FIRST TEAM
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it has constantly put in place over the decades since he founded the company in 1976. A partial list includes proprietary analysis tools unique to First Team that help identify home price trends in any given neighborhood; proprietary software for compiling buyer inquiries, called the Buyer Pipeline, and matching them to company listings; real time advanced training and coaching to update and prepare its agents to meet current consumer needs; extensive strategic marketing to maximize listing exposure and the support of non-competing, full-time sales managers at every office location; an exclusive joint venture with Wells Fargo Bank and private mortgage lending, for portfolio and non-portfolio mortgage financing.
“When any brokerage firm develops a strong foundation, which anticipates and meets the changing needs of consumers and agents in a dynamic market like First Team has, it then is in a position to differentiate itself by driving more value to its consumer base. As a result, it grows in markets like the one we see now. This is as opposed to a peak market, where none of the problems we’re seeing now typically exist,” Merage said. “It’s why a down market provides better opportunities for a well-developed company to grow.”
The drivers have been particularly effective for the company’s luxury properties division, First Team Estates and Luxury Portfolio, which specialize in properties valued at over $1 million and produced 1.2 million high net-worth international home buyers online in 2010.
Because of the international scope of First Team Estate’s carefully established marketing network for globe-trotters interested in very high-end homes, the Pipeline system has given the division a super-charged boost, leading it to expand its luxury markets into such areas as Beverly Hills and Marina del Rey.
“I have been called a contrarian many times over the years,” said Merage. “We don’t follow the crowd. By anticipating the demands brought about by the changing markets, we get the edge over competitors and stay ahead of the curve. We do it with one thing in mind: to drive value to the consumers through our sales executives, who are in turn, the main supporters of the drivers, which ultimately serve our clients.”
For more information about First Team Real Estate, visit the company’s unusually well-designed, easy-to-navigate website, www.firstteam.com. For more information about the company’s luxury properties arm, First Team Estates, visit www.firstteamestates.com.
