A Letter from Leadership: Don't Let HomeLight Take Away the Spotlight on Your Credentials
Two personal examples of the resonance and relevance of real estate, were front and center this past football season. During the televised football games, two real estate-related commercials constantly appeared. One was a source of pride. As the former CEO of realtor.com I loved their ads that exclaimed that they are the, “Home of Home Search.”
The other oft-appearing commercial about HomeLight left me with mixed feelings. HomeLight, a seemingly honorable company, seeks to serve the public by algorithmically determining on their behalf who are the best real estate professionals. While I love the fact that someone finally, and on a big scale, is challenging the notion, if not the delusion, that all real estate professionals are alike, I also have concerns.
My concerns can be found in the specific difference between how realtor.com and HomeLight seek to serve consumers. While at realtor.com, I remember our metrics reporting that 98% of visitors to our site clicked on the “Find a Home” button and only 2% on the “Find a Realtor” button. My strong sense was that the 2% represented real estate agents checking on their bios.
Realtor.com attracts consumers based upon property search. The HomeLight differentiator is to encourage the search for the “best agents.” Defining who the best agents are is quite ambitious for the following reasons:
- Some agents focus on selling more homes rather than selling or marketing homes for more.
- Some team leaders who accrue credit for the volume of their transactions are akin to professors who have graduate assistants teaching their classes.
- Some agents market or sell fewer homes but get better results.
- No one can ever categorically document what any sold home might have been purchased for through a different agent or company.
Because homes are not stocks or commodities, it is impossible to declare any outcome as being superior to what other agents might have been able to achieve. My reason for expressing my thoughts is that while I believe that realtor.com and other third-party portals have ably served the public by extending the range and reach of homes for sale, I have concerns regarding any third party serving up who they believe are the best agents.
All this means is that all real estate agents will have to work even harder and more strategically to keep the spotlight on their credentials.
Allan Dalton
Chief Executive Officer, Real Living Real Estate
Sneak Preview: New Initiatives and Speakers Announced for Real Living Connection 2019!
Get ready for some fun in the sun in beautiful Huntington Beach, CA aka “Surf City USA,” on Feb. 8-18, 2019 at Real Living Connection 2019. This is your opportunity to gain valuable tools, tips and tricks to transform your career. The team is excited to announce new Real Living initiatives that will be unveiled in detail at Connection. These four game-changing programs are:
- The Real Living Luxury Lifestyle Division along with the Real Living Luxury Lifestyle Marketing System
- The Real Living Lifestyle Planning Guide
- The Real Living Community Lifestyle Videos Concept
- The Real Living Selection & Career Development System
Plus, this year’s speaker line-up packs a punch with industry experts and relevant topics. Learn how to significantly increase your profits with the help of:
Gino Blefari, president and CEO, HSF Affiliate
Allan Dalton, COO, Real Living Real Estate
Chris Stuart, Chief Operating Officer, HSF Affiliates LLC
Rosalie Warner, VP of Network Services, Real Living Real Estate
Teresa Palacio Smith, VP of diversity & inclusion, HSF Affiliates LLC
Wendy Durand, VP of global marketing, HSF Affiliates LLC and
Bob Watson, director global network training, HSF Affiliates LLC
Not to mention, you’ll enjoy a tax write-off, too! Take your whole office and enjoy a discounted group rate, which is available until Jan. 16, 2019. To secure your hotel reservation and take advantage of the group rate, please make your hotel reservations while registering and not directly with the hotel. Early Bird pricing ends Jan. 4, 2019.
Here are a few more details to help you plan your stay:
Oceanfront Resort with Full Amenities
Perched along the famous Pacific Coastline sits the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa. This upscale oceanfront resort features an array of amenities with lagoon-style pools, Pacific Waters Spa, fitness center and on-property restaurants. Learn more.
Reservations
A discounted group rate of $269 per night, plus tax and fees is available for your stay. Triple occupancy rate is $294 per night, plus tax and fees and quadruple occupancy rate is $319 per night, plus tax and fees. The group rate is also valid three days prior and three days following the event with extension subject to availability. Real Living Program Headquarters will send you a confirmation email once your extension has been approved. Please wait to receive confirmation of your hotel extension prior to booking your airline tickets.
Three Convenient Airports
You can find non-stop and connecting options with flights on Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines. Choose from the following airports:
SNA – John Wayne Airport is 10 miles away
LGB – Long Beach Airport is 17 miles away
LAX – Los Angeles International Airport is 38 miles away
Don’t miss out on Real Living Connection 2019! Register and book your hotel and flights today!
Carolina Lifestyles Realty Joins Real Living Real Estate Brokerage Network
Real Living Real Estate today announced that Real Living Carolina Lifestyles Realty, a North Carolina-based startup brokerage, has joined the network.
The brokerage, led by local real estate veteran Lori Golden, is well positioned for growth in the bustling Pittsboro market. The region is experiencing a revitalization and construction of a 7,100-acre residential and commercial development, Chatham Park, which is currently underway. Chatham Park is expected to have a total of 22,000 homes, stores and offices and will be developed over the next 12 to 15 years.
“The Pittsboro market is really about to boom as it continues to attract buyers interested in the unique lifestyle the area offers,” said Golden. “I felt it was important to align with a brand that understood this niche demographic well and there was no question that Real Living knows how to sell lifestyles.”
Golden added the technology and systems provided by Real Living will allow current agents to provide an even higher level of support to clients while encouraging new agents to join the firm. With their membership in the network, the brokerage will also benefit from Real Living’s customized resources aimed at helping agents and their clients successfully navigate the home buying and selling process.
“Real Living Carolina Lifestyles Realty truly epitomizes the lifestyles mantra and is a natural fit to market the comfort and convenience of Pittsboro and the surrounding communities,” said Allan Dalton, chief operating officer of Real Living Real Estate. “The team has exceptional talent and there is no question they will do a phenomenal job succeeding in this key market.”
CEO of HSF Affiliates Gino Blefari welcomed the Carolina Lifestyles Realty to the network. “Lori and the Carolina Lifestyles Realty team are outstanding additions to the Real Living network and we’re thrilled to support them in their entrepreneurial endeavors.”
Real Living Carolina Lifestyles Realty will commemorate its transition with a grand opening celebration Oct. 3 at 11 a.m. at its new office located at 697 Hillsboro St. Ste. 103 in Pittsboro. Cindy Perry, mayor for the city of Pittsboro, will attend the event as will representatives from the Chatham Chamber of Commerce.
For more information about Real Living Carolina Lifestyles Realty visit www.rlcarolinalifestyles.com.
Real Living Carolinas Real Estate Joins the Real Living Real Estate Brokerage Network
Real Living Real Estate welcomes Real Living Carolinas Real Estate to the network!
The brokerage remains independently owned and operated by real estate veterans James and Kathleen Rebhan and serves clients in the counties of Mecklenburg, Union, Iredell, Gaston, Cabarrus, Lancaster and York throughout the Carolinas.
Kathleen Rebhan said joining the Real Living brokerage network was a natural choice as both organizations share a common philosophy focused on the needs of clients. “Real Living is the most recognized and highest-rated brand among the only group that counts – consumers,” she said. “As a brokerage, we understand that leveraging the Real Living brand name, as well as the support of its parent companies, would position the company competitively in the Charlotte market.”
Jim Rebhan added that the brand will appeal to buyers throughout the bustling Charlotte area. “We believe that people moving to the Carolinas will place more value on a brand that connects with clients and the reasons they move,” he said. “Charlotte is a world-class leader in financial services and other industries, and an incomparable hub of opportunity for families and individuals looking to call the region home.”
“Real Living Carolinas Real Estate brings a unique consumer-centric approach that strongly aligns with the Real Living brand,” said Allan Dalton, chief operating officer of Real Living Real Estate. “The brokerage accepts that as lifestyle advisors they’re doing more than marketing homes, but instead marketing overall lifestyles. To many people in the region, and particularly Charlotte, the Carolinas represent where real living begins.”
The full-service brokerage is proud to be nationally certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Greater Women’s Business Council® (GWBC®), a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).
Gino Blefari, CEO of HSF Affiliates, congratulated the Real Living Carolinas Real Estate on its network membership. “Kathleen, Jim and their team are highly-respected in the metropolitan Charlotte marketplace and we’re excited to help them grow within their dual-state region.”
Visit www.RealLivingCarolinas.com for details.
Registration Is Now Open for Real Living Connection 2019!
We hope you marked your calendars for Feb. 8-10, 2019 for Real Living Connection: Real Living California ’19!
Mix and mingle with network members from across the country at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa. Join HSF Affiliates CEO Gino Blefari and your executive leadership team in sunny Southern California. Learn more about this year’s exciting event straight from Gino himself in the video below.
Don’t miss out! Register here!
Real Living Brokerages Win Big for 2018 QE Awards
Real Living is proud to announce that an astonishing 18 Real Living network brokerages won a 2018 QE Award – more than any other real estate brand this year. The QE Award recognizes America’s Top 35 real estate firms based on service excellence.
The following Real Living network brokerages were named among medium-sized companies:
- Sine & Monaghan Real Living, Mich.
- Real Living Kee Realty, Rochester, Mich.
- Real Living Realty Professionals, Mass.
The following Real Living network brokerages were recognized among small-sized companies:
- BOWES Real Estate Real Living, Arlington, Mass.
- Real Living Pittman Properties, Raleigh, N.C.
- Real Living Property For You, Peoria, Ariz.
- Real Living Capital City, Atlanta, Ga.
- Real Living 1st Choice Realty, Coral Springs, Fla.
- Real Living Real Estate Experts, Warren, Pa.
- Real Living Georgia Life Realty, Villa Rica, Ga.
- Real Living Casa Fina Realty, Tampa Fla.
- Real Living Cornerstone, Farmville, Va.
- Real Living Gateway Real Estate, Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.
- Real Living Brokers Realty Group, Warren, Ohio
- Real Living Now Real Estate, St. Louis Metro Area, Mo.
- Real Living Real Estate Professionals, Redding, Calif.
- Real Living Northwest REALTORS®, Bothell, Wash.
- Real Living Palm West Home Realty, Inc., Palm Coast, Fla.
According to QSC, the QE Award is the combined overall Customer Satisfaction Rating of all returned surveys of real customers, where every past customer has been surveyed without selectivity, editing, deletion, cleansing or manipulation.
Congratulations to this year’s winners!
Beth Wolff REALTORS® Real Living Celebrates 40 Years in Real Estate
Forty years ago, Beth Wolff, chairwoman and CEO of Beth Wolff REALTORS® Real Living launched her real estate brokerage, then Wolff & Associates.
Today, Beth and her son Ed Wolff, president of Beth Wolff REALTORS® Real Living, lead more than 40 sales associates and continue to top Real Living Real Estate’s rankings as a leading brokerage in the network.
As a fourth generation Houstonian, Ed grew up watching his mother build the business from the ground up. Now, for nearly 25 years Ed has worked with Beth consistently ranking as one of Real Living’s top brokerages.
Beth and Ed feel passionately it’s their job to go above and beyond the real estate transaction and act as counselors to their clients. They are fervent community service advocates, and both sit on numerous boards serving various causes.
“As a real estate professional, it’s imperative that you have the same dedication to your community as you do your business,” said Beth. “We’re here today, when some of our competitors are not, because of the dedication we have to Houston. Whether it’s volunteering at the local hospital or mentoring through the chamber of commerce, it’s an agent’s duty to be a role model for their community.”
During Beth’s career, five different mayors have appointed her to serve the city with her most recent appointment on the Houston’s planning commission. In addition, she served on the boards of the Better Business Bureau, the Greater Houston YMCA and currently serves on the board of the Greater Houston Partnership. In October, Beth will be the recipient of the Sue Trammell Whitfield Award for Resiliency from the Women’s Fund for Health Education and Resiliency in Houston for her service to Houston.
In tandem with Beth’s work in local affairs, Ed Wolff sits as Governmental Affairs Chair for the Houston Association of Realtors. He and his colleagues worked directly with homeowners to educate Houstonians affected by Hurricane Harvey and were directly involved in recovery while being affected by the devastation as well.
“It’s one of those situations where you have to help people at the same time you help yourself,” said Ed. “We’re in the business of selling homes but we’re also in the business of helping homeowners understand the risks associated with homeownership. We held a lot of educational events to help homeowners understand their options.”
Both Beth and Ed agree that helping others is the highest reward but it doesn’t come without secondary benefits. Their knowledge of Houston, homeownership and the real estate industry have created a business built to last.
“When people meet you and they see that you love what you’re doing and you’re doing it out of the goodness for others, it clearly demonstrations your strong work ethic,” said Beth. “You start to gain a reputation and people will want to work with you. It’s really the best marketing tool an agent has.”
Reveling in the last forty years of service has been exhilarating for the team but Beth has no intention of handing down the reigns. Both Beth and Ed are passionate powerhouses and plan to have the Beth Wolff REALTORS® Real Living continue to be a prominent name in the Houston market for decades to come.