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Realtors Flock to Hawaii Life on Maui

Posted by Matt Beall, PB on August 10th, 2010 | Tags: ,

Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point (among other books), says that “…word of mouth is something created by three very rare and special psychological types… Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen”. I think Malcolm would see a very familiar pattern playing out with Hawaii Life on Maui. In the last few months, more than 10 Realtors have sought out Hawaii Life and joined our team on Maui, bringing years of experience and a wide variety of professional designations with them. What makes more interesting is that we haven’t been recruiting. Everyone on our team has come to us because they’re just the type of ‘Mavens’ that Gladwell talks about:

Kathleen Wilson, R(S)

Kathleen Wilson, R(S) brings her dynamic spirit and powerful focus with her. She’s an REO Specialist, which gives her a keen insight into the facts about the current market from a very analytical point of view. Consistent with being an REO Listing Agent, she works harder than anyone we know… and is incredibly responsive. E-mails, texts, instant message chats, phone calls… they’re all utilized to the fullest degree. She brings with her a full-time assistant, who also happens to be a licensed commercial broker. If you want the inside scoop on upcoming foreclosures on Maui, call Kathleen. She always has REOs in the pre-marketing pipeline. In her few short months with Hawaii Life, Kathleen has already closed several transactions and continues to bring on priced-to-sell inventory.

Kevin Spaise, R(S)

Kevin Spaise, R(S) is the author and publisher of the 400-page Maui Condo Book. There isn’t a condo complex on Maui that he doesn’t know about. He’s a walking encyclopedia. Publishing and selling such an extensive resource for condominium information on Maui has also provided Kevin with powerful relationships throughout the real estate industry. Real Estate brokers and agents, title and escrow companies, appraisers and lenders have all utilized Kevin’s knowledge-base. Kevin has called Maui home for over 10 years, and has intimate knowledge of South Maui, as Kihei is home for he and his wife Sherry. He’s done an excellent job at sharing Hawaii Life’s value proposition with Sellers in South Maui, as he brings new listings to market regularly.

Ken Molina, R(S)

Ken Molina, R(S) was born and raised on Maui, and has been licensed to sell real estate for over 20 years. He’s a graduate of Maui High School and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He’s earned a variety of sales accolades and professional designations along the way. He’s a designated EcoBroker, a Senior Real Estate Specialist, a Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource (SFR), and also a Certified Energy Surveyor. He’s contributed excellent articles about home energy use, and his appreciation of architecture. He currently lives in Kihei’s Maui Meadows subdivision.

Rustin Singleton, R(S)

Rustin Singleton, R(S) watches Maui’s real estate market like a hawk. “He’s almost like a stock-broker” says our Director of Sales, Tobi Fisher. Rustin knows West Maui and Central Maui extremely well. He’s like a bull-dog once he’s given any assignment. As an Accredited Buyer’s Representative, Rustin excels and sifting through the inventory and finding the perfect property for his clients. His passion for his clients often leads to lifetime friendships. Rustin is married to a full-blooded native Hawaiian, who was born and raised on Maui, and who he credits with teaching him about the real “Aloha Spirit”.

Also among Maui’s new team members are Mariah Dunham, R(S) and Alex Cortez, R(S), who work as a team. Mariah serves on the fund-raising committee for Habitat for Humanity, and Alex puts his experience in the military to use in creating marketing systems for their clients.

We’re also welcoming Sage Spalding and Bob Whitmere. Sage owns a very popular outrigger canoe tour company in Wailea… (so if you ever want to see property from the water, he’s your guy) and Bob has been a Realtor since 2002 and now lives in upcountry Maui with his wife and child.

We’re pretty excited about the new team on Maui. All told, we’ve added decades of experience and numerous designations to our Maui office. And, there’s more to come! Stay tuned…

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Click on the image or here to vote

Inman News, People’s Choice Awards information and voting

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Realtors are Here to Stay!

Posted by Ken Molina, RS on April 26th, 2010 | Tags: ,

Remember the  panic in the early 90’s when the once secured listing pool in our Multiple Listing Service became less controlled and more available to the general public. We were all squawking that if our lifeblood (listings) were casually placed out into the internet, it would be the demise of the Realtor as we knew it. Well yes….and no.  15 years later we are still here but our purpose and roles have changed. Our business has become more streamlined, focused and more targeted.

Here are a few interesting statistics from an ‘09 National Association of Realtor’s survey:

  • 86% of Buyer’s used the internet
  • 87% of Buyer’s who used the internet, used a real estate professional
  • 74% of Buyer’s who did not use the internet, used a real estate professional
  • Typical internet Buyer is; 39 years old, married and yearly income is $74,300
  • Typical non-internet Buyer is; 51 years old, married and yearly income is $61,000

These figures show me that the internet Buyer uses a Realtor more often than a non internet Buyer….interesting. Read entire post →

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Traditionally in Hawaii, we hold enormous first birthday luaus and as Broker-in-Charge of Big Island Sales, this would have been my responsibility to plan on behalf of the company. I say “would have” because the truth is, the one-year anniversary of our first transaction closing on the Big Island has come and gone without fanfare. Apparently we’ve been too busy providing superior customer service to our very satisfied clients and customers to notice.

In the past twelve months, Hawaii Life Big Island assisted 20 Sellers in conveying their property and moving on with their lives. It’s an honor — during what is certain to be remembered as one of the most difficult real estate markets in history — to have been of service to people and making a difference in their lives. Perhaps someday we’ll write a book and tell all the “stories” about this market, right now it’s still a little too fresh and for some, painful. Read entire post →

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Lunch with the Pros

Posted by Hawaii Life on March 15th, 2010 | Tags: , ,

Earlier this week I had the supreme pleasure of going to lunch and conversing with some of the top Real Estate agents in the business today!

They’re so busy it was amazing we could all find time to get together at the well-known Kona Brewing Company, in the heart of Kailua-Kona. Their delicious strawberry spinach salad was a hit. Read entire post →

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The President Makes a Move

Posted by Hawaii Life on February 24th, 2010 | Tags: , , , ,

The Hawaii Association of Realtors’ President, Tracy Stice, has joined Hawaii Life Real Estate Services as the Broker-In-Charge of Hawaii Life’s new Maui branch office, located in the former corporate headquarters of Maui Land & Pineapple in Kahului.

Tracy Stice, R Hawaii Association of Realtors President 2010 and Broker-In-Charge of Hawaii Life Real Estate Services on Maui

Hawaii Life’s commitment to education and technology appealed to Mr. Stice. In his recent interview as HAR President, he told the Hawaii Realtor Journal:

“The market is permanently changed. Sitting in offices and waiting for people to walk through the door is obsolete. You need more internet contacts and you have to constantly educate yourself to acquire new skills. Those who don’t adapt to new technologies won’t make it.”

Mr. Stice has been a licensed Realtor on Maui for more than 30 years, and his reputation as a professional and community volunteer is well known throughout Hawaii. He has served as the President of the Realtors Association of Maui, and has chaired the Hawaii Association of Realtors Political Action Committee and the Legislative Committee. In 2004, he was named Realtor Broker of the Year by the Realtors Association of Maui. Read entire post →

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A Big Mahalo To Hawaii Life

Posted by Lucy Clark, RB on February 21st, 2010 | Tags: ,

North Shore Kauai Rainbow, 2004.

Have you ever had the opportunity to work with a group of people who are frontrunners in your chosen industry?

Who have the honesty and integrity to consider their agents as their clients? Brokers who go out of their way to assist agents with extensive marketing, computer support and just down to earth honest sincere efforts to make their businesses grow exponentially?

I am one of the fortunate ones to work for a company that does all this and more. Matt Beall, R(PB) – our leader – honestly enjoys seeing Hawaii Life agents succeed. Matt can see what needs to be done and employs the proper people. Read entire post →

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Should Realtors Get “Awards”?

Posted by Matt Beall, PB on February 5th, 2010 | Tags: ,

Super Mega Ultra REALTOR

Realtors are an extremely narcissistic group of people. They love to give themselves awards:

“Million Dollar Producer”

“President’s Circle”

“Grand Centurion”

“Top Producer”

The list goes on… but let me ask this: Does anybody care? Do our customers and clients care about awards that we give to ourselves, or are they more concerned with our standard of service? Does that average consumer have any idea what the innumerable acronyms that follow a Realtors’ name even mean?  Here are some, you tell me: AHWD? RFS? RSPS? TRC?

Don’t get me wrong, we extremely value the commitment and hard work that’s required to succeed in this industry and we’re absolutely committed to education:

Hawaii Life is an extremely well-educated group of brokers and agents. We have very high percentage of licensed real estate brokers (as opposed to licensed salespeople). We have an exceptionally high number of Realtor designations:  Graduates of the Realtors’ Institute, Certified Residential Specialists, Accredited Buyer Representatives, and so many more.

Part of the reason we have so many brokers with professional designations is because we pay for our Realtors to be educated. This year alone, we’ve been responsible for converting 5 new salespeople to become licensed real estate brokers!  I don’t know of any other company in the State that offers this service for their brokers and agents. We do it because we take our commitment to our clients and customers very seriously.

There’s a very serious danger to “Awards”. It’s one thing to acknowledge each other for our hard work and commitment… it’s an entirely different thing if a Realtors’ focus is distracted from the clients best interest because of some “Award” status. It can happen quickly when Realtors are awarded for the number of houses sold in a certain time period, or sales volume, etc.

Our clients are PEOPLE.  Just like our brokers and agents. They’re not UNITS, or VOLUME.

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Mauna Kea Beach Resort

Mauna Kea Beach Resort

Owning real estate at the Mauna Kea Resort is like owning a piece of history, or having money in the bank. Since 1965, when Laurance S. Rockefeller opened the world famous Mauna Kea Hotel on the gorgeous white sandy beach of Kauna’oa,  people have flocked to “belong.” mkumbrellas

The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel took a jolt during the 2006 earthquake and had to close for construction and remodeling. This Kohala Coast “Grande Dame” reopened December 2008 in pristine condition and was graciously received by her “fans” having maintained the previously adored look and style. I worked at a boutique real estate office in the Mauna Kea and Hapuna Beach Hotels upon their reopening – owners and guests alike were absolutely thrilled that the feeling of time standing still was intact. Turning from the highway onto tree-lined Mauna Kea Beach Drive, down through the security gates, past the golf course to witness the ocean crashing into the bluffs as the hotel emerges ever beautiful – you know you’re somewhere unique. The staff remembers your name.

Robert Trent Jones, Sr.’s award-winning golf course and its recent updates and beautification by Rees Jones, continues to “wow” golfers and guests of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. An avid golfer myself, it’s exciting to see that the Mauna Kea Golf Course and clubhouse have received nearly 20 awards of distinction in the past 12 months. mkbeach

As always, I am happy to share the knowledge I have gleaned by working, living and loving the entire Kohala Gold Coast.

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2009 – what an incredible honor and privilege to lead such an amazing team of Brokers and Agents to success during a “down market…” to be one of the top ten offices in our market!!  Mahalo nui loa, Lucy, Jan, Pam, Beth, Deb, Erik, Heidi, Pat. And welcome, Pattie Freeman!

Some Big Island Hawaii Life statistics for 2009: (or – why you should list your property for sale with Hawaii Life)…

Kohala "Gold" Coast Sunset

Kohala "Gold" Coast Sunset

Hawaii Life has brought the buyer 50% of the time for company listings that have sold on the Big Island.

Hawaii Life Listings sell for (a median of) 91% of their List Price.

Hawaii Life Listings sell on average at 116 Days on Market, or just under four months.

173 real estate offices have listings on the West side of the Big Island (TMKs 3-5, 3-6, and 3-7)… only 8 brokerages have more listings than Hawaii Life.

For overall sales in our target market (Kailua-Kona north through Waimea and North Kohala), Hawaii Life Big Island ended the year at #9 out of 168 offices, and we only started in April.  Wow!

A hui hou, 2009 and aloha, 2010!

Hau’oli makahiki hou!

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