what we do

Rob Giem + Associates (RG+A) is a collaborative group of some of this coast’s most experienced real estate agents. Working together, RG+A agents represent buyers and sellers in numerous transactions every year throughout Newport Beach, Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Crystal Cove, and the surrounding coastal areas. With over three decades of luxury real estate experience, and as the number one single luxury agent in this market for over fifteen years, Rob Giem guides every aspect of this endeavor. From luxury property marketing plans, to trend analysis, to successful valuation and assessment protocols, to deal-structuring, all members of this cooperative venture benefit not only from their exceptional personal experience, but also from Giem’s experience and those of other RG+A members. This enables all participants to provide a truly exceptional level of advice and guidance to their clientele – which then leads to more successful transactions.

RG+A is not a typical real estate ‘team’ or ‘group’, with dozens of newer and inexperienced junior agents looking to leverage their way into the industry. Rather, RG+A is comprised of seasoned and experienced agents and brokers who have already demonstrated decades of success working throughout this market.  There is simply no other entity like RG+A working in this market today.

HOW WE VALUE PROPERTY

Whether working with sellers or buyers, RG+A shines in this arena by providing exceptional valuation skills. Unlike other brokers who rely solely on public sales data and perhaps one or possibly two valuation metrics, RG+A utilizes the most comprehensive valuation information available including analysis of all relevant sales, current inventory, analysis of buying and selling trends, projection analysis, and replacement cost considerations, among other methods. Most importantly, RG+A can explain the opportunity value of a property. It is the opportunity a property presents that is potentially its largest value determinant, yet it is the least considered by the industry at large. Not all homes here are alike, and overly reductive and simplistic metrics such as ‘price per square foot’ are often dangerously misleading and not indicative of true value. In such a small and specific marketplace like coastal Orange County, and with increasingly limited inventory, a luxury property’s value can transcend current sales data when considering how unique a specific opportunity may be as well as how long it might take to until the next comparable property comes available. RG+A brokers never rely on one metric for determining the value of a property. Rather, RG+A brokers consider myriad methods of valuation and carefully layer those results, thereby creating a three-dimensional picture of value for the clients they advise. These are the most defensible and comprehensive valuations in the business. Ideally, with these valuations, we can educate our clients so they may act with confidence.

HOW WE MARKET PROPERTY

As fiduciaries, it is our responsibility to maximize value and corresponding sales prices. To do this, we must work continuously to determine what the optimal buyer profile for a property is while also identifying where buyers of this profile can be found. We then determine how best to engage these prospects, while underscoring the value of the properties we represent. Without this guiding philosophy, real estate marketing is nothing more than placing needles into haystacks. Surprisingly, the industry standard is to put up a for-sale sign and hope the Multiple Listing Service and a few print ads do the rest. At RG+A, we know the ‘industry standard’ is no longer suitable for this task. We actively pursue prospective buyers and court their interest in luxury properties – often for years before we even expect them to act. Through ongoing transaction analysis, we possess current knowledge about where buyers come from, what they are looking for in luxury properties, and what marketing approaches might create the impetus for them to act. Accordingly, this data informs every aspect of our marketing. From where and when to place print advertising, to creating dynamic digital exposure for our listings, to generating unique and spontaneous buyer interest, we are at the forefront of what we see as a dynamic marketing effort. And most uniquely, RG+A brokers understand this industry is in a state of constant change. To remain competitive, and to continuously achieve record sales prices, we consider our marketing approach as a living and constantly evolving – and improving – process.

HOW WE SELL PROPERTY

With superior valuation and marketing skills, we are optimally positioned to bring about impressive sales. However, there is one last aspect to our process that cannot be overlooked (though our competitors overlook it every day). Perhaps even our greatest differentiator is that we personally attend to our listings and engage buyer response from our marketing efforts as well as during property tours. All the information about value that can possibly be assembled, combined with the very best marketing in the world, is meaningless if when it comes time to show a property the person showing the property is underqualified and underprepared. The unfortunate truth about real estate today is that the very ‘teams’ and ‘groups’ conducting notable amounts of dollars in sales every year are also the ones being fired most frequently and producing the most lackluster sales results for individual properties. Why is that? It is because they are more adept at obtaining listings, but not nearly as capable of selling them. It has been estimated that the average tenure of a junior team member on a typical large team has about one year of experience. How well can such an inexperienced agent sell a $10 million dollar home? Do they know that market? That house? All the relevant comparable sales? The multi-year history of the area? What buyers prefer today? How to put together the right deal? The list of questions just goes on and on. Do you think they are helping or hurting the process? Unfortunately, too much of the time it is the latter.

The unflattering truth is that these super teams and television agents expect to be fired from as many listings as they sell – and their business plans are built on this expectation. They are motivated to sell property quickly, as they need to move on to the next deal or their operations will suffocate from a lack of capital inflow. They ask for price reduction after price reduction until a property sells – or until they are fired. That’s their recipe for success. The reality is they only have so many days and so many dollars to devote to the process of selling any one home.

The truth is that nobody should ever entrust the sale of a luxury property to a team whose business model is built upon the expectation they will fail more than fifty percent of the time. Neither should anyone work with a team where the sale of any one property is incidental to continuously producing revenue. The homes we represent, and our clients, are too valuable to make treat them this way. At RG+A we are individuals, working cooperatively, to make sure we sell our listings every year. We educate buyers, and their agents, about values, trends, and the opportunity our listings present. We also expect to set record-high sales prices every year – as we have continuously done for over two decades. Our future business is dependent on having every client finish a transaction with us on a high note, having exceeded their expectations. Having provided this level of service for many years, we enjoy exceptional customer loyalty and lasting client relationships. If you ask why this is important to you, I can answer that quite simply. By providing better service to our clients, and producing more consistent results, we do not have to devote large sums of money to attracting new listings. Rather, they come to us. That leaves more money available for us to market our listings, create more exposure for those listings, and produce better results. All agents must choose a path, and we have chosen the one less traveled. It turns out the path we have chosen not only suits us, but it is infinitely better for our clients as well.

Compass Office

520 Newport Center Drive, Suite 330,

Newport Beach, CA 92660