By K.C. MEADOWS The Daily Journal
Updated: 01/06/2010 12:01:25 AM PST
Dick Selzer, owner of Realty World Selzer Realty, started the new year with the purchase of another large local real estate business, Les Ryan Century 21 of Ukiah.
Selzer closed the deal last Thursday and says it’s been a long time coming.
“I’ve talked to Les Ryan over the last 15 years several times,” Selzer said about buying his competitor’s business. Ryan, who lives in Southern California, was apparently happy to stay in business, but now, Selzer said, Ryan has reached “a different stage of life.”
Selzer added that the real estate business today isn’t the smooth operation it was just a few years ago – a time when homes sold quickly and prices were high.
Selzer’s real estate office has about 25 agents and Century 21 locally has another 25, who Selzer hopes will stick with him in the changeover.
“Theoretically they come with (the deal) but they are all independent contractors – if they decide not to work for me, they can call another broker. I have to earn their respect, their trust, their loyalty, and I want to, they have some very good agents,” Selzer said.
He said the housing market still has some shakeout coming but tough times is when he usually tends to expand.
“I think the real estate market is at or near the bottom,” he said. “I think we have some more hits coming in foreclosures – more challenges for the real estate business. Now is the time to expand. Five years ago I couldn’t convince Les to talk to me. Things were going great, the business cruised along on its own. Now it requires more effort, more work, and more risk.”
Selzer’s last big purchase was Ukiah’s Realty World, which he bought from Gary Nix and John Bogner in 1995.
In the coming year, Selzer said, “Turnovers are going to pick up. Prices will stay pretty much flat. There’s another wave of foreclosures coming and there will be a good supply of inventory for first-time buyers, a good supply that hasn’t been there for years.”
He added that there is “incredible financing” available for first-time home buyers, explaining that the USDA will provide a 103 percent loan and an $8,000 tax credit if you have good credit, and a good job.
“Why would you not buy a home (under that program) if you have the financial wherewithal?” he said.
For now, Selzer will run Century 21 in Ukiah as a parallel office while the two operations figure out how best to merge.
Realty World Selzer Realty already has the largest market share in the county, according to Selzer, and this purchase adds 60 percent to that volume both in sales and property management.
