Twin Cities Broker Expects Steady Growth in ?04

 Print Article

Twin Cities Broker Expects Steady Growth in ?04

David Hicks

Broker/Owner

Century 21 Premier Group

Hudson, Wisconsin

Originally from: Wisconsin

Years in real estate: 30 2003 sales: Up 18% over 2002 Number of offices: 14 Number of agents: 80 Market territory: Twin Cities and Western Wisconsin area Web site: www.c21homesearch.com

How did your path lead to the real estate industry and when did you join your current company, Century 21 Premier Group? My father owned his own real estate company, so I grew up in that atmosphere. I got my license in 1973 and went to work as an agent for a local company in Amery, Wisconsin. About two years later, I had the opportunity to buy into the firm, so in 1975 I became one of several owners. In 1978 there were three owners left, and we bought the Century 21 franchise, which at that time we called Century 21 Indian Head Realty, after the name of the area. In 1980 I took sole ownership of the company and we grew from there. I changed the name in 1991 to Century 21 Premier Group when I bought a three-office company in the Hudson location.

Describe your market area.

Hudson is a suburb of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Twin Cities area. It?s a gorgeous area on the St. Croix River. St. Croix County is one of the fastest growing counties in the state of Wisconsin mostly due to its proximity to the Twin Cities. It?s a stable and vibrant area with a great diversification of business including technology and light industry.

What is the average cost of a home and the cost of living in your market? The average price is $175,000. That is part of the attraction of our market. One of our battles in getting people to relocate to Hudson is the real estate taxes and income tax, which are on the higher side, although, they are lower than in Minnesota. But we balance that out with much lower health and auto insurance costs. Overall it is a very reasonable area to live financially. Also, our unemployment rate is lower than the national average.

What is the climate of growth at your company and what do you anticipate economy-wise for 2004? Three years ago we opened our first office in Minnesota at Forest Lake, another Twin Cities suburb. We have experienced slow and steady growth here, typical of Midwestern home sales. Our sales were up 18% over 2002 and we don?t anticipate any slowing of the record pace that the entire market has been on for housing.

Tell us about the awards your company has received. Century 21 Premier Group is consistently one of the top Century 21 offices in our five-state region of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and the upper Peninsula of Michigan. The company has also won awards for customer service, sales associates, regional and national sales. With 6,000 Century 21 offices competing, CENTURY 21 Premier Group is honored to have repeatedly ranked in the top 50 companies for real estate sold.

How do you plan to grow your companies this year? We have a few markets we want to grow through recruiting and acquisition. We want to maintain our number one sales position in Polk County and focus on growing our Minnesota location also through acquisition. We have no planned growth beyond that, but I always look at opportunities. I don?t think we?ll be looking in new markets that we aren?t in yet?we want to maximize the strength of our existing markets first before taking on new challenges.

What?s the weather like in March in the Twin Cities? March is a transition time. With our weather, you could be cross country skiing one day and then out on the golf course the next.

What hobbies do you enjoy outside of work? I golf as much as possible. I think the statistics for the Midwest here is that there are more golfers per capita than anywhere else in the U.S. I think that?s because we only get a short time to play and we get fanatical about it. But other than that, I try to visit warmer climates too. But this is a beautiful area. From three of our offices, you can see the St. Croix River. It?s a beautiful part of the world to live in.