After a decades-long career running Southern California’s CENTURY 21 Award, David Romero has spent the past year fielding some big changes. After joining forces with brokerage powerhouse CENTURY 21 Affiliated roughly one year ago, Romero recently made another big switch, leaving the CENTURY 21 brand altogether to come on board as executive vice president of growth for Realty ONE Group (ROG). Just one month into this new venture, Romero shares with RISMedia some of the details surrounding his decision, as well as his take on what Realty ONE Group brings to the table—for real estate professionals and the industry at large.Â
Maria Patterson: What was the driving force behind your decision to move on from CENTURY 21 Award? Â
David Romero: After 30 years at a traditional brokerage, I was really drawn to the “unbrokerage” model of Realty ONE Group. Specifically, the business model, the culture and the rapid global expansion.Â
MP: Please describe some of your short- and long-term goals as EVP of growth for Realty ONE Group. What are you charged with in that role?
DR: To grow the company. That’s the bottom line—to grow through agent count, through new franchises, both in the U.S .and globally, and also in transaction count.
MP: So what made this a really attractive opportunity for you? What was it about this particular role and this particular company that you found appealing?
DR: Well, I’ve been watching the trends like everybody else, and you see agents departing the traditional brands. That’s been going on for a long time, and they’ve all been flocking to the non-traditional model. So looking at all of the non-traditional models, I really thought that Realty ONE Group was the best in class among them. And the reason is, I think that we are perfectly positioned in the middle lane. It’s a 100% flat-fee model that all of the agents want. But they’re not sacrificing anything. They get the great branding, they get the superior support and technology and tools. So they’re really getting the best of both worlds, and that’s what really drew me to it.
MP: So what’s it like to be with a new brand after such a long career with CENTURY 21?
DR: Obviously, it’s a big change, but it’s all about the people here. What first caught my attention was when Vinnie Tracey joined Realty ONE Group about six years ago. He is somebody I have respected and looked up to in the industry for decades. And then he introduced me to Kuba (Jewgieniew, ROG CEO and founder) and other people. And now that I’ve been here for a month (at press time), there’s this kindness that permeates through the entire organization. It’s really amazing, and it’s infectious. Now that I’ve had the chance to meet more people, you see that in the agent, you see it in the franchise owners—the way they so proudly represent this brand. There’s no way to fake something like this. It is so genuine.
MP: As a long-time brokerage operator, what has been your take on Realty ONE Group’s entrance into the market and their growth since then? Having had the benefit of watching ROG from a different vantage point, what do you think has made them successful?
DR: It definitely goes back to the people. It’s the people that have caused their success. And then, as I’ve been able to look under the hood now, I’m blown away by all the tools and support they offer—things that you’re not getting at traditional brokerages, you’re getting here. So that’s been amazing to see. And it’s still a relatively new company—it just started in 2005, and just started franchising not that long ago, and just started globally very recently. There’s all this new territory, and that’s exciting.
MP: You mentioned tools and technology. As you know from your previous experience, most brands always say they have the latest and greatest. In your opinion, what makes Realty ONE Group’s offering different? What’s their competitive advantage there?
DR: Realty ONE Group is very nimble compared to some of the huge companies where it’s harder to make these decisions. What starts as a good idea doesn’t always end up happening. Here at Realty ONE Group, they’re so nimble. They’re able to make decisions quickly and find out what people need and, right away, vet it and implement things. It’s definitely different.
MP: That starts at the top, I’m sure, and in my outsider’s view, it seems like that’s who Kuba is as a person and how he operates.Â
DR: Absolutely. It starts with him for sure. He’s like, ‘What do we need to do? Let’s do it, let’s make it happen.’ That’s who he is.
MP: Looking at the bigger picture, what’s your outlook for the market, specifically, the latter part of this year? What’s your crystal ball forecast, David?
DR: Well, I’m always the optimist. I think that these next six months will be better than the first six months of the year. And then I think 2024 will be better than 2023. We are so closely tied to interest rates. When rates jump up, the brakes go on. Business just stops. But thankfully, after the news of the deal came out (the recent debt-ceiling agreement), we saw the rate dip back under six, and six is a good place for us to be. And if we can be in the sixes, we get that demand back. If we can hit the fives—which some are predicting we would hit this year, but now, maybe not until next year—then we’re off again. So I’m very optimistic that that’s where we’re headed.
MP: Do you think consumers are getting used to the higher rate because, in reality, it’s still a relatively low interest rate?
DR: Yes, for sure. Last year was the learning—people fought the rates. But this year, I had somebody tell me they locked in at 6.25% and they felt like they won the lottery. It’s just time and perspective, and now they know this is what the rate is, and this is still really good. We don’t have to educate people as much as we did a year ago.
MP: What do you think agents need to focus on most in order to succeed in these challenging times? What’s the focus at Realty ONE Group in terms of agent success?
DR: Some things never change. It’s still all about relationships. In confusing times, people need real estate agents more than ever, and they’re looking to us to help educate them and guide them through what’s going on. It’s about nurturing relationships and starting new relationships and being that trusted advisor. You know, even with the most muted numbers, we’ll sell over four million homes this year, which is still a lot of homes. That’s over 11,000 homes that are going to sell every single day.
MP: Well, when you put it that way…it’s a market for anyone…
DR: It’s about looking at what’s happening and not what’s not happening, and focusing on the people that need our help. If you’re looking at it that way, there’s plenty of business out there.
For more information, please visit https://franchising.realtyonegroup.com/.
