Kimberly Dotseth walks the walk at her "green" brokerage, using recyclable office products, putting closing documents on CD, and preparing energy profiles for every property she sells.
With some 50,000 units available for sale and prices down 50 percent from their peak, Adam Adache is remaking his company into a specialist that helps bring together hard-pressed developers and banks with investment groups and other bulk buyers.
Scott DeNeve thought real estate brokerages were making it too hard for sales associates to tailor their services to the needs of each client, so he designed a company with an innovative hands-off approach.
Eight years ago, Dennis Donahue and his business partners made a prediction: Downtown living would become huge, and real estate companies that focused specifically on the niche would prosper. The gamble paid off.
When the St. Louis market started slowing in 2005, Michael Zouglas switched gears, focusing on REO property. He increased his company’s revenues by 273 percent in two years.
James Crumbaugh launched a 100 percent company in January, which lets associates keep more of their money than his competitors. He says he can keep the fee so low because his company is virtual, which means its brokers have no office costs.
Broker-owners who’d like nothing more than to get in front of the 38 million readers of Better Homes and Gardensmagazine and the 5 million unique monthly visitors to the magazine’s Web site will have that chance in July when Realogy Corp. rolls out its newest franchise brand, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.
