Keller Williams Realty Group Training Agents

Keller Williams Realty Group in Limerick holds on average 20-30 training classes a month for our agents. We are proud to be a part of an organization and follow practice of a recent title that we were given. Keller Williams Realty, the largest real estate franchise in North America and one of the fastest-growing real estate companies in the world, has been named the No. 2 training organization across all industries by Training Magazine. At an awards ceremony in San Diego to honor the Training 125, Keller Williams was recognized for the record growth, productivity and profitability gains that its training and education programs fueled last year.

A recent training that we have been offering our agents is titled Productivity Warriors. This twelve week training class covers everything from our KW Tech Systems to Lead Generation and Contracts. Tonight (November 5th) we are privileged to have Allison Carbone from The Allison Carbone Team coming to teach our agents (35-40 in attendance). Allison is an agent at Keller Williams Realty Group in Limerick/Audubon.

“I believe that access to the best and most timely information can dramatically shape our decisions.
Today’s consumer needs a trusted resource that can separate signal from noise and help them navigate the complex process that real estate has become. With my extensive knowledge in every aspect of the field, and fueled by consumer research and insights, I am the go-to source for information and education.”, says Allison Carbone.

The agents will learn about How to purchase REO properties. (Using Fannie Mae as an example). Allison will be teaming up with Online Training Technologies http://www.onlinetrainingtech.com. Other topics that will be covered are training on how to find homes, How to write up contracts, Teaching agents how to explain the contracts to buyers, Uploading the contracts to homepath, The uploading to settlement process.

Assisting and creating training on how to purchase REO properties from an agents perspective will benefit and help service our clients.

Keller Williams Named One of 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security

Keller Williams Realty’s outstanding commitment to their employees’ financial and physical wellness has earned them the distinction of being one of the best. An independent judging panel of employee benefit experts named Keller Williams as one of the 2014 winners of The Principal® 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security.

Judges selected Keller Williams because of the company’s commitment to employee financial security through outstanding employee benefits. Keller Williams, which employs 220 people at its international headquarters in Austin, is also featured in the October 2014 issue of Inc.magazine for this achievement.

“Keller Williams and other Principal 10 Best winners are committed to their employees’ long-term financial well-being,” said Luke Vandermillen, vice president at the Principal Financial Group®. “They understand that the people and culture can really make a difference in an organization. When companies like these invest so much in benefits that support their employees, people notice.”

The Principal® sponsors the national program. It honors growing companies for their commitment to their employees’ financial security.

“We are honored to have been named to the Principal 10 Best list,” said Keller Williams CEO Mark Willis. “As a profit-sharing company, we are committed to investing in our people and helping them self-optimize their financial well-being.”

As part of their best practices, Keller Williams works with an Employee Leadership Council comprised of KW associates to help make choices that support employees’ financial future. Another key best practice is recognizing that benefit programs play a critical role in employee engagement, retention, and productivity.

“Employee engagement generates powerful returns for our company, keeping projects on track so we can deliver industry-leading innovation that gives our agents a competitive edge,” Keller Williams President Mary Tennant said.

Along with the award recognition, The Principal awards a donation to a charity selected by each winning company. Keller Williams chose KW Cares – a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that supports Keller Williams associates and their family members who are enduring unexpected hardships – to receive the $2,500 donation.

Learn more about The Principal 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security atwww.principal.com/10best.

About Keller Williams Realty:

Keller Williams Realty, Inc. is the largest real estate franchise company in North America, with 700 offices and 107,000 associates in more than a dozen countries around the world. In 2014, Keller Williams was named the No. 1 training organization in real estate and No. 2 training organization across all industries in the world by Training magazine. The company has grown exponentially since the opening of the first Keller Williams Realty office in 1983, and continues to cultivate an agent-centric, education-based, technology-driven culture that rewards associates as stakeholders. The company also provides specialized agents in luxury homes and commercial real estate properties. For more information or to search for homes for sale visit Keller Williams Realty online at (www.kw.com). For more information about KWWorldwide, please visit kwworldwide.com.

About the Principal Financial Group:

The Principal Financial Group® (The Principal®)¹  is a global investment management leader offering retirement services, insurance solutions and asset management. The Principal offers businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement, asset management and insurance through its diverse family of financial services companies. Founded in 1879 and a member of the FORTUNE 500®, the Principal Financial Group has $517.9 billion in assets under management² and serves some 19.4 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com.

1“The Principal Financial Group” and “The Principal” are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.

2 As of June 30, 2014.

Keller Williams ALC 2013/2014

Keller Williams Realty Group in Limerick would like to Announce our 2014 ALC: Marylou Forcine, Keith Diener, Carol Savino, Buddy Martin, Mike Coleman, Joymarie DeFruscio, Lisa Criniti, Dana Santo, Jack Dolan, Dana Right, Kimberly Collins, Richard Graham, Michelle Diener, Eileen Campbell and Cory Rupe

The ALC is actively involved in the leadership of the company, holding ownership and management accountable to live within the budget and participates in attaining the goals of the Market Center, production, drive profit, education and standards and principles.  The ALC acts as the Market Center’s “Board of Directors”. They are the guardians of the culture. A covenant agreement of ALC responsibilities is entered into by all ALC members with their Market Center peers.

One of the greatest aspects of the Keller Williams Realty model is the Agent Leadership Council. At Keller Williams Realty, our associates have “input” into the policies of the company. The ALC, which is available in every Keller Williams market center, is a truly active program for allowing agents to express themselves and participate in the policies of the company.

Typically, the top 20% of the associates in the market center comprises the Agent Leadership Council. They meet at least once per month and make major decisions in conjunction with the Team Leader and the Business Operating Partner. These meetings are open to all agents in the office. There is also an agent leadership council for each region of Keller Williams Realty as well as one for the entire company.

Keller Williams Realty is the only real estate company that “opens the books” to the agents. Through the “open book” policy at Keller Williams, associates are encouraged to view the profit and loss statement monthly in the market center. Believing that people make better business decisions when they are treated like business people, there are no financial secrets in a market center. Through the Agent Leadership Council, agents have a voice in the expenditures of the office. If you enjoy being informed, you will like the “open book” format.

Unlike traditional real estate companies, where blanketed decisions are made from a corporate office that apply to every one of their offices nationwide, at Keller Williams, the decisions for each office are made by the agents that are doing business in that particular office. Who knows better about what an agent needs to be most productive in their particular market, then the agents that are doing the most business in that market?

Keller Williams Charity Golf Outing to Benefit Alex’s Lemonade

The Miracles Named Alex

This is a story about a girl and a horse: two remarkable individuals who share the same name and a mystical connection that has inspired millions of people.

Alexandra “Alex” Scott was born in Manchester, Connecticut on January 18, 1996. Shortly before her 1st birthday, Alex was
diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer. Bravely fighting her disease, the little girl’s positive outlook and courage inspired everyone around her. In the year 2000, the day after her fourth birthday, Alex received a stem cell transplant and informed her mother, “When I get out of the hospital I want to have a lemonade stand.” She said she wanted to give the money to the doctors to help them find a cure. True to her word, she held her first  lemonade stand later that year and raised an amazing $2,000 for “her hospital.”  While bravely battling her own cancer, Alex continued to hold yearly lemonade stands. News spread of the remarkable sick child dedicated to helping other sick children. People from all over  the world began holding their own lemonade stands and donated the proceeds to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. In August of 2004, Alex passed away at the age of 8.  With the help of others, she had raised over $1 million to help find a cure for the disease that took her life.

Alex Scott was gone but her lemonade stand and her dream lived on. That same day, a young thoroughbred horse won his first major race, the Sandford Stakes. His name was Alex, too: Afleet Alex. Afleet Alex knew what it was like to fight for life. At birth, he was given the chance of survival when his mother was unable to produce milk. Against all odds, Afleet Alex survived and grew strong. He was purchased by a group in  Philadelphia, two being Terese and Bob Brittingham. When the owners of Afleet Alex heard the story of Alex Scott and her lemonade stand, they knew right away they wanted to use the colt’s star power to benefit the cause of cancer research. They announced that every time Afleet Alex did well in a race, they would donate a portion of his winnings to Alex’s Lemonade Stand. Afleet Alex was a favorite for the Preakness Stakes. The race seemed to unfold perfectly. Just as Afleet Alex was sailing into the lead, another horse suddenly shied outward, directly into Alex’s path. His legs tangled with Afleet Alex, who tripped and went to his knees. The potentially horrific scene seemed to play out in slow motion. Incredibly, Afleet Alex did not fall. He somehow pulled his half-ton frame upright and recovered his stride and kept running. The astonished crowd roared as Afleet Alex, unhurt but clearly incensed, surged ahead and won the race by nearly five lengths. That moment went down as one of the most remarkable in horse racing history. How did the horse stay up? Liz Scott thought of her Daughter Alex. “The way he stumbled and caught himself, that was her. Jeremy Rose, the rider believed there was someone up there who helped him stay on Afleet Alex. He said “Little Alex (Scott) kept me on.” The little girl, Alex Scott, was loved by people everywhere who were inspired by her courage and her will to live. The little horse, Afleet Alex, is loved by people everywhere who are inspired by his courage and his will to win. As Afleet Alex races on, with every glass of lemonade we know being a part of Alex’s Lemonade Stand is a miracle.

To register for the Dinner Gala please visit http://www.upperprovidencecharitygolf.com

Keller Williams Realty Group Limerick Audubon Welcomes Jim Cassidy!

Keller Williams Realty Group in Limerick is excited to announce that Jim Cassidy has joined our KW Family!

Jim has been listing and selling real estate in Montgomery, Bucks and Chester Counties for 47 years. During that time he has been a Sales Associate, Office Manager and Broker/Owner. Jim will be assisting in New Member Orientation and Continuing Education. Prior to entering Real Estate, Jim graduated from The United States Air Force Academy and chose to be commissioned in The United States Marine Corps upon graduation. He served for 6 years and was Honorably Discharged as a Captain. He is a lifelong resident of Montgomery County, growing up in Ambler and I currently reside in Blue Bell.

“We’re excited to welcome Jim to our Office, he brings extensive knowledge and experience of real estate to the market center ” says Eileen Campbell, Team Leader of Keller Williams Realty Group in Limerick. “This company succeeds through its people. Jim has always been dedicated to his clients and prides himself for being there for them every step of the way. Having Jim on our team is a huge win for us.”

Keller Williams Realty Group is excited to welcome Jim Cassidy to our family! To reach Jim, please contact him at 610-631-5000.

To learn more about Keller Williams Realty Group in Limerick Audubon, please contact us at 610-792-5900 or log on to our website at www.KWRealtyGroup.com

Keller Williams Realty Group in Limerick Welcomes Jessica Dominick

Keller Williams Realty Group in Limerick|Audubon is excited to announce that Jessica Dominick has joined our growing family of agents. Jessica says, “I’m excited to start a new career in Real Estate. I have a background in teaching as well as management that has allowed me to gain extensive experience working one on one with people. What I love most about Real Estate is getting the opportunity to meet and work with many different people and build valuable relationships. I find it truly rewarding helping people accomplish their dreams”.

“We’re excited to welcome Jessica to our growing family of agents,” says Terese Brittingham, Broker/Owner of Keller Williams Realty Group in Limerick|Worcester. “This company succeeds through its people, and having Jessica with her experience in teaching and knowledge is a huge win for us.”

Jessica also giving back to the community and volunteers at Main Line Animal Rescue and Habitat for Humanity.

When Jessica is not busy helping her clients, she enjoys spending time with her husband Mike and her two children, Lyla and Gracie.

Keller Williams Realty Group is excited to welcome Jessica Dominick to our family! To reach Jessica, please contact her directly at 610-506-8463 or jessicadominick@kw.com

To learn more about Keller Williams Realty Group, please contact us at 610-792-5900 or log on to our website at http://www.KWRealtyGroup.com

Keller Williams Realty Group Welcomes The Mike Howell Team

Michael Howell, top-producing real estate professional and his team, has joined the Keller Williams Realty team in the Keller Williams Realty Group Market Center.

 

 “We’re excited to welcome Michael Howell, Lori Howell, Paula Errington and Justin Harper-Singer to the Keller Williams family,” Terese Brittingham says. “This company succeeds through its people, and having The Michael Howell Team on our team is a huge win for us.”

 

Prior to joining Keller Williams Realty Limerick, Michael was with Century 21 Alliance Audubon. With over 13 years of Real Estate experience, Michael has represented both Buyers and Sellers and has successfully closed close to 300 transactions, while always making time to help mentor others. He is a member of the Suburban West Board of Realtors and has earned both the Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR), and Seller Representative Specialist (SRS) designations.  His depth of Real Estate knowledge combined with exceptional client satisfaction survey results has enabled him to achieve numerous Production and Quality Service Awards. 

 

Michael and his wife, Lori, have successfully worked as a team in Real Estate for over 12 years.  Lori is an Accredited Home Staging Specialist and works as a listing assistant for the team. She has over 19 years experience in contracts and sales, as well as executive administrative support.  Justin Harper-Singer brings 4 years experience working with both buyers and sellers, and has recently been focusing in the areas of foreclosure and short sale processes. In September of 2013, they have again strengthened their team with the addition of Lori’s sister, Paula Errington.  Paula is a member of the Suburban West Board of Realtors and is off to a strong start having closed over $1,000,000 in business in her first 8 months.  Her 20 year career experience in the employee benefits arena has built the foundation for her success in real estate, due to her excellent communication, customer service and negotiating skills with clients. 

 

The team’s superior work ethic combined with their overall experience and caring nature are a perfect match with the Keller Williams model.

 

 Mike Howell is involved in the Phoenixville Area Positive Alternatives (PAPA) and has served as President for a 2 year term. He has been a Basketball Coach for PAPA summer league for over 8 seasons and a Basketball Coach for YMCA programs. He also is involved in the Greater Philadelphia ALS Association- Through their fundraising efforts, the family team provided over $120,000 for the association over a 10 year span.

 

Michael and Lori have been married for 24 years, and have 2 sons, Michael (23), and Marcus (19). Paula and her husband Scott have been married for 17 years, and have 3 sons, Scott Errington Jr.(28), Tyler Errington (24), and Brandon Altieri (22. 

 

Keller Williams Tops 100,000 in Associate Count

 

Keller Williams, the largest real estate franchise in North America by associate count, announced today that as of the end of April, its worldwide associate count has broken the 100,000 mark at 100,575.

“One hundred thousand is such an important milestone for us because it signals that we are on the verge of becoming the largest real estate company in the world!” said Vice President of Growth John Davis. “Of all the numbers we track, associate count is by far the most important to our model, and we can clearly see that our growth trajectory far surpasses the industry and what any other company in our industry is doing. It’s this growth that has driven our offices to record-breaking profitability and massive productivity gains for our agents.”

During the first quarter of 2014, Keller Williams has already grown by 2.8 percent while membership in the National Association of REALTORS® has shrunk by 2.4 percent. The company’s growth has now outpaced the growth of NAR for 21 consecutive months (every month since July 2012), according to membership numbers on NAR’s Website.

In 2013, NAR as a whole grew by 5 percent. According to public filings by the other major franchises in the industry, RE/MAX grew by 4.7 percent, Century 21 by 3.5 percent and Coldwell Banker by 3.3 percent. During the same time period, Keller Williams experienced 18 percent associate growth.

“Our leadership team and our entire associate base are fired up right now,” said Keller Williams CEO Mark Willis. “Our continued growth over the last few years proves that our models, systems and people are unmatched in the industry. Our leaders are proving that if you believe in a goal and work relentlessly toward it – you can make it happen!”

Last year, Keller Williams announced that it had become the largest real estate franchise by associate count in North America, as well as its intention to grow to No. 1 in the world by associate count, followed by closed units, and then by closed sales volume.

At the end of 2013, KW also announced:

• Transactions were up nearly 20 percent to 644,000 units
• Sales volume was up almost 30 percent to $158 billion
• Commissions earned increased by 30 percent to $4.2 billion
• 95 percent of KW offices were profitable at the end of the year
• Being named the No. 2 training organization across all industries by Training magazine.

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Kindergarten Teacher Has 50,000 More Reasons to Love Her Real Estate Agent

Susan Beran already loved her Keller Williams agent. Susan loves her even more now that she’s helped her win $50,000 to move into the home of her dreams.

Susan and her husband, Ken, were renting a home in Tampa while searching for a home to buy. Their trusted Keller Williams agent, Gail Sardegna of the New Tampa market center, encouraged them to download her new KW mobile app and enter the “Closer to Home” sweepstakes. Susan immediately started using the app (“I love the app,” she said. “I’m on it all the time!”) and immediately forgot all about the sweepstakes. Reached at school, where she was teaching her kindergarten students, Susan couldn’t believe her good fortune. “I’m freaking out!” she exclaimed.

The Keller Williams Realty Real Estate Search App is available for free through Google Play and theiTunes App Store. Keller Williams agents can send a link to their clients that seamlessly downloads the agent’s personally branded app. With the touch of a button, clients can search for nearby homes and connect with their knowledgeable agent.

“Consumers today have access to more data than ever and there are a lot of different apps,” Keller Williams President Mary Tennant said. “What consumers need is help interpreting that information. Your local real estate agent is uniquely positioned to make sense of the market and help you find the right home at the right price. Our app is different because it connects consumers so effortlessly with the agent who can guide them every step of the way.”

“We are absolutely thrilled that Susan has won,” Director of Marketing Annie Switt said. “We launched the sweepstakes because we were so excited to be the first real estate franchise to provide our associates with their own personally branded app and we wanted to give our associates a great reason to share what we believe is the best real estate app with as many consumers as possible. We simply couldn’t have picked a more passionate, gracious or deserving recipient than Susan.”

Susan’s experience with Keller Williams has made a big impression on her – from her agent’s expertise to the technology that powers the KW app to the dozens of associates who showed up to celebrate her big day. Susan is confident that her next home will be purchased with the help of a Keller Williams agent. She’s also decided to start taking real estate classes and knows the perfect Keller Williams team to join as soon as she’s licensed.

 

Town By Town: Interest in Limerick strong but listings are few

Limerick Housing Market

A variety of housing in the area includes condos, townhouses, singles. This house is priced at $394,900.

GALLERY: Golf club communities in an area once known only for a nuclear… (DAVID SWANSON…)

 

By Alan J. Heavens, Inquirer Real Estate Writer

POSTED: April 21, 2014

One in a continuing series spotlighting real estate markets in the region’s communities.

Limerick’s story can stand on its own, but what is happening to residential real estate in this Montgomery County township offers considerable insight into the housing market beyond its borders, too.

“I study numbers,” says Thomas McCouch of Keller Williams Realty Group in Limerick, “and, if you are honest with data collection, the numbers don’t lie.”

What the numbers tell McCouch and other agents is that, in the words of Renee Bartlett of Weichert Realtors in Collegeville, “there is a listing crisis.” Not enough houses are for sale to meet the demand.

“If it is priced right, it sells immediately,” says Bob Raynor of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Fox & Roach Realtors in Collegeville.

McCouch says prices range from $160,000 for a condo to $600,000 for a single, with “$400,000 to $600,000 being the best-selling range.”

Why is Limerick attractive to buyers?

“There is such a varied selection,” including condos, townhouses and singles, Raynor says. Many of those developments are right off Route 422, he adds, meaning just a few minutes to get to the highway instead of 20.

Developments such as Waterford Greene, for example, feature different levels of housing “so people can move up and move down without moving out,” Raynor says.

The Spring-Ford Area School District is a huge draw, local market observers say. The district has rebuilt most of its schools in recent years – evidence easily visible from 422 because of their blue metal roofs, Raynor says.

Limerick’s building boom began in the 1990s and early 2000s, says Jonathan Sukonik of Sukonik Builders, which has been in the township for the last 10 to 12 years.

“It was a natural growth area,” he says, “and we followed it west with Route 422 over the last 25 years.”

Sukonik is building singles in Oak Creek off Ridge Pike and Neiffer Road to sell for $369,900 to $449,900, and is “dotting I’s and crossing T’s” on Mountain View Estates on Sunset Road, which will feature one-acre lots.

Though many builders didn’t make it through the housing downturn, “we continued to sell product and maintained a reasonable pace,” Sukonik says.

Marshal Granor recalls that Granor Price Homes declined to build in Limerick because “my father and grandfather had a strong aversion to the 422 corridor because of the [Limerick nuclear plant] cooling towers.”

“We watched as others built there and did quite well,” Granor says, and he persuaded his family to build Riverwalk in nearby Royersford.

Lean supply remains at the forefront of conversations about the spring real estate market in most communities in the eight-county Philadelphia region.

Thus “it is, by far, a sellers’ market,” says McCouch, who partners with Terese Brittingham in selling real estate.

McCouch’s market statistics for Limerick show 44 houses listed in March 2014, 26 under agreement, and 11 sales closed in the month.

Average days on market have fallen by nearly 20 from March 2013, he says, another sign of short supply and high demand.

Everything considered, Raynor says that although things are better here than they were during the prolonged downturn, the number of buyers in the market remains on the low side and the rebound of early 2013 isn’t as strong this year.

McCouch concurs, citing Montgomery County as a whole, with listings down 9 percent from the same time in 2013 and a sales drop of 4 percent.

“There was a lot of pent-up demand” in early 2013 that isn’t evident now, he says.

Lack of competition among sellers for buyers (who still perceive it as their market) means, McCouch says, there is only a 6 percent gap, on average, between asking and sale prices.

“We are getting close,” he says, quickly adding, however, that close doesn’t mean windfall because “multiple bids are bringing the sale price closer to asking.”

Buyers asking for seller assists also result in higher sale prices, he says.

Properly priced listings are selling like hotcakes, says Bartlett, who adds that even in winter, she was handling 20 to 25 prospects at her open houses.

She says she is seeing fewer foreclosure sales but an increase in investors and a number of cash transactions, both of which surprise her.

Investors and cash sales were more common in the downturn, as professionals looked for bargains to flip, agents say.

Bartlett believes many cash buyers were holding off acquiring houses in the last couple years because of market uncertainty.

Tight credit also plays a role in the market, McCouch says, but in a way beneficial not only to real estate agents but, and more important, sellers.

“No one is showing up to look without being preapproved for a mortgage, which means that I don’t have to waste my time, and all the buyers that the sellers are dealing with are qualified ones,” he says.

“More people are paying attention to mortgage guidelines, and the market is now operating on quality vs. quantity,” McCouch says. “We are dealing with 10 buyers rather than 20, with only 10 of those 20 being qualified.”

 

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aheavens@phillynews.com

215-854-2472 @alheavens

 

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Limerick Twp. By the Numbers

Population: 18,074 (2010)

Median income: $79,683 (2009)

Area: 22.8 square miles

Homes for sale: 20

Settlements in last three months: 33

Median days on market: 44

Median sale price (all homes): $225,000

Housing stock: 5,442 units, a substantial inventory of new homes

School district: Spring-Ford Area

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; City-Data.com; Tom McCouch, Keller Williams Realty Group; Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Fox & Roach HomExpert Report