Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Homes

Young Realtors serve generation X, Y consumers

By Rose Meily

More homebuyers than ever are 30 years old or younger, and a record number of Realtors under 30--nearly 150,000--are connecting with the Generation X and Y markets. Also, according to the 2005 National Association of Realtors profile of home buyers and sellers, 42 percent of buyers who used the Internet to search for a home were 34 or younger.

Realtors of this generation have embraced new technologies and bring this and a variety of other skills to the profession, which, in turn, enhance the real estate industry.

"As new generations enter the housing market, the real estate industry must adapt to meet changing needs and ways of doing business," said Thomas M. Stevens, 2006 NAR president. "Many of our younger members add value to their clients' real estate transactions through their generational sensitivities and diverse skill sets. They don't know a real estate industry without the Internet, technology is second nature to them, and they speak their clients' language, often both literally and figuratively."

Many young Realtors happen to be children of Realtors, having chosen to follow in their parents' footsteps. Both generations say they are learning from each other and a combination of their skills and experience enable them to offer a better level of service to a wide spectrum of homebuyers and sellers.

The more senior Realtors indicate the younger generation has taken their business to a higher level.

Niki Maroko joined her mother, Carolyn Miller, at Re/Max Real Estate Services in Cupertino when she turned 30. Niki has brought her knowledge of technology and systems management to the business.

Mother and daughter complement each other. Carolyn is the high-energy person, while Niki is more pensive and has a knack for organization and management. She has developed an operations manual, which spells out everything Carolyn does as a successful Realtor.

"I've taken her knowledge, skills and background and converted it into a business," said Niki.

In Saratoga, Jennifer Ogasawara listened, watched, observed her mother Alice, and slowly grew into the world of real estate. Since she was 15, Jennifer would come to Alice's office and help her with paperwork. That was 21 years ago. Today, Jennifer continues to work alongside her mom. Alice is the owner and Realtor of the Saratoga Realty World office; Jennifer is the broker of record.

"In dealing with people, she is the hammer, and I'm the nice one," Jennifer quipped as she described her work relationship with her mother.

"It's true," exclaimed Alice. "I'm the firm one, but Jennifer is also perceptive and very observant. She will catch things in the paperwork that I sometimes miss."

The same is true for Alice and Alicia Nuzzo. When Alicia Nuzzo was in high school, she worked part-time at the Coldwell Banker office in Los Altos; now, she works there alongside her mother, Alice Nuzzo.

The Nuzzos likewise noted, "We complement each other with our weaknesses and strengths."

Then there's Nadr and Esmail Essabhoy of Palo Alto. Nadr is a Realtor with Alain Pinel, while Esmail has his own company, Essabhoy Realty. While father and son compete, they also work together in the interest of helping their clients.

Esmail said Nadr relates well with younger buyers and sellers.

"I'm old-fashioned," Esmail described himself. He explained that Nadr is quite keen on technology and all the latest gadgets that help in communicating with clients. Esmail said he is learning much about technology, too, but he credits Nadr in this area.

The younger generation, in turn, is learning from the more senior Realtors.

"I'm lucky to have such a good mentor who has so many years of experience," said Nadr. "My father gives me advice and he has a longer view, the history of different properties in the area. He gives me his perspective. From him I've learned that what may seem so critical to me at this point in time, in the long run, may not be as important. I've learned so much from him."

From Alice, Jennifer Ogasawara said she has learned, "You have to be the best in order to survive. You have to be better than average."

From Alice Nuzzo, Alicia has learned that "everything takes initially patience. We're the facilitators in the transactions. They are hiring us not to lose it when they are stressed, and it can be very overwhelming for clients. We are the calm in the storm."

Niki Maruko points to her mother's knowledge and history of homes and neighborhoods in the area, which proves valuable in transactions. She added, best of all is Carolyn's approach to real estate.

Working with buyers and sellers in real estate is like having a relationship with a child, explained Carolyn. "You nurture them, help them grow and help transactions take shape. It's the most important moment of their lives. It's a special interpersonal relationship that develops into a lifelong friendship. That's the business as well as the client. And when all is said and done, you turn to them and ask, 'Did you have a good time?' "

Coldwell Banker Realtor Mark Burns said as younger home buyers and sellers are already having a big impact on real estate markets across the country, "it's nice to have new young agents because they really love working with computers; they are tech-savvy and fresh blood. It's nice so see their bright smiling faces at open houses. They seem to be filling up our training classes and freely getting their hands around technical, tax and legal aspects of the business. They are doing their homework."

Burns, who is president-elect of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, added, "It's a good opportunity when the older, more experienced Realtors can mentor the younger generation and hand down their experience to them."