Counter-Cyclical First Team® Real Estate Expands in Down Market

COSTA MESA, Calif., Jan. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The current downward cycle in the housing market, complicated by tightened lending standards, distressed properties, and shadow inventories in all price ranges, has created many new challenges with un-met solutions for home buyers and sellers. This has positioned First Team and First Team Estates®, to grow its operations by providing new and real-time solutions supported by technology to meet the evolving consumer needs. During 2010, the company expanded by 8 branches beyond Orange County, CA into several new markets, and merged four smaller branches into two larger state-of-the-art offices in high-visibility locations.

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In the past year, First Team branched into new territories outside its home base of Orange County by opening offices in such luxury locales as Beverly Hills, Marina del Rey, Pasadena, Westlake, and San Diego, CA.

First Team owner/CEO, Cameron Merage, said increasing the company's size during a down market is a natural move given its tradition in doing so during its 35 year history. It is also in view of the company's decade-long statistical position as OC's top ranking real estate company in total sales, in 2010. That ranking was determined by independent compilation and analysis of industry figures, which also show the company ranks ninth in overall sales volume across all brokerages across the U.S. This growth is unique in that First Team is the largest non-franchised brokerage in Southern California, founded in OC in 1976 and still family owned and operated.

"The company has always had a counter-cyclical tradition of growing its market share in down markets. In the 35 years of its existence, it has grown dramatically due to being an aggressive leader in constant innovation, refinement, and improvement in the ways it meets changing market, agent, and consumer needs," Merage said. "That has put us in a very solid position to grow at a time when consumer needs are much wider and more complicated than when the market was at its peak."

"When any brokerage firm develops a strong foundation, which anticipates and meets the changing needs of consumers and agents in a dynamic market like First Team has, it then is in a position to differentiate itself by driving more value to its consumer base. As a result, it grows in markets like the one we see now. This is as opposed to a peak market, where none of the problems we're seeing now typically exist," Merage said. "It's why a down market provides better opportunities for a well-developed company to grow."

For more information about First Team Real Estate, visit the company's easy-to-navigate website, www.firstteam.com.

SOURCE First Team Real Estate

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