Broker Spotlight: Attracting Agents for Life

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John Aaroe

President

Prudential California Realty, John Aaroe Division

Los Angeles, California

Markets served: Santa Barbara to Metro Los Angeles, Pasadena to Pacific Palisades to the west

Number of offices: 17

Number of agents at John Aaroe Division: 1,100

2004 sales volume, John Aaroe division: $6.5 billion

Years in real estate: 30

Originally from: ?I?m one of the few born and raised in L.A.?

Career path: Began working for Jon Douglas selling homes in the mid 1970s. Established the Estates Division of Jon Douglas, leading the company?s production from $100 million in 1981 to more than $1.6 billion in the early 1990s. He started his own company in L.A. in 1994, which he sold to Prudential California Realty in 1999 and retired. He returned to the industry 18 months later. ?I discovered that I enjoyed this business too much, and I had great experience that I could share with others and give something back.? Prudential Real Estate had a division in L.A. with no president, so he returned as president and opened two offices in addition to the 15 that the company already had.

Honors: Included in the list of the ?100 Most Influential People? in Los Angeles magazine

Personal mantra: ?First, always do the right thing, and second, do everything to the best of your abilities. I think it becomes too easy for us to deliver a medium-grade level of performance.?

Something important you?ve learned in business: ?The real estate world is competitive and if I don?t make a positive difference with my agents, they will not remain with me long. They are how you keep a strong and vital business.?

What you love most about L.A.: ?There?s an energy level in Los Angeles that is exciting to work in. Everything has to move at a quick pace, and innovative thinking is rewarded here.?

Highest sale price personally sold: ?Five years ago, I sold a home in Bel Air priced at $14.25 million to a member of a ruling foreign family in power in their country. The highest sale at our company went for $32.5 million last year in Napa, to a well-known film maker.

What are the market trends in L.A. right now?

We?re seeing that the market is 10% less active than last year, but prices remain on the increase. The pace has been about 15% per year. We continue to have a critical shortage of inventory here, so the supply and demand laws work.

Your company reports having the most productivity per agent in L.A. County. Tell us a little about that.

Our sales volume, on average, is about $7.6 million a year, which makes us the most productive company per agent in L.A. County. We?re always looking for agents who want a full-time career. We?re actively recruiting. We have first- and second-year agents here that are doing exceedingly well. If they are prepared to work hard, they will be successful.

Describe your special skills in the high-end celebrity market that have made you well-known and respected in this segment.

The skills to stay there are two-fold: You have to remember that the client?s business is their business. Don?t talk about who your client is. Confiden-tiality is expected, and the deal is not ours to talk about. To be successful in general, I believe in the basics. I held open houses Saturday and Sunday, and felt that doubled my chances of meeting people and working my way up the price chain?from $500,000 to a million and eventually to the number-one agent in my company.

Why did you want to return to the business after retiring?

There are many benefits to being a part of the [Prudential California Realty parent company] HomeServices family of companies. The endorsement that Berkshire Hathaway [HomeServices of America parent company] and Warren Buffet [CEO, Berkshire Hathaway] gave us when he bought the company was a positive for us. Warren Buffet has never sold a company that he?s purchased, so it can operate in perpetuity. Buffet is also one of the most brilliant financiers in the country, and his endorsement makes our clients feel comfortable.


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