Author: admin

By Susanne Dwyer

When Chris Trapani, founder and CEO of Sereno Group Real Estate, graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1990, he immediately went to work in the real estate business as an agent, before having the opportunity to experience a number of different roles during his first 16 years in the industry.

“The first nine years I was an agent, closing 48 – 50 sales a year,” says Trapani. “Our firm was acquired by NRT, and I was a branch manager for one of the larger Coldwell Banker offices for two years, closing about $1 billion a year in the office. I was then capped to be the regional president in Silicon Valley, a job I did for four years, doing about $8 billion in volume.”

In 2006, Trapani decided to start his own firm, and founded the Sereno Group.

“I had been managing a really large operation before, and while there are a lot of pluses to that, what we really wanted to do was focus on being very agent-centric and bring in experienced people only,” Trapani explains. “We haven’t really brought in any people that were brand-new to the business throughout our first 10 years. That’s why instead of growing into a 1,000-agent firm, we sit at 325 people today.”

For the past five years, the firm has ranked in the top five in the country for per-agent productivity, which Trapani feels speaks to the caliber of agent the Sereno Group employs.

Although the Sereno Group has seen fewer transactions year-over-year in 2016, the company has seen sales volume up 8 percent. Trapani also notes that there’s less inventory going into the end of the year than years past.

“Even though things have been a bit softer and not as frantic, given the low inventory, I think we’re going to start 2017 with a lot of competition in the first quarter, which means we’ll see levels of appreciation,” says Trapani. “There’s simply not enough inventory to spread out among the demand that’s going to hit.”

In addition to their business acumen, Sereno Group is committed to fundraising endeavors, as well. One of the firm’s noteworthy achievements is their “1% For Good” movement, where agents can elect to contribute 1 percent of their gross commissions on every transaction to a charity of their choosing; the firm then matches the donation. Sereno Group has donated more than $500,000 each of the last two years.

“I feel the stronger our culture is on the inside, and the better our agents feel, the more we attract like-minded people,” Trapani says. “By focusing on the agents we have, they become our greatest advocates out in the marketplace because of their enthusiasm. That creates more momentum for us when it comes to attracting agents who share those values.”

Looking ahead, Trapani continues to seek opportunities north of Palo Alto toward San Francisco, and south to Carmel.

“We’ve really tried to be thoughtful about growth, and never opened an office just for growth’s sake,” says Trapani. “The people have to be right for us, and …read more

From:: Real Estate News

By Susanne Dwyer

Great news for suburban real estate agents: Although America’s urban landscapes continue to grow and millennials prefer walkable neighborhoods, suburbia is predicted to maintain its popularity. According to a new publication from the Urban Land Institute (ULI), suburban marketplaces are still expanding, and will continue to do so.

The report, Housing in the Evolving American Suburb, examines suburbs in the 50 largest metros in the U.S., compiling key development trends in order to predict what the future of America’s suburbia will be.

“What’s happening in America’s urban places is very exciting and important, but this report pulls back the lens and presents a much broader view and a better framework for understanding where people actually live in this country,” said Adam Ducker, managing director at RCLCO, the company that developed the analytic framework of the report.

“The suburbs have evolved far beyond the monolithic bedroom community of our imagination, and this report is the first to deal with them fully, and on their own terms, in a long time.”

Below are some of the report’s most interesting findings:

It’s more diverse than you think. While many believe the suburbs to be mostly white-washed, the ULI report shows that overall, suburbs in the U.S. are quite diverse; 76 percent of the minority population lives in the suburbs.

Suburbia rules overall. Although cities jam-pack thousands into a smaller amount of square footage, in America’s 50 largest metros, suburbs account for 79 percent of the population and 78 percent of the households.

The young love the ‘burbs. While it’s a widespread belief that millennials want to stomp around in cities, 75 percent of young adults between 25 and 35 are actually settling in the suburbs.

Suburbia is growing. Over the past 15 years, from 2000 to 2015, suburbia accounted for 91 percent of the population growth and 84 percent of the household growth in the top 50 metros.

The jobs are better. This was perhaps the biggest shocker, as you might think a city environment would offer more room for employment growth. The ULI report shows that as of 2014, 67.5 percent of the employment in the 50 largest metros was in suburbs. Additionally, between 2010 and 2014, jobs increased by 9 percent in suburbs versus 6 percent in urban areas. And it’s not just more jobs, but higher paying ones, too. The median household income in the suburbs is $71,000. In urban areas, the median is $49,200.

Click here to view the full report.

Zoe Eisenberg is RISMedia’s senior content editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at zoe@rismedia.com.

This was originally published on RISMedia’s blog, Housecall. Visit the blog daily for housing and real estate tips and trends. Like Housecall on Facebook and follow @HousecallBlog on Twitter.

The post Suburbia Is Here to Stay, According to New Urban Land Institute Report appeared first on RISMedia.

…read more

From:: Finance and Economy

By Susanne Dwyer

Great news for suburban real estate agents: Although America’s urban landscapes continue to grow and millennials prefer walkable neighborhoods, suburbia is predicted to maintain its popularity. According to a new publication from the Urban Land Institute (ULI), suburban marketplaces are still expanding, and will continue to do so.

The report, Housing in the Evolving American Suburb, examines suburbs in the 50 largest metros in the U.S., compiling key development trends in order to predict what the future of America’s suburbia will be.

“What’s happening in America’s urban places is very exciting and important, but this report pulls back the lens and presents a much broader view and a better framework for understanding where people actually live in this country,” said Adam Ducker, managing director at RCLCO, the company that developed the analytic framework of the report.

“The suburbs have evolved far beyond the monolithic bedroom community of our imagination, and this report is the first to deal with them fully, and on their own terms, in a long time.”

Below are some of the report’s most interesting findings:

It’s more diverse than you think. While many believe the suburbs to be mostly white-washed, the ULI report shows that overall, suburbs in the U.S. are quite diverse; 76 percent of the minority population lives in the suburbs.

Suburbia rules overall. Although cities jam-pack thousands into a smaller amount of square footage, in America’s 50 largest metros, suburbs account for 79 percent of the population and 78 percent of the households.

The young love the ‘burbs. While it’s a widespread belief that millennials want to stomp around in cities, 75 percent of young adults between 25 and 35 are actually settling in the suburbs.

Suburbia is growing. Over the past 15 years, from 2000 to 2015, suburbia accounted for 91 percent of the population growth and 84 percent of the household growth in the top 50 metros.

The jobs are better. This was perhaps the biggest shocker, as you might think a city environment would offer more room for employment growth. The ULI report shows that as of 2014, 67.5 percent of the employment in the 50 largest metros was in suburbs. Additionally, between 2010 and 2014, jobs increased by 9 percent in suburbs versus 6 percent in urban areas. And it’s not just more jobs, but higher paying ones, too. The median household income in the suburbs is $71,000. In urban areas, the median is $49,200.

Click here to view the full report.

Zoe Eisenberg is RISMedia’s senior content editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at zoe@rismedia.com.

This was originally published on RISMedia’s blog, Housecall. Visit the blog daily for housing and real estate tips and trends. Like Housecall on Facebook and follow @HousecallBlog on Twitter.

The post Suburbia Is Here to Stay, According to New Urban Land Institute Report appeared first on RISMedia.

…read more

From:: Real Estate News