of the generation graduated into a market with few jobs available. The stagnant economy depressed wages, lead ing to lower lifetime wealth and de layed milestones, such as marriage and homeownership,” writes Jaime Dunaway-Seale, content writer for Clever and author of the report.
•(37%).One-fourth of millennials (25%) aren’t confident they could afford a $500 emergency expense out of pocket, and one-third (33%) don’t think they could afford a $1,000
•The average millennial spends 47% of gross monthly income on housing each month—1.5x more than the recommended 30%.
Why Millennials Can’t Afford Homes in 2022 By RISMedia Staff
RE
•More than half of millennials (53%) own a home, but one in six millen nial homeowners (16%) regret their
To learn more about their economic situation, Clever surveyed 1,000 mil lennials about their finances, savings and credit history to provide a clear snapshot of how debt afflicts this generation.Hereare the key findings from the •survey:Among millennials who are debtfree, just one in three (34%) have never had debt, while one in four (25%) have paid off their debts within the past year.
•years.Approximately one in 16 millenni als (6%) don’t think they’ll ever pay off their debt.
•The most common type of debt among millennials is credit card debt, with 67% of those with debt carrying a balance.
•purchase.Ofthosewho don’t own a home, nearly one in three (30%) don’t think they’ll ever be able to afford
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 69 TRENDS & ISSUES
•emergency.About77% of millennials already have children or want them in the future, but one in four (25%) say they can’t afford them.
•Nearly half of millennials with debt (48%) say they have student loans, with the average respondent ow ing $126,993.
•About 63% of millennials believe it will take them one to five years to pay off their debt, while nearly one in 10 think it will take more than 10
Reducing the Wealth Gap by Improving the Housing Supply
The wealth gap between Latino families and their non-Hispanic white counterparts narrows considerably when comparing the household wealth of Latino homeowners to that of non-Hispanic white homeowners, underscoring the power of homeownership in bridging the racial and ethnic wealth gap.
High homeownership rates are a goal worth fighting for. According to findings from the Na tional Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) and Up for Growth, these are the realities for Latinos: 1. Almost all Latinos live in metros ex periencing housing underproduction. 2. Latinos live in states experiencing the highest rates of underproduction.
70 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE TRENDS & ISSUES
5. There are very few Latinos in mar kets that have enough housing supply.
Latinos are aging into their prime home-buying years and are project ed to account for 70% of homeown ership growth over the next 20 years. The demand for housing among communities of color is there; howev er, the severe undersupply of hous ing poses a threat not only to closing the ethnic and racial wealth gap, but to the future economic growth of our country.Looking at homeownership more broadly, history suggests that housing activity has helped bolster economic growth following past recessions, and according to the National Associa tion of Home Builders (NAHB), hous ing makes up 16.3% of the U.S. GDP.
NAHB has reported the correla tion between high immigration rates and increased construction. In fact, 56,000 immigrants entered the con struction labor force in 2018—a dras tic drop compared to the 130,000 who entered in 2005. Greater investment in housing is needed now more than ever to un leash the homeownership growth potential inherent in our demographic vibrancy. RE Luis Padilla is the 2022 president of NAHREP and CEO of The Padilla Team at RE/MAX Advance Realty.
Commentary by Luis Padilla H omeownership is the single most powerful tool for closing the racial and ethnic wealth gap. To underscore this point, Latino homeowners have 28 times the wealth of Latino renters and a median net worth of $171,900 compared to $6,200.
So, how do we gain momentum on housing? The No. 1 priority is addressing the national housing inven tory and affordability crisis by build ing more homes. Expanding access to credit and fostering a lending en vironment conducive to the growing share of Latino homeowners is also critical. In addition, we must ensure that first-time homebuyers have ac cess to competitive financing while empowering the real estate industry, policymakers and future homeown ers with tools and resources that help increase Hispanic homeownership.
NAHREP’s free resources include a bilingual glossary of industry terms, a tool that tracks congressional district rankings by Hispanic homeownership rate and other publications that high light Hispanic homeownership and wealthFinally,trends.championing immigration reform will help solve the labor sup ply shortage and boost our economy.
3. Latinos are concentrated in met ropolitan and micropolitan areas (MSAs) with the highest rates of un 4.derproduction.Underproduction is getting worse in all of the top Latino markets.
What Would You Do With More Money? There are two ways to increase your income: generate more closings or lower expenses. An easy way to lower expenses is to say goodbye to large broker splits and hello to Fathom Realty’s 100% Commission Plan. Fathom’s plan ensures the highest level of support, technology, and training without sacrificing anything. So get more and keep more of your hard-earned income! And the best part isn’t included in the chart above. After 12 transactions you are capped and only pay $99 per transaction putting even more money in your pocket. If this changing market has you looking at ways to reduce your expenses and grow your income, take a moment to learn more about Fathom. Grow your business with Fathom’s: • 100% Commission Plan • Low Transaction Fees • No Monthly Fees • Cap at 12 Transactions • Local Leadership Fathom Realty supports and nurtures agents at each stage of their careers, regardless of how many transactions they close per year. At Fathom, YOU matter! Are you ready to keep more of your money? Learn more at FATHOMCAREERS.COM
Path No. 2: The Networker Networkers heavily generate repeat and referral business by focusing their time on their sphere. They nurture the relationships they already have to create close connections, filling their pipeline with people who know, like and trust them. Networkers take a low volume/high conversion approach, excelling at closing deals based on the relationships they create. Networkers don’t need all the bells and whistles of their prospector coun terparts but a more simplified solution that focuses on unique ways to nur ture and support long-term relation ships with their sphere.
72 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE TRENDS & ISSUES
Networkers take a low create.relationshipsdealsexcellingconversionvolume/highapproach,atclosingbasedonthethey
What Kind of Marketer Are You?
If you know what type of marketer you are, follow these tried and true strategies to help keep your pipeline full with leads that complement your business strategy.
Path No. 1: The Prospector Prospectors cast a wide net by creat ing as many connections as possible. They spend a majority of their time on top-of-funnel marketing strate gies, typically investing in third-party lead generation solutions to feed their pipeline. Prospectors excel at creating brand awareness and demonstrating their area of expertise, taking a high volume/low conversion approach to lead generation. On average, ap proximately two to three percent of leads generated are people who are ready to buy or sell in the next one to two months, but this is where pros pectors thrive because GCI on two percent of leads is still an incredible return. Additionally, they have longterm lead nurture strategies in place to increase lead conversion over time. Prospectors rely on a robust, endto-end CRM solution that offers every thing from lead acquisition to shortterm and long-term automated lead nurturing and appointment-setting services. This is important because the volume of leads will be much higher, requiring much more than a manual, hands-on approach. Are you a prospector? Then Elm Street’s Elevate CRM® may be the perfect end-to-end solution for you. And now, you can try the platform free for 60 days. Learn more and cre ate your free account at www.elm street.com/crm/.
RE Meagan O’Leary, the education director for Elm Street Academy, helps oversee the strategy and execution of education across the Elm Street ecosystem. She and the Elm Street educational field team bring effective and energetic training to the real estate industry and beyond. For more information, please www.elmstreet.com/.visit
Commentary by Meagan O’Leary W hen marketing your real estate business, are you a prospector or a networker? Every real estate agent has their own marketing goals, ideally capitalizing on their strengths and weaknesses. A focused lead generation strategy is a key component to driving success.
Are you a networker? Whether you are new to the business, a part-time agent or someone who’s built their business on sphere of influence mar keting, Elm Street’s IXACT Contact® CRM offers you more than you could imagine. Try the platform free for 60 days to see if it’s the right option for you. Visit www.elmstreet.com/crm/.
Due to all these changes, I decided to begin filming REALTOR® mindset videos on my own personal Insta gram page, @ajlamacchia, and I use the hashtag #CrushitMindset as a spin-off of our Crush It In Real Estate brand. Over the last five years, I have posted a tremendous amount of vid eo content with tips for REALTORS®, broker/owners and team leaders on our Crush It In Real Estate Facebook page. I have noticed that anytime I discuss mindset, people seem to love it, but I felt it should be put on a dif ferent platform to keep Crush It more about specific real estate subjects.
I t is so important to have the right mindset on a day-to-day basis, whether you are a business leader, an owner or a REALTOR ® .
Remember that you are still on a level playing field with all your com petition. Whether you are a REAL TOR® or a broker/owner, everyone is dealing with the same changing market as we shift from an extreme seller’s market to a market that is more balanced and, maybe at some point over the next year, one that is more in favor of buyers. Markets like these present massive opportunities for broker/owners to gain marketshare and take back the marketshare they lost from inexperi enced REALTORS® who dabbled in then quit the business. It’s important as you navigate each day to remember these facts, because if you don’t, you can get caught up in the drama and miss out on opportunities. As you adjust to handling this changing market, it is important to keep a few things in mind: 1 Keep everything in perspective. This is not just happening to you; your competition is facing it, too. Everyone, including REALTORS®, team leaders and broker/owners, is on a level playing field. 2 Rise to the occasion. Your mindset should match your ac tions. Embody the “I will dominate this market” mantra, and watch as your daily real estate activities go up, not down. Don’t get caught up in feeling frustrated or defeated due to the state of the market. Embrace the change and trek forward.
Maintain a Growth Mindset Through a Changing Market
Launching these mindset videos on my Instagram is a perfect example of me seeing an opportunity and go ing for it. You can and should do the same thing with your business. Do you work with buyers or sellers? Are you a broker/owner that primarily serves REALTORS®? Think about what they want and provide it to them in content, blogs, training or whatever form they need.As I say in most of my #Crushit Mindset videos, my goal is to domi nate in everything I do, every day. That should be your goal, too. RE Anthony Lamacchia is CEO of Lamacchia Realty. For information,moreplease www.lamacchiarealty.com/.visit
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 73 TRENDS & ISSUES
Commentary by Anthony Lamacchia Don’t get caught up in feeling frustrated or defeated due to the state of the market. Embrace the change and trek forward.
It is especially important to maintain the right mindset now that we are headed into a changing market , especially because all of the news can make it easier to fall into a mental rut. In addition, a change in your client’s behavior can really influence you and shake you up.
•
A VA is best for a company
Commentary by Daniel Ramsey W ith everything going on in the world today, professionals across the board—including mortgage loan officers—are feeling the pressure. One way they’re dealing with the added strain is by leveraging virtual assistants (VAs). In fact, more and more brokerages are turning to virtual assistant services to fill out their staff with experienced professionals capable of handling a variety of tasks. Let’s discuss how a VA can support your local loan officer and shake up the industry for the better.
Time Is Money In real estate, the old cliche “time is money” is as true as it gets. Getting started, it’s important to understand that a VA could never replace the role of a loan officer. A VA is best for a company when combined with its existing workforce as a supplement to facilitate growth. They do this by learning how you do business, fitting in with your team and performing like they’re just down the street rather than across an ocean. The perfect VA will be doing the work that was slowing down your local team. There are al ways tasks that are a bit less top-level or expertise-specific, which can often be handled remotely, so why not have someone outside the office knock out that busywork so that your local staff can focus on being the experts they’re meant to be? Below are the tasks that will differ entiate your loan officer from the vir tual assistant: Loan Processor interest rates Interact with clients
•applicationResearchand
for Loan Processors
•Shop different banks
•Quote
•Go over different loan programs
•Negotiate point fees
facilitateasexistingcombinedwhenwithitsworkforceasupplementtogrowth.
•Complete additional in-person or specialty tasks Virtual Assistant
It’s a Win/Win As you probably noticed from the dif ferent duties across both lists, the VA is like a supportive lifeline. A loan of ficer has a lot on their plate and can often feel stretched thin, especially when juggling different clients. Hav ing an experienced virtual assistant on your team to back them up is a win/win for everyone. RE Daniel Ramsey is the founder and CEO of MyOutDesk, rated No. 1 virtual assistant service by TechRadar. With over 6,000 clients and 700-plus verified five-star re views, he helps businesses gain indispensable lever age with virtual real estate Toprofessionals.learnmore, services/.www.myoutdesk.com/visit Virtual Assistants Can and Cannot Do
74 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE TRENDS & ISSUES
••Send•Review•Complete•Order•ReviewapplicationsdocumentationappraisalstheloanpackagetitleremindersCompleteanyotherpaperwork/datatasksthatcanbedoneonline
What
•Compile information for the loan correct errors in
A ccording to a recent National Association of REALTORS ® (NAR) survey, 26% of real estate agents are on teams. We’ve moved into a down market, and as many agents feel their businesses being squeezed, one of two things happens: they get out of the business or they join a team that can help train them and provide leads so they can sustain their income through tough times.
Last but not least is the lead genera tion model. Recruiting agents to this model is easier, and the leader can charge significantly higher team splits. This is the most profitable model when run properly, and agents tend to stay longer. The downside is the significant upfront cost for leads that can take months to convert and the stress that comes when agents are not convert ing the Everyleads.team model has its pros and cons, and no one model is right for everyone. Identifying the team model that best suits your goals will be the greatest contributor to your success in building and growing a successful team. RE Josh Harley is CEO of Fathom Holdings. He’s an innovator, disruptor and a U.S. Marine veteran. Harley believes in servant leadership and strives to be an example to his leadership team and agents by serving others first. To learn more, www.FathomCareers.com/.visit
Mentorship, the third model, is built around a successful team leader who trains, coaches and supports new or seasoned agents, and receives great satisfaction from mentoring others.
The downside is when one partner generates far more business, but both share the income equally. This often results in the dissolution of the part nership as the partner bringing in the lion’s share of the income begins to feel resentment. Partnerships that last in the long run usually consist of two agents, where one’s strength may complement the weakness of the oth er. An example is when one agent is strong in sales and relationship build ing, while the other brings operational expertise.Thefellowship model is built around a sense of community. Members often share an office, socialize and moti vate each other. However, the fellow ship model typically results in lower splits for the team leader and higher turnover when team members ques tion the value exchange for the splits they are paying.
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 75 TRENDS & ISSUES
The downfall of this model can often be a high turnover rate over time. If the value proposition is training, then once the agent feels they’ve learned enough to be successful on their own, they tend to move on, thereby dimin ishing the return on investment of the team leader’s time.
Which Team Model Is Best for You?
I’m often asked what the best team model is by agents thinking about starting one. Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer. Success means some thing different to everyone, and it comes down to what brings you the greatest satisfaction. There are four team models, and the best one for you will depend on your goals and motivations.Thefirstmodel is the partnership, where two agents work together as a team. The advantages are the encour agement, camaraderie and account ability to help your business thrive.
Commentary by Josh Harley Identifying the team model that best suits your goals will be the greatest contributor to your success in building and growing a successful team.
76 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE TRENDS & ISSUES
Brokerage Value Comes From the Top
Commentary by Chad Ruggles
Suppose, for example, you’re a bro kerage looking to bring on luxuryfocused agents. In this case, a value proposition around discounts or pro motions isn’t going to make sense, but seamless transaction support might, as well as increased marketing re sources. If you need to find agents specializing in foreclosures, your value proposition will be drastically different, focused instead on admin istrative resources that make tedious tasks run smoothly. Even further, your value proposi tion is not just what you believe in and want to offer, not just what sounds good on paper, but what you actu ally do on a daily basis to assist the success of agents and their clients. For example, if you’re great at supply ing impactful training, perhaps that’s a key value of your brokerage that allows you to attract newer agents who need additional learning and development. If you instead focus on concierge services, go that direction to define and promote your proposi tion instead, and attract agents who appreciate that value in return. Once you have your eye on a welldefined target and a specific value proposition, ensuring that your ac tions match your values is perhaps the most important part of promoting your brokerage—and that starts from the top down. Senior leadership at your brokerage or within your team needs to live and breathe every part of what makes your brokerage spe cial. A consistent message along with consistent action and culture will en sure that you actually bring the value you promise, and that means invest ing where it matters, too. If your value proposition is enhanced marketing, but you don’t provide an adequate budget, that will become apparent to any agent who joins and result in a poor perception of your promise. We see that the largest brokerages in our industry do provide many ben efits, but they’re known for specifics— that they’re virtual, that they’re great at training or that they offer the best tech—because of their focus on action (and investment) behind these specific values. With increased focus from the top down on a well-defined value proposition and making these values a consistent part of your brokerage’s operations, your clarity will appeal to exactly the type of agents you’re looking for—a win for everyone. RE Chad Ruggles, head of Vylla Home and senior vice president, is a passionate leader with 25-plus years of management experi ence. He currently leads Vylla Home, a unique brokerage with 1,200-plus real estate agents across 37 states. For more information, please www.vyllahome.com/.visit
D o you ever feel like you’re trying to boil the ocean, offering every perk and promise you can think of to entice new agents to join your team? It can be challenging to narrow your focus in a constantly changing industry with lots of shiny new tools, tech and incentives, but “boiling the ocean” isn’t the solution to providing a clear value proposition. A well-defined value proposition, catered to a specific group of agents—or even clients—can make all the difference. A allclients),agentsspecificcateredvaluewell-definedproposition,toagroupof(orevencanmakethedifference.
THE VOICE OF THE AAPI COMMUNITY AREAA is dedicated to promoting sustainable homeownership opportunities in the AAPI communities by creating a powerful national voice for housing and real estate professionals that serve this dynamic market. To find out more about AREAA visit areaa.org Follow us around the web /areaa.national /areaa /areaanational
SM: Training is imperative to us, and we keep it going 24/7. I love our training program, which we call Forever Agent training.
TM: We aren’t reinventing the wheel, and we don’t have to because we live by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices’ motto. In fact, we operate with their same core values: in tegrity, stability, longevity and trust. RE
-STACY MATHEWS Broker/Owner, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Premier Properties
Region served: Galveston, Houston, Amarillo and Austin to West Lubbock, Fort Worth, Beaumont, Conroe, Dumas and Tyler Years in real estate: Stacy: 42; Tracy: 38 Number of offices: 21 Number of agents: 520 Talk about being part of the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network. Stacy Mathews: I absolutely love the brand, as well as the prestige it carries. When going through the process of acquiring a brokerage, the Berkshire Hathaway Home Services name carries a great deal of weight. On top of the great brand name, we also use their tools exclusively. From the marketing to the technology, it all works. As twins, what is it like working together? Tracy Mathews: We work extremely well together be cause we each focus on our own separate areas. I’ve been a CPA since 1984, so I handle the backend and all of the financials. SM: And I’m the broker overseeing all of the day-to-day activity. Tracy and I are both very accessible, which is one area where we meet and overlap.
Tracy Mathews Owner Stacy Mathews
Is there any specific work philosophy/motto that you live by?
Leading the Way to Enduring Success
78 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE BROKER STRATEGIES
SM: We live and breathe our value proposition. With 20 managers and 40 back-office people on staff, we help our agents out wherever they need us. We truly believe that if we take the marketing and social media work off their plate, they will have the time to do what they do best, which is communicating with clients and helping them buy and sell houses. We want our agents to be able to offer their buy ers and sellers the best of everything, so we provide them with custom marketing materials such as listing brochures, just-listed flyers and weekly seller updates. In addition, we give every listing its own webpage, which sellers love. Most importantly, we want our agents to communicate with their clients so that they always know what’s going on.
How does your value proposition contribute to your success?
“We strive to be the brokerage that’s accessible. We want our agents to know who we are, so our door is always open.”
Stacy and Tracy Mathews
For more information, please visit www.berkshirehathawayhs.com/.-LesleyGrand
What type of culture do you work to maintain at your brokerage?
How do training and education fit into the mix?
BerkshireBroker/OwnerHathaway HomeServices Premier Houston,PropertiesTexas | www.preproperties.com
SM: We strive to be the brokerage that’s accessible. We want our agents to know who we are, so our door is al ways open. While we’re large enough to compete, we’re small enough to care—and everything we do goes a long way toward agent retention. Not only do we promote our agents, but we also celebrate them.
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 79 BROKER STRATEGIES
Number of agents: 100 Best recruiting technique: Lead by example. Establish a reputation as the brokerage to join by nurturing an environment that focuses on team, personal and career development. Most effective way to motivate agents: Understand their drivers, goals and aspirations. No. 1 tip for effectively managing your time: Prioritize by focusing on what’s most important. Can’t live without tech tool: Our new Team Bailey agent dashboard. Our agents now have one-click access to every available transactional, CRM and marketing tool from any digital device. Tell us about the quality of referrals your team receives through your affiliation with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE). LeadingRE continues to be a tremendous asset to our agents and clients. Referrals arrive fully vetted by referral coordinators in partnering firms, resulting in a warm hand off between real estate professionals. As we continue to move away from pandemic market trends, these trusted re lationships have significantly increased our incoming and outgoing referrals. Agents can also personally interview the individuals receiving our referrals, ensuring they are the best fit for our buyer and seller clients.
The driving force behind developing our agent dashboard, and central to the future success of our agents, is our new CRM. Whether an agent is reinforcing existing relation ships or establishing new ones, consistent and authentic contact is the key. MoxiEngage fits our internal coaching systems and career development programs to a tee, and being able to blend personal communication with highquality digital and print campaigns has proven very effec tive for our agents.
RE For more information, please visit www.leadingre.com/. -John Voket
How has the national and international reach of your LeadingRE affiliation benefited the firm? Our affiliation with LeadingRE and membership with Luxury Portfolio is a clear point of distinction in our listing presentations, enabling agents to present in real numbers the influence of our statewide, national and international reach. Having a network of independent brokerages shar ing referrals and best practices is critical in today’s evolving market. Additionally, the print and digital media resources are top quality and cost-effective. Because we’re operat ing in a coastal market only 30 minutes from the heart of Silicon Valley, our clientele includes an international de mographic. And we have been quite successful when it comes to serving their needs here and around the globe.
What are you looking to accomplish with the launch of your new web platform?
Leading by Example Bailey
-
First and foremost, brand enhancement. Our new www. BaileyProperties.com platform resulted in a refreshed re launch of our brand story and our public digital face. The combination of brand enhancement, consumer resources and agent business tools fits perfectly into Bailey Proper ties’ strategic plan and vision. Consumers can access op timized home searches with an abundance of community information. In addition to our residential business, we also manage long-term and vacation rentals, so our new site allows visitors to research and inquire about any facet of our residential market from any device. We have also ful filled our goal of offering our team a best-in-class suite of business and marketing tools.
Region served: Santa Cruz, Monterey and Santa Clara Counties
Robert J. Bailey BaileyBroker/OwnerProperties, Inc., a member of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® Aptos, California | www.BaileyProperties.com
Years in real estate: 48 Number of offices: Three, plus two property management offices
What does your newly enhanced CRM platform bring to team members?
80 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE TEAM TALK
Kathy Vallee: It’s where we set down roots and flourished, and where Don and I have been able to use our own experience and coach ing skills to build a really dynamic team.
“Real Estate is my second lan guage,” says Kathy Vallee, who grew up going on listing appointments with her REALTOR® mother in Tucson and never considered another career. “It wasn’t long after I met and married Don there in 1994 that he gave up his position as a corporate executive to follow his own passion for entrepre neurship—and our real estate team was born.”
Training Is Key for Vallee Gold Team
The Vallee Gold Team, which post ed more than 200 transactions and over $100 million in sales in Tucson last year, ranked in the top 20 large Arizona teams based on volume, and posted an additional $15 million in sales in the Park City market.
Vallee Gold Team
BP: How is the team structured?
By Barbara Pronin W ith a footprint now in two states, Don and Kathy Vallee have spent a couple of decades focused on their team’s successful growth. In addition to leading a team of 17 at Long Realty, a Berkshire Hathaway Home Services affiliate in greater Tucson, Arizona, the pair are now reaching out to a growing clientele in Park City, Utah under the auspices of Summit Sotheby’s International.
Don Vallee: We began with a team of four agents and a transaction man ager at another company, but Long Realty is the long-established power house in Tucson, and that was where we wanted to be.
Barbara Pronin: Tell me about the fledgling team you took to Long Realty in 2012.
DV: We have a general office man ager, a listings manager, a closing manager, plus two showing assis tants and 10 buyer’s agents. Kathy and I are the primary listing agents as well as the team’s chief mentors and coaches.
BP: What do you look for in a DV:recruit? We believe you can teach real estate—and Kathy and I are good at that—but you can’t teach people skills, and so we definitely look for people who are comfortable in their skin, friendly and naturally sociable. Teachers, for instance, make great salespeople. Why? Because they know how to listen. And lastly, we want people who can look past the glamour part of the business and are willing to do the hard work.
Located in the gated community of Fairfield at Rancho Vistoso, this open concept home with a resort-like property listed by the Valle Gold team is accepting offers between $1,000,000 - $1,100,000.
KV: New team members often begin with a desk assignment to familiarize them with our culture and process, and then a fairly intense, 30-day training program. Depending on their talent and level of experience, they typically take on the role of showing agent or buyer’s agent, and we con tinue to mentor them as they go on to build their careers.
BP: How do you manage as many as 17 people, keeping everyone on track and functioning in top form as a team?
BP: Are you in recruiting mode DV:now?Not actively, no. We think we are in a good position now as the mar ket cycles. Our strength is in coaching and building star-power relationships and that’s our focus right now.
BP: How are you managing to build your long-distance pres ence in Utah?
BP: What is it about the real es tate business that excites you?
BP: What is it, do you think, that sets you apart from your DV:competitors? Kathy is a great student of the industry, which often puts us on the leading edge of things, and we are early adopters to change. For exam ple, at an NAR show some years ago, we found Matterport imaging and we were among its earliest users. As a re sult, when the pandemic hit, we were ready and able to pivot.
KV: We love the challenge, we em brace change and we love meeting new people. Helping others excel, to find their niche, to build wealth— there just cannot be anything more rewarding. RE For more information, please visit www.val
RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 81 TEAM TALK
DV: We wake up every morning to a new day, and no day is ever the same. It’s less about the paycheck and more about how gratifying it is to help people with some of the most meaningful decisions of their lives.
KV: Carefully! We meet weekly as a full team to be sure everyone is on the same page, and we have manage ment meetings and one-on-ones as needed. Every one of us believes in the importance of teamwork so that every client has a rewarding and per sonalized experience with us—and part of that comes intrinsically from bringing on the right people—people who are a good fit with the family-like culture we enjoy.
leegoldteam.com.Barbara Pronin is a contributing editor to RISMedia.
KV: At the moment, it’s mostly just me in Park City, but we have homes in both states. Like Long Realty in Tuc son, Sotheby’s is the gorilla in Park City. There is great market potential there, and I have to say, I’m really en joying the challenge.
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THE DATAIS IN.
As you lay out your value propo sition, consider how you can add value to the home-buying and -sell ing journey by serving regardless of the sales opportunity that may (or may not) arise as a result. As you find ways to continually serve your clients, your value as an agent will only go up—and that’s a journey that never has to end. RE Verl Workman is the founder and CEO of Workman Success Systems (385-2827112), an international speaking, consulting and coaching company that specializes in performance coaching and building successful power agents and teams. Contact him at towww.WorkmanSuccess.comcessSystems.com,Verl@WorkmanSucorgotolearnmore.
While part of the reason for making such a difficult trek was to access destinations most people never see, over the years, I learned that the journey to get there was just as valu able as its end. The breakthroughs my scouts made as they trained for the trip and their moments of tran quility or wonder on the trail were worth as much to them (and me) as reaching the lake or mountain peak we’d set out to see. In a way, buying or selling a home is like completing a 50-mile hike. It will likely be the most significant transaction our clients ever take part in, and it will have far-reaching benefits for their families. Our re sponsibility as agents is to shepherd them through that process—obviously working toward successfully complet ing the transaction, but also providing value at every step along the way. It’s easy for us to focus primarily on the end goal of closing. After all, we don’t get paid until a transaction is complete. But, by only looking to ward the closing, too many agents miss the real value around them. I saw this often with my scouts. Some would only think about reaching the end, which resulted in a week of frus trating, unenjoyable camping. These “are-we-there-yetters” never dis covered the true worth of the journey they were on, and were far less likely to have a positive experience. The same is true for you if the only value you bring as an agent is that you’re a “closer.” When you overlook the many opportunities to connect with and serve your clients along the way, they are far less likely to have a positive experience—even if the transaction terms are satisfac tory. Your clients aren’t going to re member much about your negotiat ing prowess, but they will remember how helpful you were during the in spection or how insightful you were about home features.
TEAM TALK RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 83
One of the most fulfilling times of my life was when I was a scoutmaster. I loved getting to help groups of young men overcome challenges and develop confidence in their abilities. Of all our activities, my favorite was the annual 50-mile backpacking trip. Over the course of a week, we’d traverse the beautiful Rocky Mountain backcountry, pushing ourselves to our physical and mental limits as we accomplished one of the hardest things we’d ever done. By only looking toward the closing, too many agents miss the real value aroundthem.
Bringing Value to the Journey By Verl Workman
SERVICE PROFILES 84 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE ABR® 85 American Home Shield® .................................................... 85 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices 85 BoomTown ......................................................................... 85 Buffini & Company 85 The CE Shop ....................................................................... 85 Century 21 Real Estate LLC 85 Cinch Home Services ......................................................... 85 Colibri Real Estate 85 Center for REALTOR® Development (CRD) ....................... 85 CRS Data 86 Crush It In Real Estate ........................................................ 86 Curbio 86 Darryl Davis Seminars ....................................................... 86 Delta Media Group 86 Elm Street ........................................................................... 86 Fathom Realty 86 HomeSmart International .................................................. 86 HSASM Home Warranty 86 Lamacchia Realty ............................................................... 87 Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® 87 McKissock Learning ........................................................... 87 MyOutDesk Virtual Assistants 87 NAGLREP (National Association of Gay & Lesbian Real Estate Professionals) 87 National Association of REALTORS® 87 Percy 87 Pillar To Post Home Inspectors® 87 Real Estate Webmasters 87 Realtors Property Resource® 88 Realty ONE Group ............................................................ 88 REBAC 88 RE/MAX, LLC .................................................................... 88 Rocket Mortgage 88 Sherri Johnson Coaching & Consulting ............................. 88 United Real Estate 88 Updater .............................................................................. 88 Weichert Family of Companies 88 Workman Success Systems ................................................ 89 zavvie 89 RREIN Service Providers Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Ambassador Real Estate.......................................................................... 89 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty 89 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties......89 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Jordan Baris Realty 89 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nevada Properties ......89 CENTURY 21 Award 89 CENTURY 21 New Millennium .......................................... 90 Coldwell Banker Kappel Gateway Realty 90 Kinlin Grover Real Estate ................................................... 90 Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. 90 Lusk & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty............. 90 McCOLLY Real Estate 90 Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate 90 Randall, REALTORS® 90 RE/MAX 440 and RE/MAX Central 90 Index of Preferred Providers The leading companies providing services to the real estate and relocation industries
Founded in 2005, The CE Shop has become the leading provider of online real estate education through an encyclopedic knowledge of the real estate industry. Our ever-expanding course catalog of pre-licensing, exam prep, post-licensing and continuing education products are trusted throughout the industry and offer agents across the country the education they rely on.
• Michael Miedler, President & CEO
CINCH HOME SERVICES (800) 778-8000 • www.cinchrealestate.com • Boca Raton, Florida Cinch Home Services is a leading home warranty company that makes it easy for everyone to enjoy their home to the fullest, regardless of whether they own or rent. With over 40 years of proven experience, Cinch uses smart, modern tools and an award-winning customer sup port network to remove the guesswork around preventing, diagnos ing and solving a wide variety of home-related issues. The company proudly offers 24/7customer service and the industry’s only 180-day service guarantee. Cinch protects both buyers and sellers from expen sive and unexpected repair and replacement costs before, during, and after the sale of the home.
COLIBRI REAL ESTATE (844) 701-2946 • http://www.colibrigroup.com
Colibri Real Estate empowers agents and brokers to start or advance their careers by offering real estate’s most comprehensive and flexi ble learning solutions. As the leading education company for indus try professionals, Colibri has helped millions pursue and achieve more in their careers. We’ve done this by providing custom educa tion solutions and recruitment resources to thousands of brokerages, schools and other organizations. Our service line, unmatched in the industry, includes comprehensive content and curriculum, expert in structors and robust classroom resources through our family of real estate schools and innovative online learning platform.
THE CENTER FOR REALTOR® DEVELOPMENT (CRD) (888) 480-2487 • https://crd.realtor • Chicago, Illinois
• Jennifer Rzeszewski, Vice President of Member Development and Executive Director of CRD Brokers are busy with many competing priorities. They should feel comfortable with their salespeople who have earned the ABR® des ignation when working with buyer-clients. Real estate professionals can hone their skills in representing the needs of homebuyers in real estate transactions and earn the coveted Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®) designation, giving them knowledge and confidence to navigate the market.
BUFFINI & COMPANY (800) 945-3485 • www.buffiniandcompany.com
•Jennifer Rzeszewski, Vice President of Member Development and Executive Director The Center for REALTOR® Development (CRD) offers designations and certifications, learning pathways, over 100 microcourses, and
AMERICAN HOME SHIELD® (800) 735-4663 • www.ahs.com/realestate
The approximately 148,000 independent sales professionals in over 14,250 offices spanning 85 countries/territories in the CENTURY 21® System live their mission everyday: to defy mediocrity and deliver ex traordinary experiences. By consistently chasing excellence, giving 121% and always elevating, the CENTURY 21 brand is helping its affil iated brokers/agents be the first choice for real estate consumers and industry professionals.
CENTURY 21 REAL ESTATE LLC (877) 221-2765 • www.century21.com • Madison, New Jersey
Headquartered in Carlsbad, California, Buffini & Company is the largest real estate coaching and training company in North Ameri ca. Founded by real estate expert and master motivator Brian Buffini, the company provides a unique and highly effective lead-generation system and comprehensive business coaching and training programs that have helped entrepreneurs in 37 countries improve their business, increase net profit and enhance their quality of life.
American Home Shield® founded the home warranty industry more than 45 years ago and remains the industry leader, with more than 1.8 million customers who depend on us every day. We offer not only home warranty plans that help protect against unexpected cov ered breakdowns of home systems, but we offer services that buyers can take advantage of day one of their contract. Current additional services offered are: rekey service, electronics plan, TV mounting ser vice and pre-season HVAC tune-up service. We’re also leveraging our network of more than 15,000 licensed and qualified contrac tors to test even more services, such as pest control coverage, house cleaning services, garage door tune-ups, electrician services and more. Discover the shield difference—contact your local AHS® ac count manager today by visiting www.ahs.com/find-rep.
• www.theceshop.com
Greenwood Village, Colorado
THE CE SHOP (888) 827-0777
SERVICE PROFILES RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 85
Charleston, South Carolina BoomTown has all the tools, technology and teams you need for real estate success. It’s the only solution that generates and manages your leads, with 300-plus experts at your back. Lead generation, consumerfacing websites, CRM technology, lead management services, and more, come in flexible packages that scale with success. Our mission is to make real estate agents successful, and our service offerings extend far beyond technology: peer coaching support, lead concierge services to contact, qualify and nurture leads, and dedicated advisors offer personalized support at every step.
ABR® (800) 648-6224 • abr.realtor • Chicago, Illinois
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOMESERVICES (800) 666-6634 • www.berkshirehathawayhs.com
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices is a global residential real estate brokerage franchise network with more than 50,000 real estate professionals and nearly 1,500 offices across 12 countries, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, The Bahamas and India.
BOOMTOWN (866) 430-1408 • www.BoomTownROI.com
DARRYL DAVIS SEMINARS (800) 395-3905 • www.ThePowerProgram.com
North Canton, Ohio
Moreover, Delta Media Group is an early real estate technology in novator, established in 1994, yet offers one of the most advanced and affordable, fully integrated digital and social marketing solutions avail able to real estate professionals.
ELM STREET https://elmstreet.com
•Franklin Stoffer, Vice President of Sales Delta Media Group is real estate’s only provider of an all-in-one plat form, easiest to use CRM, digital marketing tools, superpowered-SEO and website solution that is family-owned and operated. Delta Media is also the king of website lead generation, through its unmatched su perpowered-SEO that leverages custom hyperlocal content creation.
FATHOM REALTY (888) 455-6040 • www.FathomRealty.com • Cary, North Carolina Fathom Realty is a national, cloud-based real estate brokerage powered by a proprietary technology platform called IntelliAgent. Agents enjoy a higher net income through Fathom’s 100%-commission, transaction-fee compensation model, allowing them to invest more money into grow ing their business. Fathom agents also earn stock grants based on their contribution to revenue and company growth. For more information, visit www.fathomcareers.com.
• Frisco, Texas Elm•hello@elmstreet.comStreetoffersagrowing portfolio of real estate technology and mar keting services with the goal of providing one vendor and one point of contact, fully fused into one singular platform—Elevate—to capture and nurture more leads into closed business. Elm Street’s portfolio of products and services allows busy real estate professionals the ability to streamline and automate their marketing and day-to-day business objectives by offering high-end IDX websites, lead generation tools, a powerful CRM, email, social, text and blog marketing automation, recruiting and retention tools, and more. To learn more, please visit https://ElmStreet.com.
• Tori Sokol, Director of Marketing and Communications Founded in 2000, HomeSmart International is one of the fast est-growing real estate franchisors in the nation, with a mission to lead the industry by providing the highest level of service, support, technology and value to our customers. The company offers franchi sees efficiency and innovation coupled with the systems and technol ogies necessary to succeed in today’s evolving real estate industry. Its low-fee, high-value 100%-commission brokerage model keeps costs down for its nearly 19,000 agents across 31 states.
HOMESMART INTERNATIONAL (800) 865-9025 • www.homesmart.com • Scottsdale, Arizona
HSASM HOME WARRANTY (800) 367-1448 • www.onlinehsa.com HSASM Home Warranty has provided outstanding products and service to real estate professionals and homeowners for more than 35 years. The home warranty helps sellers and buyers protect their budget from the cost of repairing or replacing the covered home sys tem components and appliances in their home. HSASM also offers
SERVICE PROFILES 86 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE an award-winning podcast. Sharpen your skills and boost your busi ness by investing in yourself. Discover a personalized learning expe rience today at https://crd.realtor. CRS DATA (800) 374-7488 • www.crsdata.com For more than 30 years, CRS Data has provided a wealth of prop erty tax data through the MLS Tax Suite. This beautiful system in tegrates seamlessly into your MLS system, offering REALTORS® current tax data, detailed map layers and robust features that are accessible on all browsers and mobile devices. Consistent product enhancements help ensure that the MLS Tax Suite performs as the industry’s leading and most innovative service. We’re proud to pro vide a personalized customer experience that is unmatched. Learn more by visiting www.crsdata.com CRUSH IT IN REAL ESTATE (781) 786-2422 • https://CrushItInRE.com • Waltham, Massachusetts • Crushinfo@crushitinre.comItInRealEstate was started back in November 2017 for the sole purpose of providing quick, easy and actionable tips for agents to grow their business and to give a sneak peek into what our REAL Training & System courses look like. These short, digestible videos highlight the tricks and strategies of these courses in an en tertaining way that only Anthony Lamacchia can provide. CURBIO (844) 944-2629 • https://curbio.com• Potomac, Maryland
Darryl Davis Seminars was founded by real estate expert, coach and international speaker Darryl Davis, CSP. For more than 30 years, Da vis has been helping agents double their production by learning the listing and sales skills of real estate. These money-making skillsets are vital when agents are working with buyers and sellers to move their career to their Next Level™. His fast-growing membership platform, www.ThePowerProgram.com, helps real estate sales professionals de sign lives and careers worth smiling about. He is the best-selling author of three books with McGraw-Hill Publishers, one of which, “How to Become a Power Agent® in Real Estate,” is the No. 1 book sold to REALTORS® on Amazon.
DELTA MEDIA GROUP (866) 233-9833 • https://www.deltamediagroup.com
Curbio partners with real estate agents and homeowners to deliver a smart and hassle-free home improvement experience designed to get every home on the market and sold fast. Curbio’s turnkey approach, trusted team and all-in-one app allow REALTORS® to confidently take on home improvement projects of all sizes. Trusted by more than 800 brokerages nationwide, Curbio is making real estate move by redefining what the home improvement industry represents: transparency, reliability and speed.
SERVICE PROFILES RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 87 additional services to help buyers maintain their homes, including rekey service, an electronics plan and pre-season HVAC tune-up service. With HSA Home Warranty, your clients get reliable budget protection backed by exceptional service, and you get a provider who works hard to better serve you. Contact your local HSA account manager today by visiting www.onlinehsa.com. LAMACCHIA REALTY (855) 510-SOLD (855-510-7653) • www.lamacchiarealty.com Waltham, Massachusetts • Jackie Louh, Jackie@LamacchiaRealty.com, (781) 373-7414 As a full-service, value-based real estate brokerage serving Mas sachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine and Florida, Lamacchia Realty provides cutting-edge tools and systems and unparalleled training and coaching for REALTORS®, along with innovative and unique programs for buyers and sellers. The company prides itself on helping agents grow their business and, on average, agents who join from other companies grow their business by 318% in their first year. Lamacchia Realty will guide you to your success! LEADING REAL ESTATE COMPANIES OF THE WORLD® (312) 424-0400 • www.LeadingRE.com Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE) is an in vite-only, business-to-business real estate community, interconnecting top local and regional independent companies in 70 countries across the world. It provides its members with performance-driven assets, like elite training and education, marketing and technology resources, re ferrals and support. LeadingRE gives its 550 brokerages an edge while making their agents’ lives easier—and ultimately helping them to gener ate more business, assured by exceptional experience, quality service, and access to people and opportunities worldwide. MCKISSOCK LEARNING (877) 277-5376 • https://www.McKissock.com/real-estate As part of the Colibri Real Estate family of premier education brands, McKissock Learning has helped hundreds of thousands of real estate professionals achieve sustainable success throughout each stage of their career via continuing education and professional development courses.
• Mark Birschbach, SVP, Strategic Business Innovation and Technology
NAGLREP
Real Estate Webmasters (REW) is the leading technology provider for the top 1% of real estate professionals in the world. Since 2004, we have helped shape real estate technology to grow with your profes sional needs. We are the secret weapon behind many of the names you already know and love, creating cutting-edge websites that generate leads, maximize efficiency and help ensure unrivaled success. If you can dream it, we can build it!
• Jeff Berger, Founder NAGLREP is the No. 1 forum for LGBT homebuyers, sellers and LGBT and allied real estate professionals. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (800) 874-6500 • www.NAR.realtor • Chicago, Illinois
• Katie Johnson, General Counsel, Chief Member Experience Officer
• Bob Goldberg, CEO • Victoria Gillespie, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
• Marc Gould, SVP, Member Development
REAL ESTATE WEBMASTERS (877) 753-9893 • www.rew.com • Nanaimo, British Columbia
• Stephanie Bowling, Director of Marketing (416) 620-3572 Technology coupled with deep knowledge allow us to provide an exceptional home inspection with unique and innovative features, all delivered within a seamless brand experience. This experience, and the people who deliver it, have made Pillar To Post North America’s largest home inspection company.
• Morgan Carey, CEO • morgan@rew.com
MyOutDeskwww.myoutdesk.com/contact-uswww.myoutdesk.comisthelargest,mosttrusted
The term REALTOR® identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. NAR members have access to the REALTOR Benefits® Program, NAR’s official mem ber benefits resource, providing savings and special offers on prod ucts and services just for REALTORS®. Program partners are industry leaders who understand the unique needs of real estate profession als. Visit www.NAR.realtor/RealtorBenefits. NAR is also proud to of fer the .realtor™ and .realestate top-level domains to members. Visit www.get.realtor. NAR offers a number of designations, certifications and opportunities for continuing education that support member de velopment. Visit www.OnlineLearning.realtor. NAR empowers RE ALTORS® to evaluate, enhance and showcase their highest level of professionalism with the Commitment to Excellence program. Visit www.C2EX.realtor. The REALTOR® Store features publications, webi nars and research reports, including the top-selling 2018 NAR Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers. Visit www.Store.realtor. Additionally, NAR’s venture capital arm, Second Century Ventures, has invested in compa nies that push forward innovation while benefitting NAR members. Visit www.secondcenturyventures.com.
PILLAR TO POST HOME INSPECTORS® (800) 294-5591 • www.pillartopost.com • Tampa, Florida
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and reputable provider of virtual staffing in real estate—having served more than 6,000-plus clients, including Keller Williams, Coldwell Banker and RE/MAX. MyOutDesk virtual assistants (VAs) allow real estate teams the abil ity to focus on core activities that drive income and sales—saving our clients over $55 million a year. Focus on dollar-productive tasks without sacrificing your quality of service. Hire a Real Estate VA for up to 70% less than the cost of a traditional, full-time employee. (NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GAY & LESBIAN REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS) (561) 865-6117 https://naglrep.com • Jupiter, Florida
PERCY (855) 928-9743 • https://percy.ai Brentwood, Tennessee • sales@percy.so Percy.ai, formerly known as Buyside, helps real estate brokerages and mortgage companies utilize intelligent data to engage homeowners, create transaction opportunities and build relationships. Percy brings agents and loan officers together to create a client for life while helping the homeowner keep a pulse on their most valuable asset—their home.
MYOUTDESK VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS (800) 583-9950 •
UPDATER www.updater.com
SERVICE PROFILES 88 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE REALTORS PROPERTY RESOURCE® (877) 977-7576 • www.narrpr.com • Chicago, Illinois
• Eddie Sturgeon, EVP, Global Growth
As one of the leading global real estate franchisors, RE/MAX, LLC is a subsidiary of RE/MAX Holdings (NYSE: RMAX) with more than 140,000 agents in over 8,600 offices across more than 110 countries and territories. Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX, as measured by residential transaction sides.
Think about your last move…it was probably confusing, stressful and chaotic. Your clients experience the same thing and desperately need moving help. Updater is the nation’s leading moving and home manage ment app that saves your clients countless hours on various moving-re lated tasks including connecting TV and internet, reserving a moving company, securing insurance, connecting utilities, and much more. The experience is branded for your brokerage and each agent, and fully personalized for each client’s unique move. Both brokers and agents find Updater to be an incredible way to differentiate and provide an excel lent client experience during a stressful time.
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Founded in 2005, Realty ONE Group is an industry disruptor, rad ically changing the face of real estate franchising with its unique business model, fun coolture, technology infrastructure and superior support for its real estate professionals. Realty ONE Group has been recognized by Entrepreneur magazine as a Top 5 Real Estate Fran chise and has been on Inc. 500’s list of the Fastest-Growing Com panies for seven consecutive years. Realty ONE Group is surging ahead, opening doors, not only for its clients, but for real estate pro fessionals and franchise owners.
Sherri Johnson is the premier national real estate coach offering worldclass coaching, keynote speaking and consulting services. No other real estate coach matches her 20-plus years of experience as a top agent, manager and executive of a Top-3 national brokerage, having person ally led over 700 agents to $1.6 billion in annual sales volume. Sherri’s unique and proven coaching programs—including her exclusive Gold mine PipelineTM strategy—produce immediate, reliable results for agents nationwide, regardless of current production level.
Realtors Property Resource® (RPR) is a national, parcel-centric data base that is a free, exclusive benefit for REALTOR® members of the Na tional Association of REALTORS®. The database provides REALTORS® with all available information about every parcel of residential and commercial property in the United States, giving brokers and agents valuable tools and features to make them better informed in order to increase their efficiency in the marketplace.
• Therebac@nar.realtorRealEstateBuyer’s Agent Council (REBAC) provides training and support that help buyer’s representatives be successful in their business— and educates consumers about the benefits of buyer representation and the ABR® designation in order to improve their home-buying experience.
• New York, New York
• Rick Haase, President United Real Estate (URE), a division of United Real Estate Group, was founded in 2011 to provide solutions for brokers and agents in a rapidly changing real estate industry. Recognized by Inc. 5000 as one of the nation’s fastest-growing real estate companies, United has helped thou sands of agents Find Their Freedom® with its full-service, 100%-commis sion, transaction-based model. The company offers brokerage franchise and conversion opportunities, as well as merger and succession oppor tunities. Its proprietary technology, Bullseye™ Agent & Broker Productiv ity Platform, provides on-demand access to next-generation technolo gy, marketing and training, powered by a 1.8 million-plus listings data warehouse. United operates in 24 states with more than 10,500 agents and over 100 franchise- and company-owned locations.
WEICHERT FAMILY OF COMPANIES (800) 401-0486 • www.weichert.com • Morris Plains, New Jersey Since 1969, Weichert, Realtors® has grown from a single office into one of the nation’s leading providers of homeownership services, made up of 18 full-service real estate-related companies dedicated to putting customers first. Its network of real estate brokerages includes more than 500 offices, serving markets in 42 states, with thousands of agents. As a Weichert agent, you have access to industry-leading sales and marketing tools, powerful technology, national and interna tional referral networks and top-notch coaching and training, as well as a unique culture of support and sharing, from interactive staff to col laborative affiliates across the country. Franchises available.
REBAC (800) 648-6224 www.REBAC.net • Chicago, Illinois
RE/MAX, LLC (303) 770-5531 • www.remax.com • Denver, Colorado
ROCKET MORTGAGE
Detroit-basedwww.RocketPro.com/RealEstateRocketMortgage
SHERRI JOHNSON COACHING & CONSULTING (844) 989-2600 • www.sherrijohnson.com
• Chris Avery, VP of Real Estate • realestate@updater.com
REALTY ONE GROUP (949) 297-2020 www.RealtyONEGroup.com
is the nation’s largest home mort gage lender. The company closed $320 billion of volume across all 50 states in 2020. Today, Rocket Mortgage and Rocket Companies employ 24,000 full-time team members across the U.S. and Canada. The company ranked highest in the country for customer satisfaction for primary mortgage origination by J.D. Power for the past 11 con secutive years, 2010 - 2020, and also ranked highest in the country for customer satisfaction among all mortgage servicers the past seven straight years, 2014 - 2020.
• Jeff Young, Chief Operating Officer/General Manager
Laguna Niguel, California
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UNITED REAL ESTATE (888) 960-0606 • www.GrowWithUnited.com
dos, corporate relocation, third-party relocation, acreages and com mercial real estate. With approximately 400 licensed agents, we have an agent to meet your needs regardless of the style, price or age of the property you are looking for. BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOMESERVICES FLORIDA REALTY (954) 693-0100 • (800) www.BHHSFloridaRealty.com386-1554•Sunrise, Florida • Rei Mesa, CRS, CRB, President & CEO Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty serves 21 counties throughout Florida,
• Lane Hornung, CEO Founded by Lane Hornung and Stefan Peterson, zavvie combines pro prietary technology with real-world operating expertise, to provide a superior iBuyer strategy for brokers. zavvie is making the experience simple and seamless for iBuyers and agents to work together in the best interest of the consumer by facilitating and empowering listing agents to get all available offers for their clients. Its platform is a one-of-itskind offering, backed by market-specific iBuyer and Open Market data and efficient technology. Its customer-friendly interface works well with its top-notch Customer Success Team to create a seamless, consumer-centric process for brokers and their clients.
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOMESERVICES AMBASSADOR REAL ESTATE (402) 493-4663 • (800) 477-7653 www.BHHSamb.com
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties has over 1,600 associates and 26 locations across the Greater Metro At lanta and North Georgia area. The company generated over $4.1 billion in sales volume in 2019.
Salt Lake City, Utah Workman Success Systems delivers comprehensive team solutions to agents, brokers and companies, private and group coaching solutions for every level of business, and proven seven-figure, income-earn ing systems. Workman Success Systems Founder, Master Coach and Speaker Verl Workman delivers the necessary performance skills, the latest and most effective tools, and proven dialogues and systems that work. To hire Verl to speak at your next event, visit www.workmansuc cess.com/speaking. Sign up for a free coaching consult by going to www.workmansuccess.com/consult.
• agents@BHHSamb.com
ZAVVIE (888) 407-4556 • https://zavvie.com • Boulder, Colorado
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOMESERVICES GEORGIA PROPERTIES (770) 992-4100 • www.BHHSGeorgia.com
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Ambassador Real Estate is dedi cated to providing progressive, quality real estate services in Nebras ka’s metropolitan Omaha and Lincoln surrounding areas. We service all types of markets: single-family residential, new construction, con with more than 40 locations and approximate ly 1,800 sales professionals. The full-service brokerage company, founded in 1999, is part of HomeServices of America, the nation’s premier provider of homeownership services. The company is a fran chise member of the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network, one of the few organizations entrusted to use the world-renowned Berkshire Hathaway name. The company offers residential and com mercial services as well as seasonal rentals, property management, REO & foreclosures, corporate relocations, referral services, title, home warranty plans and personal concierge services. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty ranks in the Top 10 in the network and is the overall No. 1 fundraiser for The Sunshine Kids Foundation in Florida. Visit www.BHHSFloridaRealty.com.
Trendgraphix reports that Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties is ranked No. 1 in home sales for the Greater Metro Atlanta area. Led by Chairman Dan Forsman, the organization offers a full suite of real estate ser vices including residential real estate, luxury real estate, new homes services, condo/high-rise services, commercial real estate, corpo rate relocation, property management, mortgage lending, title and settlement services, home warranties and insurance. Equal Housing Opportunity. Visit www.BHHSGA.com. BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOMESERVICES JORDAN BARIS REALTY (800) 4-JBARIS • (973) 736-1600 • www.JordanBaris.com Foundedinfo@jordanbaris.comin1952,Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Jordan Baris Realty is among the most respected full-service real estate brokerag es in Northern New Jersey. With a team of close to 150 associates, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Jordan Baris Realty offers real estate brokerage to buyers and sellers of residential and commercial properties, developers, tenants and landlords; title services through JB Title Agency, LLC; and award-winning global relocation services. BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOMESERVICES NEVADA PROPERTIES (800) 735-4488 • www.BHHSNV.com With more than 260,000 homes sold and 35 years in the indus try, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nevada Properties is the leader in Las Vegas real estate. Consistently rated among the top brokers in the nation, our agents successfully help families find their dream homes. With six area offices, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nevada Properties is a full-service brokerage focused on quality service and the development of its agents. Call today to see how we can help increase your business. CENTURY 21 AWARD (800) 293-1657 • www.century21award.com Century 21 Award is the premier Southern California-based, full-ser vice real estate company serving San Diego, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties from 15 distinctive office locations. Our 1,000 professional agents and staff are fully equipped to assist you with all of your real estate needs. Our services include residential, commercial, relocation, property management and bank-owned properties. RREIN Member Profiles
SERVICE PROFILES RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 89 WORKMAN SUCCESS SYSTEMS (385) 282-7112 • www.workmansuccesssytems.com
Coldwell Banker Kappel Gateway Realty was created through the merger of Kappel & Kappel Realty, Inc. and Solano Gateway Real ty, Inc. Both firms, founded in 1972, are the market leaders in Solano County, combining more than $600 million in sales dollar volume and welcoming more than 240 agents in seven offices, with branch offices in Vacaville, Fairfield, Dixon and Green Valley. Eighty-five percent of our business is derived from returning and referred clients, a true testa ment to our clients’ high level of satisfaction with our services and our trusted real estate professionals.
CENTURY 21 New Millennium is a full-service real estate brokerage in the greater Washington, D.C., area. The company joined the CEN TURY 21® System in 1998 and has established a sound and success ful organization providing traditional residential and commercial ser vices, on-site mortgage, title and property management, and access to a vast network of relocation and other real estate service providers worldwide. With 20 locations and approximately 900 real estate professionals, New Millennium is consistently included in REALTOR® Magazine’s Top 100 Companies List for all real estate firms nation wide regardless of brand. It is also a past winner of the prestigious Cartus Masters Cup, the Network’s highest honor. The Cartus Broker Network is the largest relocation network in the world and includes more than 775 hand-selected brokerages in the United States.
CENTURY 21 NEW MILLENNIUM (800) 727-6888 • www.c21nm.com
COLDWELL BANKER KAPPEL GATEWAY REALTY (844) 861-5631 • www.KappelGateway.com
KINLIN GROVER REAL ESTATE (508) 420-1130 • www.kinlingrover.com
Kinlin Grover has 16 real estate offices covering Cape Cod from the bridges to Provincetown, specializing in the marketing and sale of waterfront, village, commercial properties and fine homes. From the very beginning, the Kinlin Grover mission has remained constant: “to help our clients make the best real estate decisions and to uphold the highest standards of ethics and professionalism.” In addition, Kinlin Grover Vacation Rentals is the largest real estate firm on Cape Cod with over 600 privately owned Cape Cod vacation rental homes. We value every client and pledge to deliver unsurpassed service as trusted advisors, expert facilitators and skilled negotiators.
MCCOLLY REAL ESTATE (800) 348-2100 x206 • www.mccolly.com
Since 1974, McColly Real Estate has found your place to call home, from the shores of Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana to Lake Street Beach in Chicago. McColly is a proud LeadingRE member with bi lingual agents in 14-plus languages among 450-plus Realtors® in 18 offices. McColly Companies is the One Source for All Purpose Real Estate with its ancillary companies of McColly Insurance, Community Title, McColly
Auctions, McColly Bennett Commercial, McColly New Homes Division and Luxury Home Portfolio™. PATTERSON-SCHWARTZ REAL ESTATE (877) 456-4663 • Patterson-Schwartzpattersonschwartz@psre.comwww.pattersonschwartz.comRealEstateisDelaware’slargest independent bro kerage with over 50 years of service to the Delaware real estate mar ket and surrounding communities in nearby Pennsylvania and Mary land. With nine offices and 415 sales associates, we are committed to excellence, integrity and quality service. We offer a full range of services, including residential home sales, purchase and rental, reloca tion services and property management. RANDALL, REALTORS® (401) 364-3388 • www.randallrealtors.com Randall, Realtors® has been a consistent leader in the marketing of Southern New England properties for more than 28 years. Special izing in waterfront properties and second homes, our agents boast a 98.5% client satisfaction rating. Through our extensive marketing network, we offer tremendous exposure for our property listings and continue to deliver successful sales and representation for our clients. In addition, Randall, Realtors®’ Vacation Rental Department offers a large selection of vacation rental properties serving the Southern Rhode Is land shoreline and Eastern Connecticut. RE/MAX 440 AND RE/MAX CENTRAL (215) 453-7653 • www.pahomesforsale.com • Tom Skiffington, Broker/Owner, tom@tomskiffington.com RE/MAX 440 and RE/MAX Central is a first-class, professional real estate company. Our goal is to provide the most prompt, courteous and professional services to all our customers and clients. We are the leading RE/MAX in Pennsylvania and Delaware with the highest sales volume and transactions. RE/MAX 440/Central has 10 different of fices in Bucks, Montgomery and Lehigh counties.
Long & Foster Real Estate, the nation’s No. 1 independent brand by sales volume, is part of The Long & Foster Companies, a subsidiary of HomeServices of America, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate. Long & Fos ter Real Estate is the exclusive affiliate for Christie’s International Real Estate throughout select parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, and it is a founding affiliate of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®, a prestigious global network of real estate professionals that includes the Luxury Portfolio International division. Long & Foster Real Estate has over 220 offices, and it represents more than 11,000 agents in seven Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states, plus the District of Columbia. The company, which has a productive commercial business in addition to its residential side, sold more than $31.1 billion worth of homes and helped people buy and sell homes nearly 85,000 times in 2017.
LONG & FOSTER REAL ESTATE, INC. (866) 677-6937 • www.LongandFoster.com
SERVICE PROFILES 90 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
LUSK & ASSOCIATES SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY (717) 291-9101 • www.LuskandAssociates.com When you work with Lusk & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty, you can count on specialists who can answer your questions, apply in-depth knowledge of current market conditions and access extensive resources that can expedite the sale of your home.
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Contact: Joshua Tucker, Director of Relocation Services Tel: (760) 217-2491 (Toll Free) • Fax: (619) 374-2706
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Coverage
Email: Coveragejtucker@century21award.comAreas:SanDiego,Southern
BROKER-TO-BROKER REFERRALS 92 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE CALIFORNIA Ascent Real Estate, Inc. 410 Kalmia St., San Diego, CA 92101
Coverage Areas: San Diego Offices: 9 • Associates: 180 CENTURY 21 Award - Orange County 22342 Avenida Empresa, Ste. 110, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
• Coverage Areas: Orange County Offices: 15 • Associates: 1,200 CENTURY 21 Award - San Diego, Riverside 7676 Hazard Center Dr., Ste. 300, San Diego, CA 92108
Contact: Deborah Horton, CRP, RCC, Director of Referral/Relocation Services (800) 348-2100 ext. 206 dhorton@mccolly.com URL: www.mccolly.com
Contact: Gina Lancelot • Tel: (619) 325-4100
Island Offices: 9 • Associates: 175 DELAWARE Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. Headquarters Office: 14501 George Carter Way, Chantilly, VA 20151 Contact: Vicki Hamp, SVP of Corporate Real Estate Services Tel: (800) 335-0356 Email: Vicki.Hamp@LongandFoster.com • URL: www.LongandFoster.com Coverage Areas: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsyl vania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia Offices: 220+ • Associates 11,000+ Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate 7234 Lancaster Pike, Ste. 220B, Hockessin, DE 19707 Contact: Brian Pomije, Relocation Manager Tel: (302) 234-3600 (Office) • (302) 234-5207 (Direct) • (800) 443-2295 (Toll Free) Email: bpomije@psre.com • URL: www.pattersonschwartz.com Coverage Areas: Delaware (New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties), Pennsyl vania (Chester and Delaware counties), Maryland (Cecil, Kent and Harford counties) • Offices: 9 • Associates: 415 FLORIDA Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty 1580 Sawgrass Corporate Pkwy., Ste. 400, Sunrise, FL 33323 Contact: Rei Mesa, CRS, CRB, President & CEO Tel: (954) 693-0100 or (800) 386-1554 • Fax: (954) 236-6962 Email: RelocationReiMesa@BHHSFloridaRealty.comContact:SharonSapp,VicePresident, Relocation, Referrals & REOs Email: sharonsapp@BHHSFloridaRealty.com URL: Coveragewww.BHHSFloridaRealty.comAreas:21countiesthroughout Florida, including Southeast Florida, Southwest Florida and Orlando area • Offices: 40 • Associates: 1,750 GEORGIA Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties 863 Holcomb Bridge Rd., Roswell, GA 30076 Contact: Kathy Connelly, SVP Corporate Services • Tel: (678) 352-3321 Email: Kathy.Connelly@BHHSGeorgia.com • URL: www.BHHSGeorgia.com Coverage Areas: Metro Atlanta and North Georgia Offices: 26 • Associates: 1,600 ILLINOIS McCOLLY Real Estate 800 Deer Creek Dr., Schererville, IN 46375 Contact: Deborah Horton, CRP, RCC, Director of Referral/Relocation Services Tel: (800) 348-2100 ext. 206 Email: dhorton@mccolly.com • URL: www.mccolly.com Coverage Areas: Alsip, Aroma Park, Beecher, Blue Island, Bourbonnais, Brad ley, Burbank, Burnham, Calumet City,
CONNECTICUT Page Taft 89 Whitfield St., Guilford, CT 06437
Email:
• URL: www.KappelGateway.com
Contact: Rachel Guerin Tel: (707) 427-5344 or (844) 861-5631 • Fax: (707) 446-9830
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Contact: Joshua Tucker, Director of Relocation Services Tel: (760) 217-2491 (Toll Free) • Fax: (619) 374-2706
Coverage Areas: Vacaville, Benicia, Davis, Dixon, Fairfield, Napa, Rio Vista, Suisun City Vallejo and Winters, California Offices: 7 • Associates: 240 J. Rockcliff REALTORS® 4115 Blackhawk Plaza Circle, Ste. 201, Danville, CA, 94506 Tel: (925) 251-2501 (O), (925) 324-1323 (C), 877-JRCKCLF (572-2523) (TF) URL(s): www.rockcliff.com • www.rockliffcares.com
Coverage Areas: Beverly Shores, Cedar Lake, Chesterton, Crown Point, DeMotte, Dyer, Dune Acres, East Chicago, Gary, Griffith, Hammond, Hebron,
Coverage Areas: Alameda County: Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Castro Valley, Dublin Emeryville, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Newark, Oakland, Piedmont, Pleasanton, San Leandro, Sunol, Union City; Contra Costa County: Alamo, An tioch, Bethel Island, Brentwood, Byron, Canyon, Clayton, Concord, Crockett, Danville, Diablo, Discovery Bay, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Hercules, Lafayette, Martinez, Moraga, Oakley, Orinda, Pinole, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill Port Costa, Richmond, Rodeo, San Pablo, San Ramon, Walnut Creek; San Joaquin County: Country Club, Lathrop, Lodi, Manteca, Mountain House, Stockton, Tracy, Silicon Valley/San Jose area
Contact: Karen Stephens, Executive VP • Tel: (203) 453-6511 Email: kstephens@pagetaft.com URL: www.pagetaft.com Areas: Connecticut • Offices: 3 • Associates: 60 Randall, REALTORS® 4009 Old Post Rd., Charleston, RI 02813
Tel:
INDIANA
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• URL: www.ascentrealestate.net
Email: jtucker@century21award.com
Riverside Offices: 15 • Associates: 1,200 Coldwell Banker Kappel Gateway Realty 750 Mason St., Ste. 101, Vacaville, CA 95688
Contact: Jean Fournier, Dir. of Relocation & Referral Services Tel: (401) 486-9677 jfournier@randallrealtors.com URL: www.randallrealtors.com Areas: Connecticut and Rhode Channahon, Chicago, Chicago Ridge, Clearing, Country Club Hills, Crest Hill, Crestwood, Crete, Evergreen Park, Flossmoor, Frankfort, Glenwood, Grant Park, Harvey, Hazel Crest, Hegewisch, Hickory Hills, Homewood, Kankakee, Lansing, Lemont, Lockport, Lynwood, Manteno, Matteson, Mokena, Momence, Monee, Morgan Park, Mount Greenwood, New Lenox, Oak Lawn, Orland Hills, Orland Park, Palos Heights, Palos Hills, Palos Park, Park Forest, Peotone, Richton Park, Riverdale, Roseland, Steger, Tinley Park, University Park, Worth Offices: 18 • Associates: 450+ McCOLLY Real Estate Deer Creek Dr., Schererville, IN 46375
Coverage
Email:
Email: info@kappelgateway.com
Email: info@ascentrealestate.net
Coverage Areas: Delaware (New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties), Pennsyl vania (Chester and Delaware counties), Maryland (Cecil, Kent and Harford counties) • Offices: 9 • Associates: 415 RE/MAX Gateway 4090B Lafayette Center Dr., Chantilly, VA 20151
Contact: Scott MacDonald, President Tel: (703) 652-5760 • (703) 727-6900 (Cell) Email: scottmacdonald@remax.net
BROKER-TO-BROKER REFERRALS RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE September 2022 93 Highland, Hobart, Kouts, La Porte, Lake Station, Lake Village, Lakes of Four Seasons, Long Beach, Lowell, Merrillville, Michiana Shores, Michigan City, Miller Beach, Morocco, Munster, Ogden Dunes, Otis, Portage, Porter, Rens selaer, Roselawn, Schererville, Schneider, St. John, Sumava Resorts, Thayer, Valparaiso, Westville, Wheatfield, Whiting, Winfield Offices: 18 • Associates: 450+ MARYLAND CENTURY 21 New Millennium 5990 Kingstowne Towne Center, Alexandria, VA 22315 Contact: Todd Hetherington, CEO • Tel: (800) 382-1101 Fax: (703) 822-0136 Relocation Contact: Jeff Hetherington, Director of Relocation Email: move@c21nm.com • URL: www.c21nm.com Coverage Areas: Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., and the Southern Maryland markets. Our areas of expertise range from Fortune 500 executives to specialized training in military and government relocation. Offices: 16 • Associates: 700+ Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. Headquarters Office: 14501 George Carter Way, Chantilly, VA 20151 Contact: Vicki Hamp, SVP of Corporate Real Estate Services Tel: (800) 335-0356 Email: Vicki.Hamp@LongandFoster.com • URL: www.LongandFoster.com Coverage Areas: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsyl vania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia Offices: 220+ • Associates 11,000+ Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate 7234 Lancaster Pike, Ste. 220B, Hockessin, DE 19707 Contact: Brian Pomije, Relocation Manager Tel: (302) 234-3600 (Office) • (302) 234-5207 (Direct) (800) 443-2295 (Toll Free) Email: bpomije@psre.com
• URL: www.gateway2realestate.com Coverage Areas: Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland Offices: 6 • Associates: 170 MASSACHUSETTS Kinlin Grover Real Estate 4 Wianno Ave., Osterville, MA 02655 Contact: Lucy Cundiff, Director of Agent Services Tel: (508) 420-1130 Email: lcundiff@kinlingrover.com • URL: www.kinlingrover.com Coverage Areas: Southeastern Massachusetts Offices: 16 • Associates: 275 MISSOURI Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Select Properties 1650 Des Peres Rd., Ste. 205, Saint Louis, MO 63131 Contact: Angie Ignatowski, Relocation Director Tel: (314) 835-6000 • (314) 835-6050 (Direct) Email: aignatowski@bhhsselectstl.com • URL: www.bhhsselectstl.com Coverage Areas: St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County, Jefferson County, Lincoln County • Offices: 11 • Associates: Over 500 NEBRASKA Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Ambassador Real Estate 13340 California St., Omaha, NE 68154 Contact: Katie Adams, CRP, GMS, VP Corp. Relocation & Business Development Tel: (800) 477-7653 or (402) 547-5137 Email: Katie.adams@BHHSamb.com • URL: www.BHHSamb.com Coverage Areas: Omaha and Lincoln Metropolitan Area, including Omaha, Bellevue, Ralston, LaVista, Papillion, Gretna, Elkhorn, Fremont, Lincoln, Council Bluffs and surrounding communities NEVADA Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nevada Properties 3185 St. Rose Pkwy., Ste. 100, Henderson, NV 89052 Contact: Eileen Mitchell, Dir. of Relocation & Referral Services Tel: (800) 735-4488 Email: relo@BHHSNV.com • URL: www.BHHSNV.com Coverage Areas: Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson, Summerlin and Pahrump • Offices: 6 • Associates: 1,050 NEW JERSEY Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Jordan Baris Realty 50 Mt. Pleasant Ave., West Orange, NJ 07052 Contact: Carol Abdo, Relocation Director Tel: (973) 736-1600 (Office) • (800) 4-JBARIS (Toll Free) Fax: (973) 736-5159 Email: relocation@jordanbaris.com • URL: www.jordanbaris.com Coverage Areas: Northern New Jersey representing the New York Metropolitan area focused in Bergen, Essex, Hudson Morris, Passaic and Union Offices:counties.4•Associates: 150 Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. Headquarters Office: 14501 George Carter Way, Chantilly, VA 20151 Contact: Vicki Hamp, SVP of Corporate Real Estate Services Tel: (800) 335-0356 Email: Vicki.Hamp@LongandFoster.com • URL: www.LongandFoster.com Coverage Areas: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsyl vania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia Offices: 220+ • Associates 11,000+ NORTH CAROLINA Coldwell Banker Advantage 7610 Six Forks Rd., Ste. 100, Raleigh, NC 27615 Contact: Benina Drake, CRP, SVP Relocation & Referral Services Tel: (800) 274-5345 • (919) 846-3330 (Direct) Email: BDrake@AdvantageCB.com • URL: www.AdvantageCB.com Coverage Areas: Apex, Cary, Clayton, Creedmoor, Chapel Hill, Durham, Falls Lake, Fayetteville, Ft. Bragg area, Henderson, Holly Springs, Knightdale, Lake Gaston, Lillington, McGee’s Crossroads, Pinehurst, Pittsboro, Pope Air Force Base area, Raleigh, Southern Pines, Wake Forest and Zebulon Offices: 17 • Associates: 325 Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. Headquarters Office: 14501 George Carter Way, Chantilly, VA 20151 Contact: Vicki Hamp, SVP of Corporate Real Estate Services Tel: (800) 335-0356 Email: Vicki.Hamp@LongandFoster.com • URL: www.LongandFoster.com Coverage Areas: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsyl vania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia Offices: 220+ • Associates 11,000+
• URL: www.pattersonschwartz.com
BROKER-TO-BROKER REFERRALS 94 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE PENNSYLVANIA Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. Headquarters Office: 14501 George Carter Way, Chantilly, VA 20151 Contact: Vicki Hamp, SVP of Corporate Real Estate Services Tel: (800) 335-0356 Email: Vicki.Hamp@LongandFoster.com • URL: www.LongandFoster.com Coverage Areas: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsyl vania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia Offices: 220+ • Associates 11,000+ Lusk & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty 100 Foxshire Dr., Lancaster, PA 17601 Tel: (717) 291-9101 • Fax: (717) 393-2336 Contact: Sandy Zercher Email: sandra.zercher@sothebysrealty.com URL: Coveragewww.LuskandAssociates.comAreas:LancasterCounty, Pennsylvania; Susquehanna Valley, Penn sylvania; South Central Pennsylvania • Offices: 1 • Associates: 40 Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate 7234 Lancaster Pike, Ste. 220B, Hockessin, DE 19707 Contact: Brian Pomije, Relocation Manager Tel: (302) 234-3600 (Office) • (302) 234-5207 (Direct) (800) 443-2295 (Toll Free) • Email: bpomije@psre.com URL: Coveragewww.pattersonschwartz.comAreas:Delaware(New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties), Pennsyl vania (Chester and Delaware counties), Maryland (Cecil, Kent and Harford counties) • Offices: 9 • Associates: 415 RE/MAX 440 and RE/MAX Central 701 West Market St., Perkasie, PA 18944 Contact: Tom Skiffington, Broker/Owner • Tel: (215) 453-7653 or (215) 643-3200 • Email: tom@tomskiffington.com URLs: www.pahomesforsale.com • www.lehighvalleyrealestate.com Coverage Areas: Pennsylvania counties: Bucks, Berks, Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, Lehigh, North Hampton, and New Jersey Offices: 10 • Associates: 170 RHODE ISLAND Randall, REALTORS® 4009 Old Post Rd., Charleston, RI 02813 Contact: Jean Fournier, Dir. of Relocation & Referral Services Tel: (401) 486-9677 Email: jfournier@randallrealtors.com • URL: www.randallrealtors.com Coverage Areas: Connecticut and Rhode Island Offices: 9 • Associates: 175 SOUTH CAROLINA Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices C. Dan Joyner, REALTORS® 745 N. Pleasantburg Dr., Greenville, SC 29607 Contacts: Nichole Moore, Director of Relocation, (864) 678-5362, Jonmoore@cdanjoyner.com,AnneConner,Destination & Broker-to-Broker Mgr., (864) 678-5227, jconner@cdanjoyner.com • URL: www.cdanjoyner.com Brookfield GRS, SIRVA, AIReS Relocation, Graebel, MI Group Coverage Areas: Greenville, Greer, Taylors, Duncan, Spartanburg, Mauldin, Simpsonville, Fountain Inn, Powdersville, Easley, Piedmont, Anderson Offices: 10 • Associates: 400+ CENTURY 21 New Millennium 5990 Kingstowne Towne Center, Alexandria, VA 22315 Contact: Todd Hetherington, CEO • Tel: (800) 382-1101 Fax: (703) 822-0136 Relocation Contact: Jeff Hetherington, Director of Relocation Email: move@c21nm.com • URL: www.c21nm.com Providers of world class real estate services in the Northern Virginia, Washing ton, D.C., and the Southern Maryland markets. Our areas of expertise range from Fortune 500 executives to specialized training in military and government relocation. • Offices: 16 • Associates: 700+ RE/MAX Gateway 4090B Lafayette Center Dr., Chantilly, VA 20151 Contact: Scott MacDonald, President Tel: (703) 652-5760 • (703) 727-6900 (Cell) Email: scottmacdonald@remax.net • URL: www.gateway2realestate.com Coverage Areas: Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland Offices: 6 • Associates: 170 VIRGINIA Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. Headquarters Office: 14501 George Carter Way, Chantilly, VA 20151 Contact: Vicki Hamp, SVP of Corporate Real Estate Services Tel: (800) 335-0356 Email: Vicki.Hamp@LongandFoster.com • URL: www.LongandFoster.com Coverage Areas: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsyl vania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia Offices: 220+ • Associates 11,000+ WASHINGTON, D.C. CENTURY 21 New Millennium 5990 Kingstowne Towne Center, Alexandria, VA 22315 Contact: Todd Hetherington, CEO • Tel: (800) 382-1101 Fax: (703) 822-0136 Relocation Contact: Jeff Hetherington, Director of Relocation Email: move@c21nm.com • URL: www.c21nm.com Providers of world class real estate services in the Northern Virginia, Washing ton, D.C., and the Southern Maryland markets. Our areas of expertise range from Fortune 500 executives to specialized training in military and government relocation. • Offices: 16 • Associates: 700+ Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. Headquarters Office: 14501 George Carter Way, Chantilly, VA 20151 Contact: Vicki Hamp, SVP of Corporate Real Estate Services Tel: (800) 335-0356 Email: Vicki.Hamp@LongandFoster.com • URL: www.LongandFoster.com Coverage Areas: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia Offices: 220+ • Associates 11,000+ RE/MAX Gateway 4090B Lafayette Center Dr., Chantilly, VA 20151 Contact: Scott MacDonald, President Tel: (703) 652-5760 • (703) 727-6900 (Cell) Email: scottmacdonald@remax.net • URL: www.gateway2realestate.com Coverage Areas: Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland Offices: 6 • Associates: 170 WEST VIRGINIA Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. Headquarters Office: 14501 George Carter Way, Chantilly, VA 20151 Contact: Vicki Hamp, SVP of Corporate Real Estate Services Tel: (800) 335-0356 Email: Vicki.Hamp@LongandFoster.com • URL: www.LongandFoster.com Coverage Areas: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsyl vania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia Offices: 220+ • Associates 11,000+
INDEX OF SERVICE PROVIDERS ABR® 10 Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) 77 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices IBC Century 21 Real Estate LLC 15 Colibri Real Estate 26 Crush It In Real Estate 33 Fathom Realty 71 HSASM Home Warranty IFC Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® 1 NAR’s Resort and Second-Home Property Specialist (RSPS) Certification 16 National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP)® 20 National Association of REALTORS® ............................... 6, 49 NextHome BC Pillar To Post Home Inspectors® 2 Real Estate Webmasters 24-25 RISMedia’s ACESocial 7, 9, 95 RISMedia’s Mergers and Acquisitions Field Guide 62 RISMedia’s Power Broker Reception & Dinner 8 RISMedia’s Premier 91 RISMedia’s Real Estate Newsmakers 34 Rocket Mortgage 13 Sherri Johnson Coaching & Consulting 47 United Real Estate 41 Vylla Home ..............................................................................28 Weichert, Realtors® 23 Workman Success Systems ....................................................82 Simplify Your Social Media Strategy “I think anyone getting into this business who is looking to reach out and have some type of identity on social media needs to look at ACESocial.” Andrew Velez, Real Estate Consultant/Licensed REALTOR®, RE/MAX Advisors For more information, visit acesocial.rismedia.com
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is deep ly dedicated to the welfare and safety of our members and is wholly committed to helping REALTORS® stay safe and well. To that end, we’ve developed a multi-pronged strategy that includes a robust REALTOR® Safety Program and a very active REALTOR® Safety Advisory Commit tee whose members are working tirelessly to heighten the safety culture and develop programs to improve member safety. Awareness is Key Broker Janet Judd is the 2022 chair of the REALTOR® Safety Advisory Committee, a former police officer and a recent graduate of the FBI Citizens Academy in Saint Lou is. “Through my work with REALTOR® safety, what stands out most is that members don’t understand the risks,” says Judd. “Whenever I tell them that the Department of Labor has officially declared us a high-risk occupation, it takes their breath away. They are shocked to hear that 60,000 REALTORS® have been a victim of a violent crime like as sault, rape, robbery or murder. So, raising awareness of the risks is the first step toward keeping our members safe.”
Data Security and Cyber Safety Webinars Learn how to keep your office data and client information secure, as well as what to do if there is a breach.
•Selling Safely: Because It Can Happen to You
•Are You & Your Data an Easy Target?
RE W hat does REALTOR® safety mean to you? Perhaps your mind turns to agents working alone and the challenge of staying safe in the field. Or maybe you’re con cerned about data security since cyberattacks are on the rise. You might even be worried about the psychological effects of a highly competitive and volatile market, which can be a challenge for even your most seasoned agents.
The REALTOR® Safety Program has a new look! The new mark integrates the shape of a shield, representing strength and protection, nestling a home as a symbol of comfort and safety.
Share them
to
your
Personal Safety Webinars Agents spend a lot of time thinking about property
their
•Harness Your Mental Strength
•Avoiding REALTOR® Danger Zones
TOR® Safety Program resources to arm your agents with information, increase their capacity to protect themselves and their clients, and make them less susceptible to prop erty or personal safety risks. Make safety a priority year-round! Visit www.nar.re altor/safety/ to learn more about the REALTOR® Safety Program and access all of NAR’s safety resources.
360 Degrees of REALTOR® Safety
•Data Security and Cyber Safety
Increasing REALTOR® Safety September is REALTOR® Safety Month, the perfect time to build awareness around safety concerns, reassess of fice protocols and focus on keeping your agents—and your business—as safe as possible. To ensure you have everything you need to devel op a safety strategy, NAR’s REALTOR® Safety Program offers a Broker Toolkit with a full range of resources to help you build up defenses to protect your people and property—from weekly social media messaging to safety courses and trainings to pre-designed safety forms and best practices. A key resource offered through the REALTOR® Safety Program is our webinars, presented by industry experts. with agents throughout the year to keep safety top of mind. values, forget think about own worth.
RE: REAL ESTATE 96 September 2022 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
•Identity Theft: Protecting You & Your Clients
•Social Media & Cyber Safety Mental Wellness Webinars Along with the many rewards of working in real estate, there can be challenges that affect mental health. These webinars provide an honest take on the issue and pro vide strategies to balance mental health and work.
but they may
•It’s OK to Not Be OK! Prioritizing Your Mental Wellness
•An Open Conversation About Mental Wellness Take advantage of these webinars and other REAL
These webinars raise awareness and empower agents to avoid becoming a victim: •Every Agent’s Five-Step Plan for Open Houses
©2022 BHH A liates, LLC. Real Estate Brokerage Services are o ered through the network member franchisees of BHH A liates, LLC. Most franchisees are independently owned and operated. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of Columbia Insurance Company, a Berkshire Hathaway a liate. Equal Housing Opportunity. A dream home away from home. Dream homes make for dream careers. When you’re working with the most respected name in the business, with access to a global network and the best tools available, it might almost seem too good to be true. See what becoming a Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices network Forever Agent℠ can do for your career at JoinBerkshireHathawayHS.com For Life
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