Cupertino, California – (January 16, 2012) – Intero Franchise Services, Inc. announced its continued expansion with the opening of a new international location in San Jose del Cabo within the municipality of Los Cabos, Mexico. This office will be in the center of town, located next door to the local Starbucks, at Local 7 in the plaza mega commercial.

Franchise owners and partners, Steve Boyle and Richard Rand are converting their existing brokerage to Intero Los Cabos. The renovation is scheduled to be completed very soon and they are looking forward to their grand opening celebration Thursday, February 2, 2012 between 5pm – 9pm.

With all existing agents on board, Steve and Richard anticipate to grow their office to become the premier real estate company in Los Cabos. They plan to create an office that is focused on selling the lifestyle dream. Being a multifaceted residential brokerage, they want to also entice developers to the vacation properties available in Mexico.

“We are excited to extend the Intero brand into the Mexico market,” said Steve Boyle, acting broker of Intero Los Cabos. “There is a lifestyle opportunity that exists in San Jose del Cabo. The Intero brand’s strength in the U.S. and internationally make it the ideal partner to provide quality real estate investment opportunities to our client base. The Intero system therefore will revolutionize the way real estate is done here.”

“We are pleased to have Intero Los Cabos become part of the Intero® family,” said Intero Real Estate Services President and CEO Gino Blefari. “We’ve always thought about expansion in terms of the individuals involved. We go where we find people who are the right fit for the Intero brand because they have the same values and believe in the culture we’ve created. Steve Boyle and Richard Rand are those people. With them on board, we simply couldn’t pass on the opportunity to expand into Mexico.”

Intero Los Cabos:
Los Cabos S. de R.L. de C.V.
Local 7 de la Unidad Comercial ubicada en Boulevard Mauricio Castro no. 4650,
Col. Zona Hotelera,
San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur, C.P. 23400

So, the thought is this; what action can you take in the coming year that will be different than in 2011? A common theme is to confuse activity with progress, to mistake a ‘busy’ day with a ‘productive’ day. I think we overvalue ideas and undervalue action.

That said, a few points to consider as you launch into action for 2012!!

Choice is your enemy – If you can choose to workout or not, you won’t…so eliminate the choice. I know that if I don’t workout in the early morning, I won’t workout at all. So, I’ve removed the choice and asked my ultimate accountability partner, Gino Blefari (CEO/Founder of Intero Real Estate Services) to call me every morning at 5:15am. I’m up for the call so might as well go to the gym!

Make your intentions known – If no one knows where you’re going, they won’t help you get there! There’s a few reasons we don’t make our goals/intentions known; we’re embarrassed with our goals, don’t believe we’re going to actually achieve them, and/or don’t believe others around us can help us get there. All 3 are myths!

Plan your work and be deliberate – The key to productivity is to declare what the most important, productive, accomplishments for the week are and allocate specific time, in your calendar, to accomplish them. 2 things here: First, if it’s not in your calendar, it doesn’t exist. Second, if you allocate 2 hours to accomplish a task that only takes 30 minutes, you’re going to use all 2 hours of the time. And if you don’t allocate time to a task, it’ll take you forever!

The other element here is to understand where your productivity killers are and what activities yield the most results. For me, growing a real-estate franchise company and mortgage business, the absolutely critical activities are recruiting and meeting with new prospective customers. If I don’t schedule and execute at least 25 hours a week towards those activities, I’ve lost the week. A lot of times we get busy with dealing with other ‘feel good’ issues and lose sight of the business building activity that’s required on an almost constant basis.

Declare to ‘do work’ – Have a mantra of action, mine is ‘do work’. It’s a silent affirmation that I tell myself when I know I need to hunker down and get to work. The mantra to me means that ideas are worth far less than action! How many times have you heard someone say, “Hey, I had that idea”, or “That was my idea…” Here’s the difference, the idea is worth absolutely nothing, the implementation is worth EVERYTHING!

The Sun sets the calendar – Realize everything we do has absolutely no impact from, or influence on, the calendar. We shouldn’t put initiatives into calendar years. Who cares? Get to the root of what will impact your goals and business results, prioritize them based on ease of implementation, cost, impact/results and then ‘get to work’! You don’t need to accomplish all of your life’s goals in 2012, get to work…make progress, evaluate, make progress, evaluate, make progress…2013 will come and go. Create the good habits.

Make 2012 a year of action, be accountable to a high-performing peer/leadership group and declare productivity and implementation as your keys to success!!

(Cupertino, CA January 3, 2012) – Alain Pinel, the renowned real estate entrepreneur whose name is on the façade of a leading national real estate company, has returned to Northern California and will serve as Senior Vice President and Managing Officer of Intero Real Estate Services, a premier real estate brokerage company headquartered in the Silicon Valley.

In his new role, Pinel will use his experience and past success in facilitating Intero’s Estate and Luxury markets, nationally and internationally.

“I have a passion for this business”, said Pinel, “I am excited to begin a new project with an outstanding brokerage and a progressive leadership team. I look forward to joining forces with Intero and working with their Luxury Brand.”

Pinel’s 30 years in the real estate business have made him a leader with a solid track record for success:

• In the ’80s, while EVP and General Manager of Fox & Carskadon, then the largest residential real estate firm in the area, the firm tripled its volume of sales (over $3B) and emerged as one of the top companies in the country as well as a regional high-end real estate leader.
• In 1990, as founder, chairman and CEO of Alain Pinel Realtors, he reinvented the marketing of high-end properties around international advertising and state-of-the-art technology, before selling the firm to his two partners to spend a few years in Europe.
• Through the end of 1994, Alain Pinel was in Paris, in charge of the commercial activities of Sefimeg, the largest real estate entity listed on the French stock exchange with a portfolio of over 9,000 apartments and 3 million square feet of leased commercial space.
• In 1995, Coldwell Banker brought him back to California. As SVP for the San Francisco, Peninsula & Silicon Valley region until 2002, Pinel put incredible new records on the books for the company with a sales volume of $13 billion in 2000 and 14,000 closed residential sales.
• In 2002, together with three partners, he founded Imminence, a start-up that changed the way real estate is done in France and neighboring countries.  With a core business built around the MLS system, he provided a menu of marketing, financial and productivity tools to the industry.
• From 2008 to the Fall of 2011, while SVP & General Manager in Massachusetts for William Raveis, the 10th largest real estate firm in the U.S., the company saw its market share jump 50%. It was voted “Best real estate company in Massachusetts” four years in a row.

Mr. Pinel is also a former VP of FIABCI, the International Real Estate Federation in Northern California, and former VP of the French-American Chamber of Commerce.

“We are thrilled to have Alain Pinel as part of the Intero team”, said Intero Real Estate Services Founder, President & CEO Gino Blefari. “Alain is a seasoned real estate veteran with tremendous knowledge and experience in the industry and we look forward to having his expertise added to our Estate and Luxury market strategy.  His extraordinary level of professionalism will continue to lead and expand the Intero brand as a household name locally and abroad.”

Silicon Valley, California (November 28, 2011) – The Intero Foundation (www.interofoundation.org), a non-profit organization, founded by Intero Real Estate Services founders in 2002 to benefit children in need, announced that it has donated over $200,000 to 20 charities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area in 2011 as part of its mission to positively impact the growth and well being of children in our communities.

John Thompson, Intero’s Executive Vice President explains, “Agents donate a portion of their commission per transaction. As a company, this commitment makes a big statement. Therefore, when you drive by an Intero for sale sign or work with an Intero Realtor, feel good that at risk children in the community will be served and we thank each and every one of you for your support.”

“When Intero Real Estate Services was founded just nine years ago, its founders set out to create a company that was different. That difference would be based on values,” states Founder, President and CEO of Intero, Gino Blefari. “One of those values is Commitment. The Intero Foundation is our vehicle for expressing a meaningful and sustained commitment to our community.”

Intero Foundation CFO, Cathy Jackson adds, “The organizations we support may be smaller, but they have a huge impact on thousands of lives in the Bay Area. Unfortunately, they’re often over shadowed by the larger nonprofits that people are more aware of. For many of the organizations we give to, our donation makes up a large portion of their annual budget. They really rely on us for help in keeping their programs and services up and running.”

The Intero Foundation continues to impact the growth and well being of children and youth in the communities we serve. Empowered by Intero agents and employees, the Intero Foundation has given over $1.9 million in grants to nonprofit organizations that support children in need. In 2011 alone, over $200,000 was granted to organizations benefitting children in need.

Small Steps
Family Connections
Advocates for Children
Family Supportive Housing, Inc.
Just Read Centers
Rape Trauma Services
My New Red Shoes
Breakthrough Silicon Valley
Abilities United
Achieve Kids
JustMATH
At the Crossroads
CASA of San Mateo
SPARK
Pajama Program
Role Model Program
Reach Potential
Good Karma Bikes
CCPY
Turning Wheels for Kids

The Intero Foundation is funded, promoted and governed by Intero agents – each of whom are vested in the health of the communities in which they work and live. An executive committee, led by Intero President and CEO Gino Blefari, provides strategic guidance. All members of the Intero community – executives, staff and agents – donate their time to further the Foundation’s mission.

Intero and its agents have always believed in the importance of giving back to communities in which we serve, and 2011 was a perfect example of ‘paying it forward’.

We were very excited to showcase for the first time at the 2011 Realtors® Conference & Expo on November 11-14th in Anaheim, CA! Our booth was modeled after our contemporary and fresh concept of a real estate office reinvented, known as Andare.

At NAR we were able to spread the word about Intero to people from around the world, as well as keep everyone informed online with a LIVE STREAM of conversations between our leaders and leaders we met at the convention on our Facebook page.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by, helped and showed their support!

Check out some photos from the weekend:

WEDNESDAY, October 12, 2011

By: Rick Daysog
Sacramento Bee

Despite the sluggish local housing market, a major Silicon Valley real estate firm said it is expanding in the Sacramento area.

Intero Real Estate Services opened its first local office in Folsom in June and its second in El Dorado Hills in August. Under an area development agreement with locally based Kaizen Real Estate, Intero said it plans to expand to as many as 16 offices in the Sacramento region over the next four years.

Intero’s two local offices employ 21 people.

“As a significant number of Sacramento residents transition to and from Silicon Valley, the Sacramento area is a perfect market for Intero,” said David Bicknell, Kaizen’s president.

Founded in 2002, Intero lays claim as the largest and fastest-growing real estate firm in Silicon Valley. The company, which has over 2,000 employees, pioneered the use of small offices that rely on high-tech innovations to market properties.

SUNDAY, October 16, 2011

By: Phillip Reese and Rick Daysog
Sacramento Bee

Twenty-nine cents on the dollar.

That’s what homebuyers now pay for a typical house in the Sacramento region compared to buyers in San Francisco. And if history is any guide, that mounting price gap could have a big impact on Sacramento’s housing market and economy in the not-too-distant future.

The last time the spread between Bay Area median prices and Sacramento median prices grew so big was a decade ago, just before tens of thousands of Bay Area transplants arrived in Sacramento, turning a healthy housing market into a bona fide boom.

Since then, that wave of transplants has slowed to a drip, with barely more residents relocating from the Bay Area to Sacramento than heading in the other direction.

Several local real estate experts and economists said they don’t expect to see another approaching fleet of U-Haul trucks quite yet, with the possible exception of a few being driven by carefree retirees.

“It’s a different market now,” said Suzanne O’Keefe, a Sacramento State economics professor. “Everyone is more cautious. The housing market isn’t going to rebound quickly because people move from the Bay Area.”

O’Keefe and others note that the local job market is stalled; cheap housing is available elsewhere; and many Bay Area residents already cashed out home equity during the boom. Just as key: Bay Area home prices are less expensive than they have been in years. A San Francisco condo worth $1 million in 2005 would sell today for about $840,000.

But even if Bay Area transplants aren’t about to swoop into Sacramento tomorrow on white horses, many expect their numbers to increase, helping to put a floor on falling home prices. To bolster their case, these optimists point to past trends.

The San Francisco and Sacramento housing markets are closely entwined. Growing price differences between the two areas preceded and fed the last two housing booms.

The calculus is simple: Bay Area residents see their modest homes sell for immodest prices, and decide to cash out and buy quasi-mansions in Sacramento.

Right now, the median home price in the Sacramento region is about $185,000, according to data from Wells Fargo and the National Association of Home Builders. In San Francisco-Marin-San Mateo, it’s $630,000. In the San Jose area, it’s $454,000.

David Bicknell, the local franchisee for Intero Real Estate Services, is putting money behind his premonitions of a coming influx. His company recently opened offices in Folsom and El Dorado County and plans more expansion.

“More and more people are able to move to the Sacramento area,” Bicknell said.

Influx of equity-rich retirees seen

Bicknell is encouraged by the local tech sector, which he believes is rebounding.

Intel Corp., one of the local region’s largest private employers, recently hired 368 new workers at its Folsom campus, reversing more than a decade of downsizing.

The new hires increased Intel’s local workforce by about 6 percent to 6,515 workers. Many are recent college graduates who have relocated to the region, the company said.

Tech company Bloo Solar of El Dorado Hills plans to hire another 40 or so workers over the next several years as it expands its solar manufacturing plant.

“We see this as a continuing trend,” Bicknell said. “The homes are nice, the schools are good, and the cost of living is so much lower.”

Retiring Bay Area baby boomers are just as important to Bicknell’s strategy.

The last generation of retirees largely drove the big influx from the Bay Area to Sacramento 10 years ago. The town of Lincoln quadrupled in size during that boom, partly because of senior citizens arriving from places like Santa Clara County.

Assuming they have a pocket full of cashed-out equity, retirees might not worry as much as others about Sacramento’s difficult economy.

“There’s a lot of potential out there for the active adult market,” said Dean Wehrli, a senior manager at John Burns Real Estate Consulting. “That part of the market is increasing, and it’s going to be like that for 20 years.”

Granite Bay Realtor Eve Fenstermaker said she has noticed more interest from prospective Bay Area buyers since last spring. She gave the example of a client who lives in the exclusive Blackhawk area of Contra Costa County. Two years ago, the woman balked at moving because of declining prices in her neighborhood – and corresponding lost equity. With prices recovering, she is considering Sacramento.

“If you can sell your house in the Bay Area for $900,000 and can buy a comparable house here for $725,000, why wouldn’t you do it?” Fenstermaker said.

Douglas Booher, a 34-year-old Southwest Airlines pilot based in Oakland, recently looked at several homes in Folsom and El Dorado Hills. He likes the schools and the proximity to Lake Tahoe.

“If we can live in Sacramento in a nice home – maybe not our dream home, but a nice home – then we will have more money left to play with,” said Booher, who rents in Clayton and spends much of his time on the road. “It’s worth the two-hour drive once a week.”

Intero UK is an independent estate agency brand for independent estate agents bringing together the value of the best of the Guild’s networking knowledge and marketing tools with the strength of a hugely successful brand and all of the advantage that we have already seen this bring for the membership of Fine & Country in the upper quartile of the market place.

Gino Blefari will share his thoughts on how estate agents can not only survive but also thrive through collaboration yet without losing their independence or identity.

The event will incorporate sessions geared towards Intero UK’s brand positioning, marketing and I.T. including its unique and innovative social media strategy. Learn new concepts, techniques and initiatives designed to help you earn greater market share and enjoy increased profitability.

Intero aims to become an effective specialist ‘executive’ property network successfully combining a superb suite of tried and tested marketing tools and ground-breaking technology with the power of a national brand.

Please respond quickly as spaces are limited and are being allocated on a strictly first come, first served basis.

Venue: Central London
Date: 24th October
Time: 2.30pm – 6pm
RSVP: clientservices@interouk.com

The event will be followed by a dinner hosted by Malcolm Lindley, Managing Director of GPEA Ltd.

Cupertino, California – (September 28, 2011) – After many successful years, the Intero Silver Creek office is relocating to a new premier luxury location in the Canyon Creek Plaza, near the entrance of one of Silicon Valley’s hidden treasures – Silver Creek Country Club. All 56 superb agents from the existing office will transfer to this new location.

Canyon Creek Plaza is a community shopping center located in a highly trafficked area in the upscale Silver Creek Valley neighborhood. Silver Creek Valley is a region located in southeast San Jose, near the southern end of the city’s Evergreen neighborhood. It is home to the gated, famous Silver Creek Valley Country Club, the Ranch on Silver Creek and mostly consists of upscale residences. Many of the wealthiest Silicon Valley citizens reside here, not limited to television stars, web moguls, and various players for the San Francisco 49ers and San Jose Sharks.

“We are thrilled to be relocating our office to the Silver Creek Valley Country Club community,” said Robert Cruz, Vice President and Managing Officer of Intero Silver Creek. “This opportunity will bring our agents and their clients a trusted real estate source that is easily found and in a comfortable central location. Much like the Silver Creek community, Intero is a company of unwavering values, we’re committed to maintaining a culture of the highest integrity and excited to continue to do business in this thriving community.”

Intero Real Estate Services was founded in 2002 and became the fastest growing company in the history of real estate. Today, Intero is the #1 real estate company in Silicon Valley by market share as well as in the 2011 San Jose Mercury News  Reader’s Choice Awards and have extended their reach across the U.S. and around the globe.

Currently, Intero Real Estate Services has more than 60 offices serving four U.S. states; California, Colorado, Nevada and Texas and internationally in Shanghai, Hong Kong and London and over 2,000 agents. Intero also plans to further expand into the international market with offices scheduled to open in Malaysia, Beijing, Vietnam, Philippines, Netherlands and Turkey.

“While other companies have been forced to pull back in this market – cutting services and slashing budgets – we continue to innovate and embrace change,” concludes Intero President and CEO, Gino Blefari. “Robert Cruz has done a tremendous job with the Silver Creek branch and I expect our move will help better establish the Intero brand in the Silver Creek community as more consumers and agents gravitate to our company’s unique offerings.”

Intero Silver Creek
5609 & 5613 Silver Creek Valley Road
San Jose, CA 95138
408.574.5000

http://www.interorealestate.com/offices/silvercreek

About the Intero® brand
Founded in 2002, Intero Real Estate Services, Inc. has quickly become one of the premier real estate brands in the U.S. In 2004, Intero Franchise Services Inc. began franchising and currently is operating in many of the western states. In 2009, Intero International Franchise Services, LLC embarked on developing territories in Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Americas. The companies are private and headquartered in California’s Silicon Valley.