The Season to Give

Throughout the winter holidays, I’m reminded of the following: Giving to others is one of the easiest ways to create opportunity—I can’t emphasize enough how important this will be to your career.

People are always happy to receive something for free. It’s something that I learned years before I became a broker. And once I started my real estate career in Beverly Hills, I remembered the lessons from the past.

While in college I had a job telemarketing. I was responsible to fill the calendars of the sale staff. Once I’d schedule an appointment, the salesman's goal was to meet with the client and sell fire alarms.

When I’d get a prospect on the phone instead of asking, “Would you like to buy a fire alarm?” I would ask if she were interested in learning about fire safety. I’d follow up the question by offering a free gift. For example, if it were Thanksgiving, I’d ask if they wanted a free pie cutter. I ended up being one of the top telemarketers at my job.

Years later, I applied the same principal to my real estate business.

Beverly Hills has the reputation of being home to the world’s rich and famous. In fact, it's probably the most high profile place to live in the world. So what do you think my colleagues said, when I told them that I planned to build my business by giving away chocolate purchased from a school fundraiser?

What I heard was, “Are you sure about this?” And their expressions told me, “What are you thinking?” But despite the skeptics, I went ahead and bought cases of candy at my son’s school. Boxes and boxes of chocolate swelled my closets. In fact, I made my son the top producing candy seller at his school.

Many thought it was a silly idea to buy school fundraiser chocolate and give it out as a free gift. This was Beverly Hills, not Buffalo after all. Who in 90210 would want something so trivial? It turned out to be a great way to meet people.

A phone call starting with, “Hello Julie, I just bought some chocolate to raise money for Michael’s school. I wanted to know if I could drop off a free gift,” opened many doors for me. I would arrive at Julie’s home, and we would catch up with family news. This provided an ideal way to share about my new career endeavor.

Today, my children are no longer in school, and my school fundraising days are over. But the philosophy hasn’t changed: Always give to others. Happy Holidays!

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The Real State of Real Estate

As the year comes to a close, I reflect on how the housing market has taken a beating from the media. In my part of town, and many others throughout the country, the doom and gloom scenarios just aren’t true. And it’s important that insiders like me share this news to offset the fear that is instilled in buyers and sellers.

Business is still good in LA’s high end. The following is an example of what I mean. It comes from CNN/Money’s website. To read the full article, click on this link.

“Millionaire Households at Record: TNS finds those with $1 million in net worth tops 9 million for the first time.

By Jeanne Sahadi, CNNMoney.com senior writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Another year, another record for the rich. The ranks of households with a net worth of at least $1 million grew 5 percent to an all-time high of 9.3 million, according to a report released Monday.

The report, by research firm TNS, covers the year through mid-2006; the value of primary residences was not included.

The number of millionaire households has increased in each of the past four years, with the biggest growth spurt occurring in 2004, when the number of high-net-worth households jumped 33 percent.

Top 10 Millionaire Counties

As was the case last year, four of the top 10 counties with the greatest number of millionaire households are in California. Combined, those four California counties boast 561,255 millionaire households.”

Los Angeles County, which includes Beverly Hills and the Westside ranked number one in the “Top 10 Millionaire Counties” survey. For the top 10 click here.

If you’ve followed the news over the past few months, you’d think that foreclosures were as common as the hot sales a year ago. But this isn’t the case everywhere. Real estate is still in fantastic shape in many parts of the country, despite what the media may say.

In my region of the country, which includes Bevelry Hills, Brentwood, Malibu, Santa Monica, Bel Aire, and other parts of west Los Angeles, the market is still moving at a brisk pace. And it hasn’t experienced the rate of foreclosures that buyers and sellers may think were taking place everywhere. In fact, I have not experienced even one foreclosure.

It’s unfortunate that the media spotlight has focused little on real estate’s healthier side. In the meantime, buyers and sellers are reading websites and afraid that they may get burned if they act now. It’s just not true, and as professionals it’s our job to educate our clients.

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HAUTE LIVING MAGAZINE Interview

Recently, Haute Living Magazine featured an article titled “The Power Players of LA.” I was fortunate to be one of the featured brokers. To see the full article, which includes nine of my colleagues, click here. Here is a part of the interview:

Known as the First Lady of Real Estate in Beverly Hills, Myra Nourmand has successfully sold and listed numerous properties ranging from $1 million to $30 million.

While working with her husband, Stephen, and son, Michael, at Nourmand & Associates, Myra has built her real estate expertise in the luxury market. Her clientele is mainly composed of the entertainment industry’s moguls. Various television appearances, including The View and the Discovery Channel’s Hollywood Real Estate Homes, allowed Nourmand to gain trust and respect among her clients. With a new book due out in the winter, there is no sign of Nourmand slowing down.

HL: Where are you from? What attracted you to LA?

MN: I grew up on the East Coast in New Jersey and upstate New York. After spending my high school and college years in Buffalo, NY, I met my husband, got married, and decided to replace the wintry blizzards and snow with warm sunshine all year round. The weather was one of the most important factors that attracted me to LA; however, the metropolitan lifestyle was also a contributing factor.

HL: What attracted you to real estate?

MN: My husband, Saeed Nourmand, who started the company in 1976 as a high-end luxury real estate boutique. And since he lived and breathed real estate 24/7, it was an easy transition for me to become part and parcel of this family business.

HL: Who was your first mentor, and how did he or she influence you?

MN: Saeed was my first mentor, he would always say to me, “Myra, you sold me, you can sell the world.”

HL: What were your yearly sales for 2006? Forecast for 2007?
MN: My yearly sales for 2006 were just under $100,000,000 in residential sales. Projected sales for the first half of 2007 are $80,000,000.

HL: What is your most memorable deal?
MN: My most memorable deal involved a beautiful home in Beverly Hills, which I was fortunate enough to sell four different times to four different celebrities in a matter of ten years and each time the ante went up one million dollars.

HL: Where do you live?
MN: Beverly Hills – where else?

HL: What is your formula for keeping your high-end and/or high-profile clients happy?
MN: I recently wrote a book on how to sell high-end luxury real estate. It will be coming out in the winter of 2007. I have devoted a chapter on exactly how to keep your high profile and high-end clients happy, it’s called the 4 E’s of Real Estate – Effort, Expertise, Ethics, and Enthusiasm.

HL: Tell us one thing most people wouldn’t know about you.
MN: That I am a very happy homemaker. I love to cook, entertain, and work in my garden, which is why my book From Homemaker to Breadwinner is such a perfect vehicle to share my success and know-how to other real estate professionals in the country. In another life, I might have been an interior designer, florist, or a clone of Martha Stewart. I love beauty, architecture, furniture, and gardens; it is an extension of my personality.

HL: What is your proudest achievement?
MN: My proudest achievement has been the success of my children. My daughter, Nicole, is a successful pediatrician and has blessed me with two beautiful grandchildren. My son, Howard, has a post-production company, which continually redefines cutting edge aesthetics for commercial, music video, and film. My son, Michael, who has joined me in our real estate company, was recently appointed as the youngest director of the Beverly Hills Board of Realtors, and is also actively involved in all aspects of real estate from selling to administration.

HL: Where would we find you on a Friday night?
MN: Friday night is synonymous with family, friends, fun, and a feast of food.

HL: What are your favorite vacation destinations and/or leisure activities?
MN: My favorite vacation destinations are Hawaii, Mexico, and Europe. My favorite leisure activities are reading, theater, and concerts.

HL: Your forecast for the LA real estate market for 2008?
MN: Prices will continue to go up in the high-end luxury market. The demand far exceeds the supply and you know the story of supply and demand.

HL: What are your personal goals for 2008?
MN: Making Nourmand & Associates the number one high-end luxury boutique in Southern California and keeping it as a privately held firm.

HL: In your opinion, what makes LA so special?
MN: I love LA. To me it encompasses everything one could wish for: fabulous weather, an incredibly diversified mix in its population which adds interest and variety to our city. We are so privileged to have so much culture available to us – the many museums, theaters, Hollywood Bowl, Music Center, and Staples Center. Where else in the United States are you that fortunate to be able to surf in the Pacific Ocean, get in the car and two hours later ski in the snow!

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