RISMEDIA, June 3, 2008-Realtors® are developing expertise in specialized fields within the real estate industry to better serve today’s consumers, and this year’s REALTOR(R) Magazine “30 Under 30” winners are no exception. The 2008 honorees practice in areas as diverse as auctions, green homes, HUD foreclosures, and international real estate.
“Young real estate professionals invigorate and revitalize our industry,” said National Association of Realtors(R) President Dick Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif. “Realtors(R) who are young and relatively new to the profession bring fresh perspectives and can truly be industry innovators. These Realtors(R) bring value to the real estate transaction as they embrace technology, engage in their communities and elevate client service to a new level.”
For example, in today’s real estate market, more and more home sellers are turning to auctions. The real estate auction market rose 39 percent between 2003 and 2007, according to the National Auctioneers Association, and Realtors(R) work with both buyers and sellers in auction sales. Realtor(R) Julie First, a 30 Under 30 winner from Chicago, is an Accredited Auctioneer of Real Estate designee and has sold everything from condos to mineral rights to land. “I really like the fast pace of auctions,” said First.
International real estate is another growing field. Realtor(R) Xiao Hui Ye, from Cambridge, Mass., emigrated from China to the United States when she was seven. Ye is laying the groundwork for her own real estate development company in Macau, China, and has even bigger ambitions on the horizon. “I want to create an MLS for all of China,” she said.
Social networking is quickly transforming the real estate industry, and one of this year’s 30 Under 30 honorees, Jonathan Washburn, is the cofounder and CEO of ActiveRain Corp., a blogging network for real estate professionals. Cyber success came early to Washburn, a Realtor(R) in Bellevue, Wash. In his first year as a real estate professional, he created a website that generated five to 10 leads a week immediately after launch.
Trends and specialties aside, for most of this year’s 30 Under 30 crop, their motivation comes from making a difference for the people they serve. “In real estate, you know you’ve impacted someone’s life,” said Eugene Fu, a Realtor(R) in Chicago.
Winners of the 2008 “30 Under 30” award are:
Koki Adasi-Efuya, Long & Foster Real Estate, Rockville, Md.
Candace “Paige” Anderson, Keller Williams Realty LLC, Southhaven, Miss.
Tony Brodie, Keller Williams Realty Preston, Dallas
Michael Dimella, Charlesgate Realty Group LLC, Boston
Amanda Divito, RE/MAX Alliance, Arvada, Colo.
Julie First, Sheldon Good & Co. Auctions, Chicago
Eugene Fu, @properties, Chicago
Stephanie Gasparovic, EXIT Homeplace Realty, Hampstead, N.C.
April Hartmann, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Fort Lee, N.J.
Madison Hildebrand, Coldwell Banker Malibu West, Malibu, Calif.
Jennifer Isaac, RE/MAX Advance, Fairport, N.Y.
Ben Kinney, Keller Williams Realty Bellingham, Bellingham, Wash.
Grady Kohler, Windermere Real Estate Utah, Salt Lake City
David Kres, Buyers Brokers Only LLC, Haverhill, Mass.
Libbi Logan, Lynn Pace Real Estate Inc., Cleveland, Miss.
Kate Lyons, Markel Homes Inc., Boulder, Colo.
Angelica Mia Mcleod, McLeod Financial Group, West Covina, Calif.
Jose Medina, RE/MAX Commitment, Canton, Ohio
Tyler Moxley, Alain Pinel, Realtors(R), Pleasanton, Calif.
Michael Muren, Mackintosh Inc., Realtors(R), Frederick, Md.
Kim Penny, Prudential Triple S Realty, Durango, Colo.
Matthew Phipps, Phipps Realty, Warwick, R.I.
Candis Pressley-Blackwood, Trinity Real Estate, Philadelphia
Ryan Sampson, Eshenbaugh Land Co., Tampa, Fla.
Bradley Veneklase, Parkland Realty Inc., Grand Rapids, Mich.
Gilberto Vergara, Sylis Real Estate Inc., San Antonio
Jonathan Washburn, Brio Realty; CEO, ActiveRain Corp., Bellevue, Wash.
Adam Watkins, DeLois Smith All-Star Team/ Keller Williams Realty, Hattiesburg, Miss.
Ashley Wilson, Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston Builder Services, Raleigh, N.C.
Xiao Hui (Jessica) Ye, Keller Williams Realty Cambridge, Cambridge, Mass.
For more information, visit http://www.realtor.org.
