Young
Realtors Serve Generation X And Y Consumers By Bringing
Special Skills To Buyers And Sellers
WASHINGTON (June 2, 2006) – More homebuyers than
ever are 30 years old or younger, and a record number of
Realtors under 30 – nearly 150,000 – are connecting with the
Generation X and Y markets. Thirty of these young Realtors are
being recognized in the June issue of REALTOR Magazine’s “30
under 30” – Realtors who have made their mark in the industry
and their communities while still in their
20s.
“As new generations enter
the housing market, the real estate industry must adapt to
meet changing needs and ways of doing business,” said Thomas
M. Stevens, 2006 National Association of Realtors president
from Vienna, Va., and senior vice president of NRT Inc. “Many
of our younger members add value to their clients’ real estate
transactions through their generational sensitivities and
diverse skill sets. They don’t know a real estate industry
without the Internet, technology is second-nature to them, and
they speak their clients’ language, often both literally and
figuratively.”
According to
data from the U.S. Census, more immigrants are becoming
homeowners than ever before, and seven of this year’s Realtors
under 30 are either immigrants themselves or children of
immigrants. José Rivera Sinclair, from Northfield, N.J., is a
native of Honduras, and Latino homebuyers compose 80 percent
of his business. Penny Liu moved to California from Taiwan as
a child and works with U.S. buyers purchasing property in
Shanghai, Beijing, and Nanjing. Tempe, Ariz.’s Steven Haddad,
the youngest professional on the list at age 20, speaks fluent
Arabic – his father emigrated from Jordan.
Another trend affecting real estate is the growing
influence of the Internet as a resource in the home search.
According to the 2005 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers,
42 percent of buyers who used the Internet to search for a
home were 34 or younger. Realtors of this generation have
embraced new technologies – 28 of the “30 under 30” operate
Web sites for their business – and many of them go beyond this
basic technology. David Scher from Boston used the skills he
developed in his previous career in information technology to
customize an MLS listing feed to 20 different sites for his
customers. Jessica Horton from Griffin, Ga., wasn’t satisfied
with video home tours – she markets properties with video
tours of entire communities.
“Younger home buyers and sellers are already having
a big impact on real estate markets across the country,” said
Stevens. “Our Realtor members, whether they grew up watching I
Love Lucy or IMing their friends, are honored to be bringing
the American dream of homeownership to the next generation and
beyond.”
This year’s award
recipients were selected from the largest applicant pool ever.
Winners of the 2006 “30 under 30” award
are:
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BEN
BABAZADEH 27
Salesperson
Prudential Transact Commercial
Realty
Daytona Beach, Fla.
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PENNY
LIU 27
GRI, Broker
Associate
RE/MAX 2000 Realty
Rowland Heights,
Calif. |
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HAROLD
BAGWELL 28
CIPS,
e-PRO®, Salesperson
Coldwell Banker Ozark Real Estate
Co.
Pocahontas, Ark.
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GRANT
MANNING 26
Broker-Owner
Century 21 Homes First
San
Marcos, Calif. |
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DAYNA
BLUMEL 28
Salesperson
Long & Foster, REALTORS®,
Inc.
Alexandria, Va.
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CARA
MANTOVANI 28
Owner
Mantovani Real Estate
Miami
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JESSICA
KELLY BRUEHL 28
Salesperson
Keller Williams
Realty–Lakeway
Austin, Texas
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BO
MENKITI 29
Operating
Principal
Keller Williams
Capitol Properties,
and President, The Menkiti
Group,
Washington, D.C.
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JASON
BUCKNER 23
GRI,
Broker
Surf or Sound Realty
Avon,
N.C.
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AMSI
MORALES 26
Salesperson
RE/MAX Prestige
Lowell, Mass.
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AMIE
CHILSON 29
Salesperson
Keller Williams–Silicon Valley
Campbell, Calif.
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STACY
PEARDON 29
ABR®,
Salesperson
Keller Williams Realty Great Lakes
St. Clair Shores, Mich. |
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ROB
CLAPP 29
e-PRO®,
Salesperson
RE/MAX Results
St. Paul,
Minn.
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MATT R.
POWELL 28
Principal
Broker-Owner
Windermere Real Estate/Lane County
Eugene, Ore. |
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STEVEN
HADDAD 20
Salesperson
Liberty Properties & Associates
Inc.
Tempe, Ariz.
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JOSÉ
RIVERA SINCLAIR 28
Co-owner and Sales Manager
Net Realty Group
LLC
Northfield, N.J. |
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KIRK
HANSEN 27
President-Owner
Century 21 Homes First
San
Marcos, Calif.
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SHONTELL
RUCKER 29
Broker-Owner
Rekcur Properties
Houston
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JENNIFER
HEINZEN 28
Broker
Associate and
Director of
Winery and Vineyard Sales
WineryX Real Estate
St.
Helena, Calif.
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DAVID
SCHER 23
Broker-Owner
First Step Realty
Boston
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JENNIFER
HIBBARD 27
ABR®,
GRI, Salesperson
RE/MAX 2000 Phoenix Metro
Area
Phoenix, Ariz.
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JASON
SHOAF 26
Broker
Shoaf Real Estate Group
Tallahassee,
Fla. |
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JESSICA
HORTON 24
ABR®,
Sales Associate-Owner
RE/MAX Standard
Griffin,
Ga.
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VIKTORIA
TELEK 24
CCIM,
Commercial Associate
ComReal
Miami |
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KATIE
JOHNSON 28
Broker-Owner
Assist2Sell
Hometowne River Realty LLC
Onalaska,
Wis.
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RUSTAN
TONGG 29
Salesperson
and Co-Owner
Hawaii Realty Associates LLC
Honolulu
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CHRISTIE
LEE KINCHEN 27
ABR®,
GRI, CRS®, Associate Broker
RE/MAX 2000 Phoenix Metro
Area
Phoenix, Ariz.
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ALEX
WANG 28
e-PRO®,
Broker,
RE/MAX, Santa Clara Valley
San Jose,
Calif. |
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MIKE
KORIN 29
Salesperson
Long & Foster, REALTORS®
Falls
Church, Va. |
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MICHELLE
WESTFORD
26
Salesperson
John L. Scott Real
Estate
Everett, Wash.
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The National
Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for
Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association,
representing more than 1.3 million members involved in all
aspects of the residential and commercial real estate
industries.
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