Posts with tag 'Delta Media Group'
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9
Local Showings is Ready to Change the Real Estate Game
It felt a bit like catching lightning in a bottle.
Delta Media Groupâ„¢ CEO and owner Michael Minard wasn't expecting the real estate industry's very fabric to shift earlier this year. No one was, really. But shift it did, as the announcement came in late February that Zillow, the long-standing thorn in the side of so many traditional brokerages and sales associates, had acquired ShowingTime, the popular showing management platform that had been used by most of the industry for years.
Suddenly, the real estate world was different, and Minard knew it was also a call to action; for both him and Delta Media Group.
Calls were made, emails were typed, polls were written and sent out to Delta's industry partners. They all...
8
A New AVM Platform To Spark Success
How many hours have you spent over the last year alone sifting through comps to price a client's home?
Now think: how many days have you spent engaged in this same tedious but very necessary process?
Local expertise is one of the most valuable things about your brand. But you know getting the most accurate and up-to-date information about your real estate market is no easy feat. It means sorting through information sources and putting it all together in a way that makes the answer obvious.
And if it doesn't get done quickly enough, you're back at square one!
Pricing a property is one of the most important services you provide. It makes the difference between smooth sailing to closing day and rough waters. The right price helps your customers compete even when market trends favor buyers over sellers. And, of course, it lets them get more value from their sale.
There is a sol...
8
A Partner You Can Depend On: Hunziker & Associates, REALTORS
It's all about relationships for Hunziker & Associates, REALTORS.
Growing from a basement office in the 1950s to a one-stop real estate company, Hunziker & Associates hasn't simply taken change in stride. Over the last seven decades, the company has embraced change and, more importantly, embraced the people it works with. Whether it's an individual selling their home, a recently-married couple looking to purchase their first house together, or a family ready to build their forever home, Hunziker & Associates has faithfully worked with the Central Iowa community and the people that live in it.
After all, you can't build a relationship without people, and as far as Hunziker & Associates is concerned, no relationship is worth having without a basis of mutual trust.
"One of the big characteristics that we've always had, and we will continue to have, is that our word is our bond," says President Dean E. Hunziker. "If we tell you something, you don't need to write it down. And if an agent sells you something, we stand behind whatever they sold. We're respected for that."
For nearly 70 years, Hunziker & Associates has cultivated that reputation, becoming a go-to partner for just about any real-estate venture. It's even written on their wall in large letters that line the entryway to the company's office in Ames, Iowa, touting their core beliefs and their focus on developing and maintaining positive relationships.
"We understand that this is a relationship business as much as anything," says Sales Manager and Broker Paul Livingston, "and that the foundation of that has to be trust."
Building a One-Stop-Shop of Real Estate Success
When you're in business for more than half a century, it stands to reason that your company's history will be extensive. Hunziker and Associates' story is all that and more, and it began with E.A. Hunziker's decision to build two houses in 1946 and '47. Fast forward to 1952, and, after building Don a duplex to rent, Don Furman partnered with Hunziker to start H&F Builders. From there, the business took off.Â
In the first year alone, Furman and Hunziker developed nine lots and built six homes. In 1954, the real estate brokerage, Hunziker & Furman, REALTORS, was added. After taking on a franchise for "National Homes," they set up the first furnished model home in Ames in 1956, priced at $9,750.
While the company continued to grow, more sales associates were added, as was an insurance division, and in 1958, H&F Builders began building apartments. Three years later, a utility installation and excavating business joined the fray, and from 1962-64 an average of 75 homes were built, and 70 lots were developed. Soon, the company was the largest developer, builder, and Realtor in Ames, with a growing reputation that established them as the consummate one-stop-shop.
"If you're going to move, you want to go work with a company that handles residential real estate," Hunziker says, "has resale homes, a large selection of new construction homes, has residential lots in case you want to build a home from scratch, and has apartments in case you need something short-term to rent. It's all right here. One stop. Numerous options."
In 1976, Dean Hunziker purchased the real estate company, continuing to work under the name Hunziker & Furman Realty. Nearly 20 years later, Erb Hunziker and Furman went their separate ways, and the company's name was changed to Hunziker & Associates, REALTORS, with four entities under the new umbrella:
Hunziker & Associates, REALTORS — 44 full-time Realtors focusing on real estate sales. Sales in 2020 were $202 million.
Hunziker Construction Services — Offering complete construction of homes, apartments, and small commercial buildings with annual sales in excess of $25 million.
Hunziker Property Management — Managing more than 1,100 units in the Ames area.
Hunziker Land Development — Developing commercial and residential lots in Ames and Central Iowa.
With so many different aspects to the company, finding consistent success comes down to Hunziker & Associates' relationships. When bringing people into the company, the mindset is simple: Look for those who align with Hunziker's philosophy and mission statement, which is "committed to developing and maintaining positive relationships with individuals and families to meet their real estate needs."
"It's embedded into our culture and the core values of this organization, as to the expectation of what we want from an agent," Livingston says. "That they're ethical, honest, that they have the client's best interest at heart."
The company also boasts an extremely low turnover rate by looking for those individuals who match Hunziker & Associates' values. At its core, this is a family business, and it's that personal touch that affects every aspect of the company day in and day out.
"It's well-known what our expectations of our agents are, and we follow that through in our meetings," says Director of Business Development Becky Barclay. "Then, with the building company, if you're buying an HCS house in Ames, you know the quality you're getting. There's no question about that. We've always maintained high standards of the people we have working for us and the product we put out."
Hunziker & Associates prides itself on the care taken with every interaction, with every partnership, with every client who walks through the office doors. Treating everyone with respect is second nature, simply because that's how any family would act, and Hunziker & Associates considers itself, really, one big family.
"One of the biggest things that we've always stressed is professionalism," says REALTOR Molly Neal-Wong. "Our goal has always been to have the most professional agents, be the best at pricing and customer service, but professionalism is always right at the top."
Recently, Hunziker & Associates restructured its training outline for all incoming agents, streamlining the process and ensuring everyone understands the company's collective mindset from their first day on the job.
"It depends on the person, but we all take part in the hiring process, so we feel like that person will fit what we're looking for as a company," says Lisa Nady, who oversees recruitment and training. "Then, with training and hopefully enough experience, they'll start their careers and get going."
Contending With COVID-19
Staying in business for almost 70 years requires a certain ability to contend with obstacles. And while the COVID-19 pandemic was something unlike anything Hunziker & Associates, REALTORS faced in the past, that initial training for agents, as well as the company's collective experience and standing in the community, ensured it continued to find success last year.
In fact, Livingston says, Hunziker & Associates really only saw its sales shut down for three weeks early in the pandemic before getting back on track for "an outstanding year."
Masks and gloves became the new normal in 2020, as did new office and open-house procedures, plus a more digitally focused mindset, with Zoom meetings and what Hunziker called "an altogether different learning curve."
Still, Hunziker & Associates, as always, kept its focus on relationships, particularly in-house.
"We spent money, as early as February and March, working on our software systems so that folks could adapt," says General Manager Chuck Winkleblack. "So they could access their data and have the information that they needed from home. And then working our way through the Zoom process, and quite honestly, I think we're seeing better participation now in Zoom than we were in some of our other agent meetings."
Hunziker & Associates' one-stop-shop model also allowed clients to make one point of contact for all of their potential real estate dealings throughout the pandemic. And the "Buy Before You Sell" program, which helps clients make a purchase before they sell their home, made it that much easier for customers to feel safe during what can be an exceptionally stressful time in even the most normal of worlds.
Says Neal-Wong: "I've been to people's homes where, even recently, they've said, 'You're the first person that's been in our home in over a year.' So, getting a family to feel comfortable having you into their home and talking about, 'Okay, how do we do this safely?' That's something we've all learned."
Part of the Neighborhood
Hunziker & Associates' reputation is built on providing the sort of service clients can't get anywhere else, but the cornerstone of that success comes from being part of the community itself. As much as the people who move into the houses Hunziker & Associates builds or the families who purchase their homes from Hunziker agents, the people who make up the company also make up the neighborhood they live and work in.
Hunziker, Livingston, and Neal-Wong were all raised in Ames. They know the city's ins and outs — from the quietest streets to the parks with the best potential for summer picnics. They serve on community boards, greet their neighbors by name, and suggest the best restaurants to brand-new residents. "The larger point is, our agents are part of the communities in which they live, work, and play," explains Barclay.
Living and working in the same community also makes Hunziker & Associates ideally suited to give back to it. And give back, they do. The Margaret Hunziker Garden House at Reiman Gardens, DMACC (Des Moines Area Community College) Hunziker Campus, Hunziker Sports Complex, Auditorium in the Ralph Olsen Building, Ames High School Football Field, and many more projects were gifted through Hunziker & Associates. The company also sponsors an ISU scholarship and funded the College of Business, Masters of Real Estate Development degree in fall 2019. Hunziker & Associates supports the United Way, the Boys and Girls Club, and the Ames public library.
"You'll notice most everything we're doing is youth-oriented," Hunziker says. "We touch a lot of people's lives through giving back. And that's a very, very important thing to this organization. If you're earning a living here, you should be giving back here."
Livingston also notes that of the 44-plus agents Hunziker & Associates, REALTORS currently has, nearly all of them are "engaging the community" in some way.
"Whether it's a church or rotary or at the country club or a bowling league or wherever it might be, we have to stay connected," he says. "Many of the agents are very charitable, very giving of their time and money and talents. And again, I think that's embedded in the culture of the organization."
Taking the Next Step in Technology
Throughout its history, Hunziker & Associates has worked with plenty of other companies and, nine years ago, it added another to the list: Delta Media Group®. In that near-decade of partnership, Delta has helped Hunziker automate and elevate, providing SEO and website tools, as well as a CRM that makes everything the company does just a little bit easier.
"[Delta continues] to improve, keep up with changes," Barclay says. "And when we make suggestions or other companies make suggestions, [Delta listens] and tweaks and keeps making improvements.
"There are so many different options out there, and every agent has their favorite that they like to use, but a lot have started to use Delta Media and the CRM, and it's been a good thing for us," Barclay continues, "and when we changed and updated the look, [Delta] worked with us on that. So through the years, it's been a positive experience. [Delta] listened and worked with us."
Marketing Director Chelsea Adams, who joined Hunziker & Associates in December 2020, echoes the sentiment, saying that she noticed "right away how intuitive the backend of the website is to use."
"I have some familiarity with other website platforms, but I had never used DeltaNET®," Adams explains. "And when I came in, it was very easy to begin using. And what I loved was agents using the templates, them being optimized for us. Agents can have their own branding and have their own style, but still be part of the Hunziker family, still be recognized as a part of the Hunziker family and be able to have their own identity as well, which is nice."
What's Next for Hunziker & Associates
When it comes to the future, Hunziker & Associates plans to look forward by first looking back.
"We set goals in the previous year for the coming year, and last year we had a set goal of 660 transactions as a company," Livingston explains. "And I think we had 719. So, that even exceeded our stretch goal of 700. We then set a goal for this coming year, and I think we will be right on track to hit our target again. Our goal is 770, and we should be on pace for that."
At the end of March of 2020, Hunziker & Associates had 205 transactions under its collective belt. By that time this year, 255 transactions had been completed.
"That's a 30% increase," Hunziker says, "now who knows what the rest of the year is going to be like, but it's certainly encouraging, starting off there."
Even with those early-year numbers, Hunziker & Associates isn't taking anything for granted. Success is borne, as it always has been, from relationships, from providing a service people not only want but will come back to. Nothing is ever truly set in stone, and after seven decades, Hunziker & Associates is excited to see what comes next.Â
2
Get to Know Napier Realtors ERA
Jim Napier likes to tell this one story about his dad.Â
In the early days of what would eventually be Napier Realtors ERA, his father, Oscar, who founded the company, originally Napier and Savage Realtors, with Bernard Savage in 1958, always kept a handful of clip-on ties in the top drawer of his desk. Fabric with a variety of patterns and color choices sat in that drawer, ready to be pulled out at a moment's notice or whenever the elder Napier believed one of his agents needed to spruce up their look a bit. But, this wasn't a fashion show; it was a matter of establishing Napier's reputation.
With his business growing, Oscar knew that the first step toward success was dressing the part. So, he filled his drawer, handed out clip-on ties whenever he had to, and began building from the ground up, making sure every facet of the company looked its, literal, best for whoever came in the door next.
"That's what he stood for," Napier says of his father, "being honest, being ethical, and being professional. I always remember a friend of my father's, he said, 'Your dad is honest above and beyond the call of duty.' That's what we've tried to carry through."
And while there might not be a drawer filled with ties any longer, Napier ERA has grown from that single office on Richmond's south side to a four-office firm with over 130 agents. Some things, however, have stayed the same: Still family-owned, still a respected part of the communities it serves. More than anything, Napier boasts people who, at their core, want to look their best and do their best every day for as long as they possibly can.
"We never aspired to be the largest firm or have the most agents or do the most closings," says Mark Joyner, Executive Vice President, Partner, and Managing Broker of Napier's West End Office. "We always wanted to have the best people. And you have the best people by starting with great people, then making sure they're educated, having a good time, and hitting their goals."
Growing Together
The history of Napier Realtors ERA doesn't begin with houses. Instead, it starts somewhere rather unexpected: a local grocer. Growing up in West Virginia, Oscar Napier's family owned a grocery store, and after serving in World War II, before turning his attention to real estate, he opened his own store, serving his community in the late '40s and early '50s by helping feed it. Simply put, he wanted to help people. So, it only made sense that he kept that mindset when he shifted careers.
No matter who Napier is working with, the company wants to help. And that philosophy has led to success.
Even with its humble beginnings, Napier was the number two firm in market share after opening its doors, leading to growth that came quickly and sparked a new era of the company's history. Napier and Savage went their separate ways in the mid-70s, and it was around that time that Jim and his brother joined the company. Then, in the late '80s and early '90s, Napier expanded its market: west to Powhatan, north to Henrico County, and, most recently, to the Tri-Cities, Petersburg, and Colonial Heights areas.
As Napier continued to evolve, it also took on a somewhat youthful mindset.
Jim Napier was only in his late thirties when he took over the company in 1990, and Joyner says, "having a young president like that set the stage for Napier to grow." In fact, Joyner is one of Napier ERA's youth-focused success stories, running the Henrico office in 1998 when he was 29 years old.
"I thought [Jim] was looking to bring me on with the company because I had a fairly strong real estate business role," Joyner recalls. "And he said, 'No, no, no.
I'd like you to run my west end, our Henrico office.' I looked at him, and I said, 'Jim, you've got agents in that office that have been doing business longer than I've been alive.' And I'll never forget. He immediately fired back. He said, 'And you know what? Those are the agents that need you the most.'"
Finding a balance between youth and experience has been one of Napier ERA's strengths for decades. This has helped create an inclusive atmosphere that draws people to Napier ERA and makes them want to keep working. In fact, according to Director of Information Systems Jeff Hardy, the average tenure of Napier's agents is around a decade. That's nearly double the average for other companies.
"From top to bottom, we try to include everybody in the company and make conscious efforts to bring new people in," Joyner says.
One of those people, actually, was Hardy, who was hired in 2004. Not only did Hardy's arrival allow Napier ERA to expand its tech offerings, but it gave agents a built-in support system for all their technology needs and questions. Few local companies offer anything similar, and it's that commitment to helping their people that continues to separate Napier ERA from the rest of the real estate pack.
Taking Technology to the Next Level
Buoyed by their tech prowess and virtual know-how, Napier ERA didn't stumble during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, Napier settled into its new normal, staging the same virtual tours they've been doing for years and posting YouTube videos for all properties.
"We didn't have to rebuild the wheel," Joyner says. "We shifted gears and focused more on resources we already had."
"Within a week or two weeks of the shut-down starting, we were doing virtual town halls with our agents," adds Hardy, who says the majority of agents attended. "It ended up being a great forum that we were doing weekly at the time."
Napier ERA's tech-focused mindset is also evident in its longstanding partnership with Delta Media Group®. For nearly two decades, Napier ERA and Delta have worked on a suite of products highlighted by websites and agent pages.
"Our franchise provides web pages for agents, profile pages basically," Hardy says, "but we wanted to provide that extra level of service for our agents and al- low them to distinguish themselves from other agents in our marketplace."
The key to Delta and Napier's collective success is the give-and-take nature of the relationship. Change has always been part of Napier's makeup, and Hardy says it's the ability to suggest changes to Delta that's helped cement the partnership.
"If I need to pick up the phone and call [Delta CEO] Michael Minard or [Del- ta President] Noel England, that's what I do," Hardy says, "It's nice to have [a vendor] that's customer-focused and still provides a path to get to the top people when that needs to be done.
"Delta has grown a lot since we joined them, and there are times when I can feel that a little bit, but not as much as you might expect," Hardy continues. "Because I know Delta has companies that are a lot bigger than we are, and have a lot more agents, and are bigger fish in the sea, but we still get treated like we're at the top of the list."
A Pillar in the Community
From Napier ERA's beginnings in an entirely different industry to focusing the company's collective attention on Central Virginia's housing market, one thing has always remained true: Napier wants to help the people it does business with. As far as Napier is concerned, to be a business is to be part of the community, and that means giving back.
In its more than 60 years, Napier ERA has only expanded on that belief, supporting dozens of initiatives and organizations.Â
Most recently, Napier ERA has teamed with Tech for Troops, the USO and its airport cafe, Toys for Tots, the Richmond Christmas Mother Fund, and Backpacks of Love, which puts together backpacks with food and school supplies for area students.
Joyner says the company also "jumped headfirst" into working with the VCU Massey Cancer Center in Richmond in the late 90s, and it didn't take long for Jim's life-long love of music to evolve into what is now a summer concert series to support the Center and its patients.
"We did some other things, and people would do golf tournaments or this or that, well, I don't play golf," Napier explains. After noticing one of his favorite bands was playing in Virginia, Napier adds that he reached out to their representative and, "We worked a deal out. It very quickly morphed into: let's do it as a benefit for the Massey Cancer Center."
From there, the event has only grown, and in the last 15 years, Napier ERA has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Massey with artists like Bruce Hornsby, Amos Lee, and Lyle Lovett performing.
"We wanted to bring an event to our community, where people come and have fun, raise awareness about the Cancer Center and have those funds go to something special," Napier says. "In this particular case, all of our funds go to the Connor's Heroes Pediatric Cancer Fund at the VCU Massey Cancer Center."
Health protocols kept the concert from happening last summer, but Napier still found a way to give back amidst the pandemic, focusing on COVID-related issues and sponsoring area restaurants to help provide free meals for first responders.
The idea actually came from one of Napier ERA's town hall meetings.
"One of our agents said something about, 'Why don't we drop a gift card, or give the restaurant an envelope of cash or a credit card number for a window of meals for any first responder that shows up,'" Joyner says. "A week later, two weeks later, we had tabs running at six different restaurants for our first responders."
Adds Hardy: "We were trying to acknowledge all the people that were on the front lines of this pandemic and what they've had to deal with and how they've kept us all safe."
Napier ERA's charity work has never been about the accolades or the acknowledgment, but they came, all the same, this year. For the second time in the company's history, Napier won ERA's Circle of Light Award for Community Leadership, chosen from approximately 3,000 brokerages and 30,000 realtors.
"We hadn't thought about it, honestly," Joyner says of the award, "but our ERA representative came to us, and she said, 'You guys need to submit.' And we said, 'No, it's COVID, we didn't do as much.' She goes, 'Trust me, you might not see it, but you guys did more than you think.' So, then we did the video, and we had a couple of our employees jump in and start putting things together. And we were like, 'Whoa, we probably did more in 2020 than we've ever done to support the community.' When you step back and look at it, we did pretty good. It was a good year."
Taking the Next Step
After six decades in the real estate industry, Napier ERA has no plans of slowing down. In the second half of 2021, Joyner says Napier is looking to "double down on our dedication to our relationships, to
our clients and community." Buying or selling a house is as big and emotional a moment as it's ever been, and while there aren't as many agents wearing ties — even ones tossed to them from desk drawers — there's still a need for personal connections.
"You need somebody who's been trained, who understands the market as a seller," Joyner says. "And as a buyer, you need an agent who can, one, weed through the market, and two, go to bat for you. That's what we're going to focus on."
"We've made a decision as a company that we'd rather still be the full-service brokerage that provides all the tools to the agents and better exposure to customers who list their homes with us," Hardy adds.
As competition with companies like Zillow and other disruptors also grows, Napier ERA's connections with neighborhoods and individuals remain the difference-maker. One they hope will last another 60 years.
"We deal with a lot of people in our business, and I've been doing this for 45 years," Napier says, "and I always hear, 'You have the best people. Your people are knowledgeable. They know what they're doing. I love doing deals with your team.' That's the validation of all the things that we have tried to bring to the table all these years."
28
Ramping Up Your SEO Know-How
The online house hunt is now a reality for Americans of all age groups and backgrounds.
As far back as 2013, a joint study by Google and the National Association of Realtors showed that 90% of buyers searched online during their home-buying process. Fast forward a few years, and digital technology had taken an even more prominent role: In 2018, 44% of home buyers went online first when looking for properties.
Over 90% of real estate firms now have websites, and their property listings are their #1 feature.
Whether you're new or experienced in real estate, the conclusion is inescapable: Most of your future clients...
