Susie Ewing has been a part of The Group, Inc. Real Estate since it opened its doors in 1976, first as a receptionist and working her way up to escrow officer, business manager, managing broker, and now president.
“I love the fast pace of the business. I love that you learn something new every day—there’s always a new adventure in real estate,” says Ewing. “Our philosophy here is to help people, have fun and make money.”
Serving the Northern Colorado market, Ewing shares that the overall market for 2016 is slightly behind last year, and inventory is down. However, the firm’s sales volume is up because prices are increasing.
“There are opportunities for growth. Right now, we have the construction-defects law in Colorado, so if and when we can get that removed, the growth will be in the affordable housing segment,” she says. “Right now, builders aren’t building many new condos because of that legislation. If we can get past that, I think that would be a big boost to the market. Colorado is pricing a lot of first-time buyers out of the marketplace, and, really, the only salvation is low interest rates.”
One of the ways the firm attracts new agents is through its sales program called Ninja Selling, which the company’s chairman of the board, Larry Kendall, started about 20 years ago.
“We have a program for people either starting in the business or moving over from another company,” Ewing says. “It’s an accountability program that gives people the steps on how to build a business.”
There’s also a designated chief technology officer who offers tech tips and strategies to agents to make sure The Group, Inc. Real Estate team has the latest and greatest tools.
Being an employee-owned company also attracts people, and Ewing believes the culture is an important part of why the firm is so successful.
“It’s a different concept here and that intrigues people. We’re huge in community giving and we do a lot together,” she says. “We have six offices in Northern Colorado and we believe in brick and mortar because we want our REALTORS® to have private offices to come to. That helps attract people as well.”
Vitals: The Group, Inc. Real Estate
Years in business: 40
Size: 6 offices, 229 agents
2015 sales volume: $1.565 billion
2015 transactions: 5,075
Region served: Northern Colorado
For more information, visit www.thegroupinc.com.
