Broker Blog

A whole bunch has been happening leading up to and following our new President's inauguration on January 20. I have some thoughts in my "welcoming address" to our Wine Country Group Kick-off which we held on Friday, January 23, but first, here is a copy of some of the highlights of the Kick-off:

Sonoma, California (January 26, 2008)—Frank Howard Allen Realtors, The Wine Country Group™, had their companywide kick-off on Friday, January 23rd, with over one hundred agents and staff in attendance at the Quail Lodge at the Oakmont Country Club. Top producers for the seven office firm were announced and recognized.

Gerrett Snedaker, CEO/Broker of Frank Howard Allen Realtors, The Wine Country Group™, made the announcement of the firm’s overall top agents with the following comments: “For our entire company there are three stellar performances that we want to recognize today. One of our agents produced more than $39,000,000 in Dollar Volume. He doubled the dollar volume and unit count of his nearest competitor in his market. Congratulations to Daniel Casabonne of our Sonoma Office for being Top Producer in Dollar Volume. Another agent closed 76 and one half units in 2008. That’s almost one and one half closings per week. This agent became the highest producing agent in both units and dollar volume for all agents based in Napa County. Congratulations to Cheri Stanley of our Napa Office for being our Top Producer in Units Sold. Finally, one agent produced 72 listings for the year. More remarkably, he did this in only eight months as he joined the Wine Country Group in April of 2008. Congratulations to David Barker of our Napa Office for being Top Producer in Listings”.

Earl Shuttleworth, Partner in the Wine Country Group, and Lori Sargiotto, Chief Financial Officer, alternately introduced Top Producers in each of the firm’s offices including Casabonne in the Sonoma Valley and Stanley and Barker in Napa. Doug Del Fava and Susan Parker were also acknowledged as Top Listing Agents for the Sonoma Valley. Dee Grohmann (Top Dollar Volume) and Penelope La Montagne (Top Unit Sales and Listings) were recognized for the Healdsburg office; Ron and Jane Pavelka were recognized as Top Producers in the Cloverdale Office; and, Steve and Marla Ericson (Top Dollar Volume) and Linda Alioto (Top Unit Sales and Listings) were recognized for the St. Helena office.

Shuttleworh also announced the company’s Top Performers. These agents, though not always the Top Producers in their respective offices, made significant advances in their personal production on a year over year basis. They reached difficult standards set by the company at the beginning of 2008. Included in this "Top Performers" group were Lisa Albertson (Sonoma and Healdsburg), Ann Amtower (Healdsburg), David Barker, Daniel Casabonne, Sheila Deignan (Sonoma), Doug Del Fava and Susan Parker, Dee Grohmann, Patty Keiser (Glen Ellen), Diane Krause (Sonoma), Jane and Ron Pavelka, Isaac Raboy (Sonoma), Nicki Rector (Healdsburg), Charlee Schanzer (Healdsburg), Cheri Stanley, Bill Streett (Sonoma) and Frank Trozzo (Napa).
Gina Clyde of the Sonoma office was recognized as the company’s “Rookie of the Year”, Danuta Mykyliuk, the Office Administrator for the Healdsburg Office, was named “Support Staff Employee of the Year”, and the Napa Office was named “Office of the Year”. The Napa Office increased its production 5 fold in 2008, going from 34 closings to 166 and adding ten new agents over the course of the year.

Other events at the Wine Country Group’s Kick-off included the introduction of new on-line marketing materials by the company’s Marketing Director, Susie Savino, and a Keynote Address by Keith Woods, Chief Executive Officer of the North Coast Builders Exchange.

My welcoming remarks were as follows:

What an exciting week. The energy surrounding our new President’s inauguration was palpable even three thousand miles away. Listening to radio reports of those who were there confirm that it was a once in a lifetime moment. Of course, this larger scale excitement has made it difficult for me to come up with something meaningful to say this morning, but I will do my best.

On Tuesday, President Obama said the following: “Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history”. I am proud that many of these values are also in our company statement of “Who We Are”: Courage, Curiosity, Honesty, Trust, Integrity, High Expecations and Respect. I agree that these principles are the values upon which our success depends.

On your program and around the room are posters of a Rocky Mountain Goat in mid-air, leaping across a mountain ravine. Looking at these photos, the value of courage comes to mind. I respect the courage that each of you exhibit in taking on new clients, on counseling them through difficult situations fraught with strong emotions. As I said in my printed remarks, I observe you “leaping empty chasms all the time…” – moving forward.

In Elizabeth Alexander’s Inaugural Poem, “Praise Song for the Day”, she repeats this notion of “leaping forward” – a combination of courage and curiosity:
“We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, ‘I need to see what’s on the other side; I know that there’s something better down the road’”.
I see that you, in your professional sales careers, look to the next opportunity, the new client relationship, the something better on the other side of your difficult efforts. I admire this in you.

Music is always inspiring to me. In putting together the group of songs that have been playing while we gathered this morning – many thoughts and emotions come to me, and I relate many of the songs to the values with which we work and the today’s kick-off theme. I will weave some of these songs and lyrics into my coming remarks:
Many of you will receive well deserved awards and recognition for your hard work and your business success in 2008. Some of you will receive multiple awards because you have placed yourself as leaders among your peers. For those who receive awards today and those who set the goal of receiving an award at our kick-off next year – here are some song’s to keep in mind:
“Keep On Pushin’” – you can’t stop now
Similar to Earl’s favorite theme from “Chariots of Fire” – race farther, harder and faster than the rest
“It’s a Brand New Day” – thinking in a brand new way. Paraphrasing a famous saying, if we continue to do the same thing over and over again, we can expect the same results. To those of you who are recognized today – keep doing what you are doing. For those desiring to get there – it’s a brand new day and time to think in new ways.
“Accentuate the Positive” – Dr. John’s prescription for the “attitude for doing right”.
There are songs of dreamers and travelers, persistence and joy, and a couple of Yes We Can songs – One is the “Obama Anthem” by Talat; “You Can Get it if You Really Want” by Jimmy Cliff, and the original: “Yes We Can Can” by the Pointer Sisters. Did some of you see the movie “Young At Heart”? It’s a great film about a man who forms a touring singing group called “Young at Heart”. The great and challenging part is that all of the singers are 70 year’s old or older – some are into their 90’s. In one part of the film he is teaching them new songs including “Yes We Can Can” and they get all tongue tied over the repeated Yes We Can’s – 59 of them in the song. In any case, they finally make it through and perform the song on their tour to great ovations. They take that leap over the empty chasm into the unknown, and they are rewarded.

If you’d like a CD of these songs to listen to while driving from here to there, or at home, let me know, I’ll be happy to burn you one.

I believe that you all know that 2008 has been full of some extraordinary events in our real estate brokerage. In my forty plus years in the business, I heard new and startling stories about your transactions, and non-transactions this year. The fact that new things are always happening in our business is one of the most enjoyable parts of it for me. With all the interesting stories, my favorite is this: Jane and Ron Pavelka were representing a first time home buyer, buying a REO property at the end of the year. As with all REO transactions, the timing of the timelines and closings were uncertain. They actually closed on December 24th. When Jane met them at the home that evening, Christmas Eve, to turn over the keys, they gave her a small envelope. In it was their Christmas card. It was a picture of them in front of the house – taken some time before - but they had not wanted to share it with anyone until the home was actually theirs and their dream of owning a home came true. With tears and hugs, Jane accepted their holiday offering and ushered them into their new home and their new life.

We are confident that 2009 holds great opportunities for all of us and, with you, we will keep “Leaping Towards Success”.

Here is the info on our company production and our market conditions as of 12/31/08:

For the year ending December, 2008, The Wine Country Groups closings were ahead of the rate for 2007 and 2006. We closed 628 units compared to 534 a year ago. Because of falling sales prices across all of our markets, our median price for closings for the year dropped to $568,000 compared to 740,000 in 2007. Thus, our gross sales volume was $355 million compared to $386 million last year. Our commission rate increased over the year and our commission split as a company improved a bit, so things balanced out and we were able to achieve a modest profit for the year – our first in three years.

We had a record year in listings with 677 compared to 594 a year ago. Our available inventory at year end numbers 200 listings, exactly the same as at this time a year ago. Our average listing value is $705,000 which is down from $880,000 a year ago, but higher than the $648,000 that we had at the end of November, 2008. As we begin 2009, we have 77 open escrows vs. 74 a year ago. Predictably, the outstanding dollar volume is less than a year ago, $45,000,000 compared to $62,000,000. I know that we have at least $30,000,000 in high end listings that will be coming on the market in the weeks following the Super Bowl – the traditional end of the holiday season.

We remain solidly number one in market share in our Sonoma Valley, Healdsburg and Cloverdale markets. Our Napa office finished the year 388% ahead of 2007. For firms based in Napa County, we are now the third largest in unit production over the past twelve months. Interestingly, one competitor in the Sonoma Valley is claiming #1 market share. The fine print in their graphic specifies that the data is “for sales in excess of $1,000,000 in value”. In reality, we sold nearly twice as many homes as they did in 2008 (193 to 100) and we exceeded their overall dollar volume as well – so be careful with those statistics!

December, 2008 TrendGraphix Analysis

Napa County Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale at the end of December in Napa County (727) was 11% lower than a month ago and it was also 11% below the inventory (818) at this time last year. New sales (101) and closed escrows (103) were well ahead of the pace of a year ago (42 and 42 respectively). That’s an increase of 140% in units sold for the month. The sale of bank owned properties (REOs) continues to strongly influence the current market. The median price of homes closed in December, 2008 was $392,000 compared to $377,000 last month and $567,000 in December of 2007. A 45% decline in median price over the last year. The average price per square foot of homes sold, however, seems pretty stabilized in the low $300s per square foot.

St. Helena/Up Valley Trends: New sales (13) in the St. Helena/Up Valley market (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Rutherford, St. Helena and Yountville) were up from a month ago when there were 6 new sales. In December, 2008, there were 16 closings compared with 4 both a month ago and in December, 2007. This is a welcome change as the Up Valley market has been really slow over most of the year. Inventory remains relatively high at 158 units compared to 139 a year ago.

Sonoma County Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (1,834) in Sonoma County at the end of December was 24% lower than a year ago. New sales (404) in December, ‘08 were consistent with last month and were 92% ahead of the pace in December, ‘07 (210). Distressed sales, either bank owned, in foreclosure, or “short sales” (where the lender accepts less than the full payoff of their loan) remain a major component of the market. The median price of homes closed in December in Sonoma County was $310,000 which was ahead of last month’s median ($306,000) but was 39% lower than the median price ($432,000) of closed sales in December, 2007. The average price per square foot of homes sold, however, seems pretty stabilized in the $230 to $240 per square foot range.

Sonoma Valley Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (169) in the Sonoma Valley (Sonoma, Glen Ellen and Kenwood) at the end of December, ’08 was 24% below that for the period of December, 2007 (223). There were 25 new sales for the month (compared to 21 a month ago and 16 in December, ‘07). The median price of homes closed in December in the Sonoma Valley was $435,000 which was ahead of last month’s median ($340,000) but was 56% lower than the median price ($678,000) of closed sales in December, 2007. The average price per square foot of homes sold, however, seems pretty stabilized in the $305 to $320 per square foot range.

Healdsburg Trends: The inventory of homes and condominiums for sale (85) in Healdsburg at the end of December was slightly less than that of November (92) and was 13% below the 98 homes available in December, ‘07. New sales (11) and closed escrows (13) compared to 6 and 8, respectively, in December, 2007, so the market is picking up in Healdsburg. The available inventory compared to closed homes in the month dropped to a 6.5 month supply, down from a 16.3 month supply a year ago and the lowest in the last fifteen months.

Cloverdale Trends: The inventory of homes for sale in Cloverdale (75) in December, 2008 dropped from 81 units a month ago, and is slightly below the 82 units available at this time in December, 2007. New sales and closings have dropped off from the pace of the early fall at 9 to 8 respectively, but this is still an improvement from the 8 closings and 3 sales that occurred in December, 2007. The median price of homes closed in December in Cloverdale was $295,000 which was ahead of last month’s median ($290,000) but was 29% lower than the median price ($382,000) of closed sales in December, 2007. The average price per square foot of homes sold, however, seems pretty stabilized in the $175 to $200 per square foot range.

Please contact me, or any of our agents, for additional information and copies of the complete TrendGraphix reports – a Frank Howard Allen Realtors exclusive.

Branding with Trulia.com: If you look go to Trulia.com, you will see that we have now branded our listings and have "featured listings" that rise above the other listings on Trulia's page. From Trulia's home page enter a town/city in which we have an office (i.e. Sonoma, Healdsburg...) and you will see that some of our listings show up as "featured properties" and all of our listings are branded with our logo. We have seen a real jump in our website traffic since entering a marketing agreement with Trulia and we will monitor it over the next six months to see if it is worth our investment.

"They Walk Among Us":  A friend sent along a list of funny bits on the theme that there are actually people out there like this!  One related to a real estate agent and went like this: 

While looking at a house, my brother asked the estate agent which direction was north because, he explained, he didn't want the sun waking him up every morning. She asked, 'Does the sun rise in the north?' When my brother explained that the sun rises in the east, and has for sometime, she shook her head and said, 'Oh, I don't keep up with that  stuff'

Well, I can hope that this particular agent does "not walk among us" in the Wine Country Group.

Closings and Birthdays:  I am so far behind on this that I am going to start fresh in the next update to the blog.  I do want to point out a few agents who had their first closings with Frank Howard Allen Realtors, the Wine Country Group over the past six weeks, or so.  They include:  Lark Raymond, Ida Clark, Art Bowen and Jannette Hall, all in our Napa office, and Curtis Kind in our Cloverdale office.  Congratulations to all who had closings and/or birthdays over the past weeks since my last blog entry.