This fall, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices will participate in several events, conferences and conventions celebrating diversity in our industry. Join Gino Blefari, Chris Stuart, Teresa Palacios Smith and more team members at these events happening all over the country.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels find me in Northern California taking conference calls and meetings, catching up on work and writing more than 70 handwritten notes. (You can see the evidence of that endeavor here.) The week kicked off, however, in Palm Springs at the National Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals (NAGLREP) 2018 convention, which was a veritable hot spring of inspiration in the California desert.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels found me first in Irvine, CA for a Town Hall meeting at our HSF Affiliates HQ and next in Las Vegas for the Zillow Group Broker Forum at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. As I travel across the country and attend meetings led by some of our industry’s most powerful and innovative minds, I keep circling back to a theme prevalent in so many keynotes, panel discussions and coffee-break chats: diversity.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels find me in Southern California, specifically in Palm Springs for the 2017 National Association of Gay & Lesbian Real Estate Professionals (NAGLREP) 2017 National Convention. Key to my role as CEO of HSF Affiliates is to attend so many events and I have to say, I think the real estate industry does an incredible job putting together its national and local conferences.
It makes sense the real estate industry is among the best. These gatherings are our chance not only to gain new knowledge about real estate but also to make important connections, discover best practices, network with intelligent professionals and at the core, grow our business. In real estate, we rely on no one but ourselves for our ultimate success. If we can’t close a deal, if we can’t nail the listing appointment, if we’re not informed about the market, then we don’t get the business. That’s why real estate conferences are so well-put together and refined. They’re essential for us to become better leaders. NAGLREP is no exception.
By Gino Blefari
This week my travels found me spending time with close family and friends in Calgary, Alberta, Canada then Lake Louise in Alberta, Banff National Park and, lastly Vancouver. (I write this now while traveling on the Rocky Mountaineer, a train that runs from Banff to Vancouver.) It’s been an incredible few days spent among the rugged, mountainous terrain of the Canadian Rockies, and strangely, being outside of the country has made me think about the beauty and uniqueness of our own. What makes America so very special? My blog posts for the rest of the entire year could focus on this one question and not adequately provide an answer. Still, there is something that undoubtedly and singularly characterizes the United States, and it’s a quality not often seen with such pervasiveness in any other land: Diversity.
This week my travels found me in Ft. Lauderdale, FL for the National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals Conference. This meeting is the premiere forum for the LGBT real estate market and highlights issues that affect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender homebuyers and sellers. As an example, at the 2016 conference, NAGLREP released the results of its latest Member Survey, which found 20% of LGBT real estate agents surveyed thought the historic Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court ruling positively affected their clients’ decision to buy or sell a home. (Read more results from the survey here.)
Each year, industry leaders gather to celebrate accomplishments, discuss pressing topics and brainstorm ways to make a real difference for an influential, important and impactful area of the real estate industry. This year’s meeting was exactly that.
REthink report 