August/September Business View Magazine

88 89 an office of his own in one of our Market Places.We mentored him as he started and grew that company, and in 2004, we incorporated Chris into RE/MAX Select as a full partner. “We went through the recession of 2003 and the big one from 2008 to 2010 and, in that time frame, the company grew a bit and shrunk a bit and came out of it with a really good restructuring and regrowth plan. Since then, it’s been an upward swing, where we’ve grown be- tween 15 and 30 percent every year.We now have seven real estate offices, and our Cranberry Township location is con- sidered our corporate office. That’s where our infrastructure and support is housed – accounting, IT, marketing.We do about 85 percent residential and 15 percent commercial.We also have a property management division, currently manag- ing about 150 properties.” Murphy: “We also own other com- panies, separate LLCs besides the real estate end, and a lot of our staff members work for those companies, as well - most- ly in title insurance, and property man- agement. Our agents have sold as far as Erie, Pennsylvania, but mainly we cover all six counties in Western Pennsylvania.” BVM: Right now, it’s a sellers’ market, as inventory is low across the country.Will the market be shifting soon? RE/MAX SELECT REALTY Rae: “Good question. Most new construction in our market is being built by what we call tract or production builders whereas, prior to the reces- sion, 50 percent or more of our new housing needs were met by small builders and developers in the area. Those guys have been driven out of the business, or are doing other things, and that’s left a gaping hole in the inventory piece. Most of what we see in new construction is contract built versus spec homes that are available for invento- ry.” Murphy: “One other thing that’s really affected the market here is the good employment picture. Pittsburgh is healthcare-based–UPMC is here. And a lot of national banking is here, as well. And over the past 10 years, it’s been all fracking jobs related to the gas and oil industry. So, there’s been a lot of employment, and the biggest thing that drives growth is when people feel comfort- able about their job. If they do, they’ll purchase real estate. That’s made a huge impact.” Rae: “Developers aren’t getting in there and building because the banking industry still hasn’t loosened up the purse strings for lending. That’s what I believe the issue is. If we had a better supply of new construction, you’d see more peo- ple willing to move up, and that buyer would buy a particular home in their price range, and the whole cycle would get better.” BVM: There might be a lack of properties, but no shortage of real estate companies out there. What sets RE/MAX Select Realty apart from the rest? Rae: “We’re selling with a national brand fran- chise, but other than that, I believe it’s our culture that sets us apart.We’ve invested strongly in our company over the last 18 years, especially in the