2011, a very good year for RE/MAX in Salida

by Terry Brown

I joined the ownership of RE/MAX Mountain River in July 2011.    I had originally tried to put the deal together with a friend of mine being the partner, instead of myself, who had decades of Real Estate background but failed to get him to move from the sun and beach to the high country blue skies of Colorado...    Not sure it he made the right decision, but it seems that it may have been a home run for myself.

In just a few months, our company repositioned itself from just making it into the top 10 in our area to holding the number 1 spot in Sales for most of the last half of 2011 - something that has created a buzz in the Real Estate community here.    We went from 4 agents to 6, and now we are about to bring on another 2 in the next couple of weeks which means we have doubled our fire-power.    With me getting my license and another person who is sure to join us, we will bring our sales force to 10 before the busy sales season begins in the spring of 2012.   Yep, all the moons are aligning to be a great year.

I guess the best thing I'm happy about is that my partner & I have setup our Real Estate firm to be lean and mean, as we own our location.    From estimates, we're about 2/3 less in overhead than our major competitors in town - yet they are ALL mom & pop operations.    In just 6 short months we are in the black ink - many months earlier than I projected.   Plus, we have the largest National Flag available for a Real Estate firm as our backbone.   Yep, bring it on 2012, we're ready!

Salida doesn't get the huge increases in Real Estate prices like the rest of the country, but our prices are strong per square foot.   The number of monthly inventory is reducing, but it is still a Buyer's Market.  Our attraction is low crime rate, clean air, and unlimited amount of outside playground - all year long.    Salida has a brand new High School being built, a pretty large selection of national and local restaurants for a town of this size, and Monarch Ski area is planning even more expansion.   We have a nice mix of Liberal & Conservative values, so everyone fits right in.    We are America - or maybe the way most remembered America a few decades ago...  

We're projecting there will be some major changes with Real Estate firms in Salida for 2012.    We know who our competitors are, who are growing and who are dying a slow financial death.    I cannot say anything here of who will do what, but pay attention - as it is going to be a bumpy ride for some of our competitors...   Currently we have two offices in Salida, who knows - by the end of the year we may have three.

Goodbye 2011, and WELCOME 2012!!!
 
TB