Real Living McCarthy Real Estate Celebrates 60th Anniversary
Real Living Realty Professionals Brokerage Partners with Medical Center
Thoughts on Leadership: Travel to Learn
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels find me in the city of St. Louis to meet with a local brokerage there, an amazing group of real estate professionals who prove with crystal-clear assurance what you can achieve when you have a strong, vibrant culture at your brokerage business.
I have to tell you, being in St. Louis was really an eye-opening trip for me. I’ve long been a fan of the idea that new eyes see old things in new ways and sometimes, these “eyes” aren’t literal eyes but instead places, things and experiences that widen your perspective in ways you never thought possible. Travel, in this sense, is more than just going from one place to another but instead a complete mindset shift and a chance to learn what you otherwise would never have known. For instance, who knew that there’s an area of St. Louis called “The Hill,” home to baseball greats Yogi Berra and Joe Gargiola Sr., who spent their childhood living across the street from one another on Elizabeth Avenue?
“Not only was I not the best catcher in the Major Leagues,” Gargiola once famously said, “I wasn’t even the best catcher on my street!”
I would never have known about the location of The Hill had I not been in St. Louis, in that area where Yogi and Joe grew up.
But The Hill isn’t the only St. Louis landmark steeped in history; Forest Park, where the Sunshine Kids charity golf tournament took place, is also a region with a rich past. And it certainly made for an incredibly picturesque setting befitting of our charity event; I was honored to participate and raise money for the Sunshine Kids!
At the event’s reception, I was able to catch up with my good friend Jim Schutzenhofer who was there for a portion of the event and rattled off some interesting facts about Forest Park. For example: Located in the western portion of St. Louis, Forest Park spans 1,371 acres of the city. It first opened in 1876 and has since hosted many significant events including the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904 and the 1904 Olympics. Contained within its expansive bounds is also the St. Louis Zoo, Saint Louis Art Museum, the Missouri History Museum, the St. Louis Science Center, the Steinberg Skating Rink, the Boathouse Restaurant, the Highlands Golf and Tennis Center and more. (Yes, all that fits into this amazing park, which is approximately 500 acres larger than NYC’s Central Park.) In the early 2000s, the park underwent a $100-million restoration, which has since improved its facilities and restored its prairie and wetland areas, allowing birds and wildlife to flourish among these newly refurbished natural habitats.
So, what’s the message? Sometimes, it’s all about the grind, about sitting at your desk, with laptop in front of you and working until you see real results. Sometimes, however, it’s about getting up from your desk, your office, your town even, and traveling somewhere completely new. Because you’d be surprised what you can discover and just how much you can learn and be inspired by the history of a place you’ve never seen before.
GINO BLEFARI is CEO of HSF Affiliates LLC. You can follow Gino on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
[Featured Image: Forest Park in St. Louis, MO via Josh Kelahan]
Thoughts on Leadership: The Balance of Old and New
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels find me in Northern California working from my home office then in Denver for the 2017 Real Trends Gathering of Eagles conference. This year marks a special one for the annual assembly of our country’s brightest and most innovative real estate leaders, as Real Trends is celebrating 30 years in business. Since the start of 2017, Steve Murray, editor and president of REAL Trends, Inc., has been publishing articles all about what the milestone means not only for the company but also for him. Murray said this in a recent story about the anniversary: “Things have changed—and not changed—since that first edition … It’s funny to think how the world has stayed remarkably similar over the past 30 years.”
Here are some fun facts he shared about the real estate industry when REAL Trends first began:
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In 1987, there were more than 800,000 Realtors® in the U.S. Today, there are 1.2 million U.S. Realtors®, which means the population has grown substantially in that 30-year span. (A good fact to share with those who question if a real estate agent is crucial to the home-buying and selling process.)
- Three decades ago, the Sales and Marketing Management Institute said online shopping for homes through television was the hot, new trend. While the Institute may have gotten the device wrong, we can all agree online—and mobile—dominate most buyers’ initial home search.
- A study commissioned by NAR in 1987 featured this commentary: “Electronic advertising almost certainly will be tried and very likely will be economically viable.” (Well yes, you can say that again!)
It was with this interesting information in mind that I arrived at Gathering of Eagles on Wednesday, excited to learn about the changes happening in our industry but knowing, as Murray wisely pointed out, some things still remain very much the same.
The agenda for the conference focused on celebrating the past with an attentive eye on the future, which fits squarely with exactly what Murray has been writing about in regards to REAL Trends’ 30-year anniversary.
One of the highlights for me was a keynote by Good to Great bestselling author Jim Collins. (If you read last week’s Thursday Thoughts, you’ll remember I referenced Collins’ ideas; I’ve long been a fan of his insightful book and even used it as the blueprint in 2002 when building Intero Real Estate Services.) Collins spoke about his Twelve Questions, a sequence of question that, as he explained, “serve as a mechanism of disciplined thought for a leader and his or her team.” You can view those questions here, and as Collins recommends, discuss one question per month with your team to create a calendar year of disciplined thought. He then recommends repeating this practice the following year, tapping into the power of habitual learning and discussing each question at least once every year.
So, what’s the message? Throughout all these discussions, as we spoke about ways to digitally market, to streamline, to improve and bring your team from from good to great, I kept thinking about how critical it is to understand these cutting-edge, forward-thinking ideas and systems but to also know that the fundamentals, as Collins stressed in his keynote, must still be in place. This was especially true at Gathering of Eagles, where new topics were on the agenda but old friends gathered together to idea-share, catch up and learn. There’s nothing like that solid camaraderie, based on decades-long friendships, to inspire you and your business! This close camaraderie is the very reason why, despite whatever SEO tricks you use to rank higher in Google or social media platforms you pursue to gain business speed, you must have the core values of leadership in place—a great team, a vibrant culture, a commitment to quality service, a network of mentors and old friends to guide you, a system of accountability—in order to reach your goals. That’s not to say the latest and greatest isn’t just so (it’s all important) but what’s more important is achieving a careful balance between the old and new, the digital and personal, the disruptive and the time-tested; it’s how you’ll find sustainable success and, like Steve Murray’s REAL Trends, remain in business for 30 years and counting!
GINO BLEFARI is CEO of HSF Affiliates LLC. You can follow Gino on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Real Living Recognized as 'Real Estate Agency Brand of the Year' in 2017 Harris Poll EquiTrend Study
Here at Real Living Real Estate, we were recently recognized as “Real Estate Agency Brand of the Year” and “Most Trusted” real estate brand in the 29th annual Harris Poll EquiTrend® study. Real Living Real Estate has received Brand of the Year honors for two consecutive years and is the only brokerage network to be recognized twice in its category.
“Back-to-back awards of this stature are a wonderful tribute to the individual brokerage members across America who represent the Real Living Real Estate network,” said Gino Blefari, CEO of HSF Affiliates, which operates Real Living Real Estate. “Our franchisees do a great job for their clients and, in doing so, build a strong culture trust and integrity.”
The Brand of the Year study is based on consumers’ perception of brand familiarity, quality and usage consideration across more than 4,000 brands. Brands ranking highest receive the Harris Poll EquiTrend “Brand of the Year” award in their category. Real Living Real Estate’s distinction as “Most Trusted” real estate brand represents its reliability and integrity in the eyes of respondents. The study includes the opinions of more than 100,000 U.S. consumers surveyed online earlier this year.
Robert McAdams Jr., president of Real Living Real Estate, said the network’s philosophy to invite client collaboration in the real estate process may be a factor in the brand’s overall favorability and rank as the “Most Trusted” brand in real estate. “Client satisfaction and trust is our highest priority,” he explained. “It’s the foundation of our Real Living 360 Service® program, which invites clients to rate the service of their Real Living Real Estate network professionals following closed transactions.”
Earlier this year the brand received an impressive 97% satisfaction rating from buyers and sellers through the Real Living 360 Service® program as tracked by Quality Service Certification, Inc., an independent research firm. This ties a record high satisfaction rating for Real Living Real Estate network agents.
“Real Living Real Estate network professionals are honored to serve their customers’ real estate needs and their performance truly sets them apart in the industry,” said McAdams. “We are thrilled their hard work and dedication has been recognized.”
Real Living Agents Achieve Record High 97% Nationwide Customer Satisfaction
Real Living Real Estate and Realtor.com Team Up for First-Ever 5K Fun Run
Real Living Real Estate, one of the nation’s leading real estate franchisors and a member of the HSF Affiliates family of real estate brokerages, announced it recently raised funds for Habitat for Humanity Tucson during the franchise network’s first-ever 5k Fun Run, sponsored by realtor.com® that took place at the Annual Sales Convention, Real Living Connection.
The idea for the 5k Fun Run originated when Robert McAdams Jr., president of Real Living Real Estate, sought to create a new team-building activity that would involve conference attendees in the Tucson community. “Having a tie-in to a local non-profit and finding a key sponsor made this fundraising event even more powerful,” he said. “It’s important to us to give back to the communities whose real estate needs we serve and Habitat for Humanity’s mission to end homelessness is a perfect fit for our network.”
There is no better time than now! Learn about the Real Living difference today. #PowerOfUshttp://bit.ly/1X7oaI7 pic.twitter.com/Dq6rwVAXZz
— Real Living (@RealLiving_RE) March 9, 2017
After the Fun Run planning was underway, finding the event sponsor was next and for that role, McAdams looked to realtor.com. “Making dreams come true, one step at a time seemed too perfect of a connection for this exclusive sponsorship opportunity,” said McAdams, citing realtor.com’s recent ad campaign, all about helping consumers find their dream home.
After meeting with McAdams at the Inman Connect in New York, Leza VanBeuren, VP of national sales at Move, Inc., which operates realtor.com, made the commitment to sponsor the Real Living Connection 2017 convention and Real Living 5K Fun Run.
“We instantly recognized the parallels between the efforts of the team at Real Living Real Estate and our work at realtor.com – in real estate service, in direct involvement with local communities and our belief in the importance of home in our lives,” said Ray Picard, executive vice president at realtor.com. “Habitat for Humanity is one of our favorite organizations to partner with and we are proud to extend our contribution through our participation in this event.”
Gino Blefari, CEO of HSF Affiliates, applauded Real Living Real Estate network professionals on a successful event. “Congratulations to the network for its support of Habitat for Humanity Tucson,” he said. “Bringing the dream of homeownership to those who need it most speaks directly to the core values of Real Living Real Estate.”
Bob’s Blog: Real Living Connection Annual Sales Convention
By Bob McAdams Jr.
Real Living Connection 2017 in Tucson, AZ, Feb. 8-11, turned out to be an excellent event. We had a packed house of agents, brokers, owners and managers as well as preferred suppliers, industry-leading coaches and special guests. We designed Real Living Connection to help network members not only improve their businesses and gain best practice advice but also to have fun, too.
In case you were unable to attend this year, here are some highlights of what you missed: our first-ever Referral/Relocation Connection Event to focus on expansion of our referral channels; celebrations for our award winners; top-notch breakout sessions and valuable keynote speeches from a range of innovative leaders; and sneak peeks into new items for 2018 such as Buyer and Seller Presentations and Real Living 360 Services Social Sharing.
From Sunrise Yoga, the 5K Fun Run benefiting Habitat for Humanity to a sunset enjoyed at the Fiesta Lawn happy hour, attendees enjoyed many different networking opportunities. Everyone had fun wearing their red shoes at the happy hour that we even decided to implement a competition “Red Shoes” trophy for Real Living Connection in 2018!
Photographs from the Real Living Connection are now available here showcasing award winners, executives, sessions and speakers, and networking events in Tucson.
The Real Living team is already hard at work on the 2018 conference, planning a similar approach that you can’t afford to miss out. We’ll be releasing more information soon.
BOB MCADAMS is President of Real Living Real Estate. You can follow Bob on Instagram and Twitter.
Real Living Northwest Realtors Shares Impressive Anderson Island Stats
The Real Living Northwest Realtors’ Anderson Island office sold more homes in 2016 than the next ten brokerages in the Anderson Island market combined – that’s a whopping 36% market share. Anderson Island is a little-known paradise in Pierce County, WA. 
The remote, southernmost island in Puget Sound is accessible only by ferry and is home to a network of trails, parks, and two freshwater lakes.
Stephanie McCarthy, owner of Northwest Realtors, said the Real Living Real Estate brand is key to Anderson Island brokers’ success. “Our motto ‘The Power of Us, the Freedom to be You’ allows us to offer our agents all the tools and systems of a national brokerage, while giving our agents the freedom to let their unique personalities shine through,” she said.
To learn more about the Anderson Island office and how they’re leveraging the brand, take a look at the full press release here.
Real Living Realty Professionals Donates Wheelchair Accessible Van to Local Family
Springfield, MA-based Broker/Owner Bob Molta and his team at Real Living Realty Professionals recently donated a wheel chair accessible minivan to a local family. The heart-felt gift will change their lives.
Three-year-old Catheryn Racine was born with spina bifida and has been on a debilitating journey of six different operations, numerous hospital stays and weekly doctors’ appointments. It was a struggle to transport Catheryn, so her family and dozens of loved ones couldn’t hold back their emotions when Molta presented them with the keys to the van.
Realty Professionals wanted nothing more than give to the Racine family. Molta told Western Mass News:
“This means everything to me, it is two years of culmination of work between ourselves and our company,” he said. “I can’t say enough of how proud I am of our sales associates for working and making donations for this van and making it happen.” The family is excited to use the van for not only doctors’ visits, but for a little fun, too.
Learn more about the Racine family and this donation in Western Mass News’ coverage of the story here.