Month: October 2020

National real estate brokerage Compass comes to Hawaii

Compass today announced its expansion to the State of Hawaii. Top agents from O’ahu, Maui, Kaua’i and the Big Island have joined the firm.

Founding Compass Hawaii agents include: Sean Ahearn, Yvonne Ahearn, Debbie Arakaki, Greg Burns, Jason Carey, Deanna Davis, Donna Duryea, Jim Karlovsky, Tom Loratta, Tony Pinkert, Dennis and Martha Rush, Michael Shower and Nicole Vincent. Together, these agents and their teams represent more than $350 million in 2019 sales volume.

“One of our core principles as a business is to collaborate without ego and that’s exactly what we are announcing today – a collaboration between Compass and some of the most experienced real estate professionals in Hawaii,” said Compass Founder and CEO, Robert Reffkin. “Compass agents across the country have been asking us to come to Hawaii for some time. We’re excited to be able to deliver for our customers by connecting them to this incredible group of agents with a deep understanding of Hawaii real estate.”

As a leading national real estate technology company, Compass’ end-to-end software platform, bespoke marketing and proprietary programs currently serve over 18,000 real estate agents in 165+ U.S. cities. Hawaii represents the top-requested expansion market by current Compass agents, as this move strengthens Compass’ already robust nationwide referral network.

The company is actively hiring for a variety of agent-support roles throughout O’ahu, Maui, Kaua’i and the Big Island. Debbie Arakaki, a top-producing residential broker since 2005 and among the top 3% of Maui brokers, has been named Compass’ Principal Broker for Hawaii and Broker in Charge for Maui.

“In Compass, we have found a partner that truly recognizes the value of each agent and is committed to investing in our future,” said Compass Principal Broker Debbie Arakaki. “Today’s client expects a knowledgeable agent using modern technology to go along with our already highly personalized approach. The current real estate market is rapidly changing, and now is the perfect time for a progressive company like Compass to enter Hawaii’s market.”

Sean Ahearn, who is also on the Board of Directors for the MLS provider for Kauai and Hawaii, joins Compass as a founding agent and Broker in Charge for Kaua’i.

“Compass delivers the ability to collaborate with a high-performance network of top-tier agents nationwide, while at the same time recognizing that the heartbeat of real estate in Hawaii will always be community-driven,” said Sean Ahearn. “I’m already impressed by Compass’ commitment to supporting agents and the team’s deference to our culture. This thoughtful approach, paired with Compass’ exclusive products and programs, will allow us to focus on what we do best – serving our clients.” 

Former President of the West Hawaii Association of Realtors, Margaret Reynolds, has joined Compass as Broker in Charge for the Big Island. Tom Loratta and Tony Pinkert, both perennial Top 100 producing agents in Hawaii, are among the initial agents joining Compass on the Big Island.

“We have already connected with several top Compass agents who have clients looking for real estate in Hawaii,” said founding agents Tony Pinkert and Tom Loratta. “Some of the very best agents in the world have chosen to partner with Compass – being connected to this network of referral partners will have a huge impact on our business.”

Founded in 2012, Compass provides tools and services that help real estate agents grow their businesses and better serve their clients. According to REAL Trends, Compass increased its total sales volume by 100.4% and total number of transactions by 144.6% between 2018 and 2019. In 2020, Compass is poised to report another year of steady growth. The company recently noted that it had seen consecutive record-breaking months of revenue throughout the summer and that revenue was nearly 50% higher than the same period last year.

About Compass

Compass is a leading national real estate company, providing tools and services to help real estate agents grow their businesses and better serve their clients. As one of the largest groups of small business owners in the country, real estate agents utilize the end-to-end Compass platform to improve their productivity and help them manage their business more effectively. Compass currently powers over 18,000 real estate agents across 165+ U.S. cities and is the largest independent real estate brokerage in the U.S.,  responsible for over $91 billion in real estate transactions in 2019 (according to REAL Trends). For more information on how Compass powers one of the largest groups of business owners in the country, please visit www.Compass.com

Source: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/compass-comes-to-hawaii-301159679.html

Hawaii’s Nalula.com has national ambitions

Nalula.com is a new real estate technology company, currently focused on the Hawaii market but planning to expand to the national market in the first quarter of 2021. Nalula.com aims to bring transparency to the real estate industry. Essential data and current market conditions should be readily available as people make one of the largest financial decisions of their life, buying and selling a home, yet they are not.

One of Nalula.com’s most helpful aspects for buyers and sellers is their Smart Price. The Smart Price provides a fair market value by not only considering previous sales, but current market conditions. This data reveals good deals as well as bad deals clearly showing who wants to sell their property in the short term and who is willing to wait in order to receive a higher offer. Nalula.com also provides other important data to its users through unique filters allowing buyers to sort through the best deals as well as an abundance of information on the market conditions so one can determine if they’re shopping in a fair Seller’s or Buyer’s market. Nalula.com is also very pandemic friendly with thousands of videos and virtual tours for buyers to use as they explore their options for a home.

Nalula.com was founded by Jeff Berzolla in 2020. Jeff started working in the online industry in the late 90s and has worked for, consulted for and started several successful web-based businesses. Jeff founded, grew and sold the largest vacation rental technology and marketing company in Hawaii. With Nalula.com, Jeff hopes to make all of the essential information an informed buyer needs to make a smart offer on a real estate purchase readily available. Personally frustrated by personal searches to buy real estate and only finding websites that were simply a regurgitation of the local MLS info, Jeff was inspired to make Nalula.com do it all better.

Jeff decided to start with the Hawaii real estate market as he lives in Hawaii for most of the year and felt it would be most beneficial to start with a market that he has lots of local knowledge about. Nalula.com is different from his previous projects mostly because of major technological advancements. Tools like React, Serverless technology and many other incredible open source resources are allowing him and his team to do in a week what used to require a month or a quarter to develop.

Nalula.com plans to expand to the national market in Quarter 1 of 2021. Jeff realizes that there is a lot of misinformation on the internet right now and a lot of old guard industry folks defending the antiquated establishment. Jeff looks forward to Nalula.com’s technology and business ethics becoming part of the national conversation to show that a better and more honest way exists.

When asked about what he hopes to see the company grow into, Jeff responded, “I hope to see our company become a top ten national online real estate player in the coming year. Our north star is data transparency and doing what is best for the consumer. I know that these principles will lead us to a successful place no matter how quickly we grow.” Nalula.com is going to bring great changes to the national real estate industry as it has already begun to with the Hawaii real estate industry.

© 2024 Hawaii Broker

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑