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July 2013 $6.95

As the Housing Recovery Gains Speed,

CENTURY 21® is on the Fast Track

As the Housing Recovery Gains Speed,

CENTURY 21® is on the Fast Track

66 July 2013 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE

by Maria Patterson

Josef Newgarden and Sarah Fisher Hartman, The Indianapolis 500;

Rick Davidson, CENTURY 21 President & CEO

RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE July 2013 67

Maria Patterson: How has CENTURY 21

positioned itself for growth as the housing

market strengthens?

Rick Davidson: Ensuring the quality of our broker

network is at the core of our strategy to prepare

our brokers and agents for success, regardless of

where we are in the business cycle. Continuously

improving the quality of our network and the ser-

vice provided to our brokers, agents, and their cli-

ents is job number one.

As an organization, we have taken important

steps to enhance the growth potential of our com-

pany both domestically and globally. Bottom line,

the real estate business begins and ends with the

reputation of the real estate professionals serving

you in your local community. To ensure the quality

of our service in the local communities where we

operate, we have driven a paradigm shift with re-

gard to how we approach prospective franchisees.

MP: What are some proof points that defne success for CENTURY 21?

RD: We look at a number of metrics in determining the success of our strategy: overall

production; agent productivity; growth in new markets; growth through recruiting; engage-

ment of our system members and their satisfaction with our platform; engagement of

the consumer through our marketing and media strategy; and of course, the consumer’s

perception of the services they receive. We have made signifcant progress in all of these

areas and I am incredibly proud of our success.

Things are moving fast these days, and that’s a really good thing.

With the pace of the real estate recovery picking up steam, new

opportunities for real estate professionals are emerging on almost a

daily basis. The question is: Are you up to speed and ready to capitalize?

At Century 21 Real Estate LLC, it’s all about having the right resources and

the right support in place to help the frm’s brokers and associates keep

pace with the recovering marketplace and the rapidly changing consumer.

From its new Indy 500 sponsorship to its groundbreaking market research,

CENTURY 21 is positioned to pull out ahead in the race to new real

estate success. Here, Rick Davidson, president and CEO, tells us how his

industry-leading frm is stepping things up to stay out in front.

“If you want to be a

part of our winning

organization, you

must be prepared

to demonstrate that

you have what it

takes to represent

CENTURY 21 in your

local community.”

- Rick Davidson, President and

CEO, Century 21 Real Estate LLC

68 July 2013 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE

MP: CENTURY 21 has sponsored or advertised at

several high-profle events. How does that strategy

beneft your brokers and agents?

RD: Our marketing initiatives beneft our brokers and

agents in several areas. For brokers, we leverage our ad-

vertising and sponsorships with such high-profle events

as the Super Bowl and U.S. Soccer to develop and de-

liver business generation tactics that our franchisees

may activate on the local level. For instance, through our

partnership as the offcial real estate company of U.S.

Soccer, we have developed a “Go Out and List” or GOAL

campaign to inspire competition among the agents with-

in each offce to capture more listings. We also enable

our brokers to leverage public relations by providing them

with local news release templates that capitalize on fun

survey data that we release.

For agents, the ability to use “The Offcial Real Estate

Company of U.S. Soccer” on their marketing collateral

material opens the door to conversations with soccer

moms and dads across America. We also encourage

our associates to host Super Bowl parties where our

commercials can become topics of conversation among

guests. This is yet one more way we deliver value to our

System members.

For the Indianapolis 500, we leveraged our relation-

ship with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing and its driver,

Josef Newgarden, to make an appearance at our Indiana

Broker Rally held at the Dallara IndyCar Factory and pro-

moted this campaign through our social media channels.

The No. 21 car was showcased in our booth at the 2013

ICSC Recon Convention in Las Vegas in May. This type

of “SMARTER. BOLDER. FASTER.®” marketing is very ap-

pealing to consumers and highly impactful for industry

professionals and entrepreneurs.

The IndyRacing sponsorship also enabled us to raise a

signifcant amount of money for Easter Seals, our philan-

thropic partner, by providing brokers and agents the abil-

ity to purchase race-day tickets for our corporate suite by

contributing through our Indy 500 Easter Seals Champi-

ons fundraising page.

These types of sponsorships, combined with our tele-

vision advertising during the Super Bowl, the Summer

Olympics, The Belmont Stakes, The Preakness and the

upcoming U.S. Open and Winter Olympics, defnitely con-

tribute to our brand’s ability to maintain its lead in aided

brand awareness among consumers, a position it has

held since 1999. And, this year, I’m thrilled to report

that through an ad tracking study completed in 2012 by

Millward Brown, a global market research frm, CENTURY

21 was identifed by consumers as “the most respected

real estate brand.” This was no surprise to us as CEN-

TURY 21 is your trusted community real estate company.

The difference today, however, is this trusted source is

backed by the most powerful marketing and technology

platform in the industry. For our brokers and franchise

sales team who are having conversations with agents

and companies evaluating their business prospects for

the future, these are powerful statements that drive to

the heart of our brand value proposition.

MP: How do you measure the success of your

advertising campaigns?

RD: In 2012, we set out to redesign a website that would

deliver value to consumers and to our System members.

One of the major benefts of our national marketing and

advertising initiatives has been an impressive increase

“Sponsoring a car in the Indianapolis

500 empowered our agents to have

conversations with prospective

homebuyers and sellers. The campaign

also created a unique opportunity for

our company to showcase the value

of the CENTURY 21 System to local

industry professionals.”- Tracy Hutton, President,

CENTURY 21 Scheetz, Indianapolis, Ind.

Q: Which of these agencies, if any, is the

most respected in the industry? (Multiple-

choice question) (Base - Consumers Aware of Brand.

Results signifcant at a 90% Confdence level)

CENTURY 21 22%

RE/MAX

Coldwell Banker

Prudential

Realty Executives

Weichert Realtors

Keller Williams

Real Living

ERA

17%

16%

12%

11%

8%

8%

7%

5%

Source: Millward Brown 2012 Ad Tracking Survey

continued on page 70

RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE July 2013 69

While the overall message of

the housing recovery is now

resonating throughout the

country, getting buyers and sellers to

act now will take a grassroots effort

from each and every real estate

professional working in the trenches

with clients and prospects. CENTURY

21 President and CEO Rick Davidson

suggests brokers and agents arm

themselves with important information

(right) from the frm’s Spring Seller

Survey to help buyers and sellers better

understand the dynamic shift occurring

in many markets throughout the United

States.

As the real estate market recovers,

the number of homes available for sale

remains a challenge for the industry.

Listed inventory in April is approximately

14 percent below one year earlier,

according to the National Association

of REALTORS®, which underscores the

dramatic reversal of the previous years’

buyers’ market status. With an increase

of buyers coming into the market, the

lack of available homes for sale has

presented challenges for frst-time and

move-up homebuyers. The CENTURY

21 Spring Seller Survey clearly

demonstrates increased buyer interest

showing that 33 percent of buyers have

been searching for a home for more

than one year and 42 percent made an

offer in the past six months.

8�The market is shifting. Home sellers

are in a more favorable position.

8 Prospective homebuyers are

prepared to make concessions on

features.

8 Consumers are willing to be flexible

to close the deal.

Spread the Word:Real Estate is Back – Act Now

70 July 2013 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE

in the number of visitors to century21.com. According

to comScore, traffc to century21.com increased by 125

percent in the frst quarter of 2013 versus the same

period in 2012. From December 2012 through May 31,

2013, century21.com was the most visited national real

estate franchise (and brokerage) website. The result of

this increase in visitors is a 31 percent increase in leads

generated to our sales professionals throughout the

United States.

In addition, our brand awareness and pref-

erence among consumers are leading indica-

tors that our marketing is working. The sheer

volume of impressions that are generated

through advertising and marketing initiatives

is extraordinary. Did you know that over the

last two years, the “CENTURY 21 Agent:

Smarter. Bolder. Faster.®” campaign has

been showcased in front of:

8 The most watched program in

American television history (Super Bowl

XVI; source: NBC Sports)

8 The most watched event ever in U.S.

television history (2012 Summer

Olympics in London; source: NBC

Sports)

8 The world’s largest single-day spectator

sporting event (The Indy 500; source:

Indianapolis Motor Speedway)

MP: What challenges and opportunities lie ahead

for the franchisor of one of the world’s largest real

estate sales organization?

RD: Growth. Growth of our global franchise system,

growth of our brokers’ businesses, and most importantly,

growth for our sales professionals’ business.

The market has shifted. Sellers are in a much stronger

position today. The opportunity for sales professionals

to earn more listings and grow market share is here.

Our theme for the 2013 Global Conference was “It’s Our

Time.” I believe this statement holds true for the entire

industry.

We recently released the results of our Spring Seller

Survey. Our survey results showed that 33 percent of

buyers have been searching for a home for more than

one year and 42 percent made an offer in the past six

months.

Our survey indicated that 85 percent of buyers are

willing to compromise on amenities, such as a fnished

basement or swimming pool, and the same number are

willing to go above and beyond to close on a home—

things like being fexible with the closing schedule, pur-

chasing the home as-is and putting more money down.

Based on our survey results, 88 percent of those

searching for a home are willing to compromise on

location—things like prox-

imity to their work, restau-

rants and shopping, and

friends and family. These

results represent a major

shift in the attitudes of con-

sumers. This represents an

extraordinary opportunity to

leverage our value propo-

sition to homebuyers and

sellers by explaining what

our platform has to offer

and by helping homebuyers

and home sellers close the

expectations gap.

The market today repre-

sents the perfect storm for

both buyers and sellers. Did you know that the median

existing single-family home price rose in 133 out of 150

metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) based on closings

in the frst quarter of 2013 compared with the frst quar-

ter last year, while 17 areas had price declines, accord-

ing to the National Association of REALTORS®? In the

fourth quarter of 2012, a comparable 133 areas showed

price increases from a year earlier, greatly improved from

the frst quarter of 2012 when prices in only 74 metros

were up. This is a dramatic shift from what we experi-

enced during the housing crash.

The National Association of REALTORS®’ Home Afford-

ability Index is 191.7. Due to record affordabilty during

the frst quarter of the year, the median income U.S. fam-

ily earns almost double what is needed to purchase the

median priced home, interest rates remain historically

low, so affordability remains very high.

Bottom line, the economy is improving and buyers are

feeling it. Now is the time for real estate professionals

to grow their business and gain marketshare by speak-

ing with more prospects and explaining the advantages

of buying and selling in today’s market. Those who do

will reap the rewards and grow their business faster and

more effectively than the competition. RE

For more information, please visit Century21.com.

Captions

continued from page 68

Rick Davidson, CENTURY 21 President & CEO