the new age of real estate

8/3/2019 The New Age of Real Estate

1/5

www.rismedia.com

Martha KareliusCOODavid RomeroPesiden & CEOSara Jackson

SVP/ Geneal ManageLayne RackleyCFOLinda WiseVP of OpeaionsCENtury 21 AwadrrEIN Membe

The New Age

of Real EstateCentury 21 AwadPage 64

Photo: Doyle Terry


2/5

Photo: Doyle Terry

B Babaa Ponin

RISMedias REAL ESTATE

The New Ageof Real EstateCENTURY 21 Award

Martha KareliusCOODavid RomeroPesiden & CEOSara JacksonSVP/ Geneal ManageLayne RackleyCFOLinda WiseVP of OpeaionsCENtury 21 AwadrrEIN Membe


3/5


Barbara Pronin: David, lets startby synopsizing your career path

in the industry.

David Romero: I was a real estatekid. I grew up in Anaheim, where my

Mom was a CENTURY 21 agent. My

brother and I werent sure exactly

what she did, but we knew she put

in a lot o hours, and we swore wed

never do that. So when I graduated

rom Sacramento State College with

a degree in political science, I inter-

viewed with then-U.S. Senator John

Seymourand I ended up in cam-

paign mode in Sacramento. It was

un or a while, but eventually, I got

a little tired o the bureaucracy, andI moved back home to Anaheim. I

started working or my Momde-

livering yers and sending axes at

frst, but somehow learning the busi-

ness and making a go o it. Even-

tually, I was recruited to manage a

CENTURY 21 Superstars ofce in

Placentia, and I ound it was some-

thing I was good at. Meanwhile, my

brother had opened a mortgage

company, and in 1998, we pooledour resources to open a CENTURY

21 company with ofces in Placen-

tia, Anaheim Hills and Yorba Linda.

For David Romero, president and CEO o CENTURY 21 Award Real Estate,

success is all about connectingconnecting with agents to develop a team ullycommitted to excellenceand connecting with customers in the new real estate

environment to rebuild and oster the American Dream o homeownership. Its the

reason why this Southern Caliornia-based brokerage lists and sells more real estate

than any other CENTURY 21 ranchise in the world. I was born into real estate, says

Romero. Ive witnessed the ups and downs o the marketand I believe this country is

a better place or the roots put down by generations o homeowner amilies beore us.

In this exclusive interview, Romero shares his passion or the new brand o real estate

proessionalism and his hope or a better, stronger America as the next generation obuyers and sellers prepares to make its mark.


4/5


To our surprise, we were having a

lot o un and we must have been

doing something right because we just kept growing. In 2004, we ac-

quired CENTURY 21 Award in San

Diego, which helped us double our

size, and here we are today with 17

ofces and 1,100 agents in Orange,

Riverside, San Bernardino and San

Diego Counties.

BP: How would you character-ize your positioning in this diverse

marketplace?DR: As you noted, we were No. 1 insales last year out o all CENTURY

21 ranchises worldwide. Thats

an honor we value and appreciate.

We have an award-winning team o

certifed relocation specialists and

a dedicated and progressive com-

mercial properties department. But

what we are most proud o is our

reputation as the go-to company in

Southern Caliornia or buyers and

sellers who want the best possible

real estate experience. We believe

we have a unique sales team with

a singular ocus on delivering more

than what the customer expects,

and thats a positionand a respon-

sibilitywe all take very seriously.

BP: How has the companyevolved and grown to adapt to

changes in the marketplace?

DR: Swings in the marketplace hap-pen all the time, especially here in

Caliornia. We understand that and

we try to look down the line and

prepare or whatever is coming.

Our mergers and acquisitions have

helped us grow in size, but I think its

our orward-looking attitude and our

deep understanding o the markets

we serve that has made us a power-

house company. Basically, you grow

because customers come back time

and again, and recommend us to

their amilies and riends. They trust

us to help them make the best buy-

ing and selling decisions, and we do

whatever it takes to live up to that

obligation.

BP: What would you point to asyour competitive differentiation?

DR: We are a company or and aboutpeople. We understand that every

customer has dierent needs, di-

erent goals, and diering commu-

nication preerences. Our job is to

provide the best and most current

insights and inormation or every

buyer and seller, and to be there orthem in every way along the journey.

I think we succeed in that because

o our deep market knowledge and

leading-edge technology, but most

o all, because o our outstanding

people skills.

BP: What are todays consum-ers most concerned with when it

comes to buying and selling real

estate?

DR: There is still a lot o ear anduncertainty in the marketplace. Sell-

ers always want to get the best price

and buyers want to get the best deal.

That has never changed and never

will. Thats why its crucial that every

consumer has the best inormation

on which to base a buy or sell de-

cision. Despite a varying economy,

real estate remains a good invest-

ment over the long haul, and its

gratiying to know that a recent WellsFargo survey showed 80% o the

new generation believes that home-

ownership is a worthwhile goal. But

consumers today do have concerns,

and we work hard to understand

them and help them make the best

decisions based on their individual

circumstances.

BP:How do your sales associatesgo about meeting these differing

consumer needs?

DR: By providing the most currentmarket inormation and being bold

and brutally honest with every cus-

tomer. The act is, i you need to

sell now, you cannot expect top-o-the-market prices. So either you put

your lie on hold and wait until the

market improves, or you work with

a dedicated agent to maximize your

deal and move orward. On the other

hand, i you want to buy, there may

never be a better time, with pricesand interest rates at their most at-

tractive levels in decades. We be-

lieve this is the right time to help

consumers rebuild the dream o

homeownership, because the one

thing that will never change is that

amilies who own their homes live

in better-kept communities with bet-

ter schools and lower crime rates

than those who rent. Our agents

work hard to educate their custom-

ers and empower them to make the

best decisions or themselves and

their amilies.

We understandthat every customer

has diferent needs,

diferent goals, anddifering communication

preerences. Our job isto provide the best and

most current insightsand inormation or

every buyer and seller,

and to be there orthem in every way alongthe journey.

-David Romero

Presiden & CEO

CENtuRy 21 Award


5/5


BP:What is the company doing interms of training to keep the sales

force equipped to succeed?

DR: Between ranchise resourcesand our own eorts, any technology

we could possibly want or need is

there or us. We have a great train-

ing department keeping us aheado the curve on new products, new

applications, and the best way to

incorporate them into our business.

That includes traditional and online

training or newer agents as well as

best use o the newer methods and

social media. Mainly, we ensure that

our agents have the best and most

current market inormation at their

fngertips, because thats what they

need to do the best job or every

customer.

BP: How are you retaining yourtop producing agents?

DR: Thats generally not an issueor us because great people are

attracted to great companies, and

they stay because theyre happy

here. We have a wonderul company

culture. We work hard, but we have a

good time. We have great ocus and

mutual goals, including the manyways in which we work together to

support the Easter Seals campaign.

But mainly, I think, we challenge our-

selves and we challenge our people

to grow and get better every day. Top

producers respond to that kind o

challenge, and we continue to grow

because they grow.

BP: How has your technologyevolved to meet the demands of

agents and consumers?

DR: Weve totally revamped ourwebsite and upgraded all o our

systems, and we hired a tech con-

sultant to help us keep our pledge

to stay ahead o the curve. We are

as technologically adept as anyone,

because the new generation is our

biggest customer, and we certainly

want to communicate with them as

they wish in terms o mobile ap-plications and social media. Quick

Response (QR) codes put property

inormation right on our customers

cell phones, and even contracts can

be signed on-the-go. On the other

hand, we know the best technology

will never replace human contact,

and our most successul agents

are still in the ofce every day and

consulting with their clients on a

ace-to-ace basis whenever thats

called or.

BP: How have you evolved yourmarketing and promotional strat-

egy to better connect with to-

days consumers?

DR: We are constantly evaluating theway we reach consumers, and we

still use print media because many

consumers like it. We are ortunate

in that people know and respect the

CENTURY 21 brand, and we makeull use in print and online o our,

Smarter, Bolder, Faster campaign

to be sure our customers are the

best inormed in the business. Es-

sentially, we are about promoting

homeownership, and we do that in

every way we can.

BP: In your opinion, what do to-days agents need to focus on to

succeed?

DR: In the past ew years, as the mar-ket languished, a lot o agents let

the business, so the agents working

today are, by and large, among the

most proessional and knowledge-

able in the feld. They are committedto rebuilding the dream o homeown-

ership or a new generation because

they understand and believe in the

long-term benefts, both fnancially

and sociologically. Their core values

are integrity, great service, and in-

novation, so that every one o their

customers enjoys the best possible

real estate experience. They are

well-schooled and experienced in

the basics, and equipped in everyway to help people make the best

buying and selling decisions. That

includes staying in touch with past

clients, and everyone in their sphere

o inuence, because that ensures

a continuing ow o new business.

In short, a successul agent today is

100% client-ocused. I should men-

tion, too, that many o our agents

give back to the community in a

program called Closings or Kids. A

portion o their commissions at clos-

ing are donated to the Easter Seals

campaign. Thats in addition to what

we give at the corporate level.

BP:What are your plans for con-tinuing to grow the company?

DR: We are always open to good ac-quisition prospects that can help us

solidiy and expand our base o op-

erations. We ocus on attracting new

and experienced people who arecommitted to our high ideals and

values. We believe that our compa-

nys success, like the success o the

best agents, is based on knowing

the acts, telling the truth, and work-

ing hard to make every real estate

transaction a positive and satisying

experience. We take it as a personal

and proessional obligation to make

the dream o responsible homeown-

ership a reality. RE

For more information, please visit

www.century21award.com.

We believe that our companys success, like thesuccess o the best agents, is based on knowingthe acts, telling the truth, and working hard tomake every real estate transaction a positive and

satisying experience. -David RomeroPresiden & CEO

CENtuRy 21 Award

the new age of real estate

Documents