Reeza Gervacio: Topnotch Realtor

Hard work, persistence, and a unique marketing style have enabled Fil-Am Reeza Gervacio to break through the mainstream market, making her a stand-out in the highly competitive world of real estate

March 2002

Five years ago, when Reeza Gervacio decided to become a realtor, she had one goal in mind: to be a top- notch professional in the real estate world.

She clinched her very first sale in the City of Cerritos, a transaction that seemed quite easy on the surface, but one that she says taught her a lot of things not only about the business, but more importantly, about the practical world in general.

"I was thrilled, but I was so naive. I thought all transactions would be that easy. In the practical world, things don't come so easily. There's a lot of groping and adjusting. I had to learn new skills and work even harder," the convent-bred Filipino-American reveals.

Becoming a realtor came easily to Gervacio, who acquired a certificate of completion of a self-study course in real estate principles in one month. The certificate is a requirement for taking the state licensure examination for real estate agents, which she passed just as easily.

The next few months however, were not as easy, as Gervacio spent the time "soul-searching" and trying to find her "niche" in the profession. She actually set aside her license in favor of 9-to-5 jobs at several financial companies before finally asserting herself in the real estate profession by joining Century 21 Astro in Cerritos, California.

Since then, Gervacio has become a stand-out, from the first year when she bagged Century 21's Rookie of the Year Award until today, as she continues to garner accolades from industry leaders as well as her peers. Recognizing her top-notch performance, Century 21 has named Gervacio its Centurion Awardee two years in a row (2000 and 2001).

According to Century 21 Corporation's president and CEO Van Davis, "the Centurion Award is a symbol of excellence earned by an elite group of Century 21 producers...and represents the depth of talent and experience found within the Century 21 system."

Just recently, Gervacio received the Centurion trophy from top officials of the New Jersey-based Century 21 Corporation during formal awarding ceremonies at the Queen Mary in Long Beach. In commending Gervacio for an "outstanding year," Davis cited her "commitment and dedication to the organization" and for demonstrating" exceptional professional standards and dedication to clients."

Last year was no different in terms of industry recognition for Gervacio. She was Century 21 Astro's Top Listing Agent and Top Farming Agent for the year and was specifically named by the company as its top listing agent for January and May, and top farming agent for January, February, April, May, June, August, September and October of last year. In a span of only three years, Gervacio managed to rise to "superstar status" since joining Century 21 Astro, ranked Number 2 out of 150 Century 21 offices in the Coastal, Valley/Inland and Los Angeles Region. It is currently ranked Number 33 in the entire country.

In 2001, Gervacio was Century 21 Astro's third highest ranking real estate agent out of 103 agents. She ranked 64 out of 5,375 real estate agents in the region and has sold more properties in the Hillsborough and Somerset communities than any other agent since January 2000, garnering 31.82 of the market share.

According to Century 21 Astro owners and brokers Lou Rosenkranz and Carol Rayburn, "It has been a delight to watch Reeza grow her business through her enthusiasm, ethics and professionalism into something that is admired by her peers. Her motivation comes not from wanting to do more business but rather from her desire to make her clients' transition from one home to another as easy and uncomplicated as possible. When you build a reputation of quality service for your clients, the business seems to find you instead of you always looking for new clients. Reeza has been able to accomplish this through her concern and dedication to her clients."

From her own perspective, the awards are important to Gervacio because it underscores her ability to consistently weather the ups and downs of a highly volatile market. In the wake of the September 11 tragedy, when pundits were declaring that the U.S. economy was down and lack of consumer confidence would adversely affect the real estate market, Gervacio was busily closing transactions.

"I can only speak of the local market," Gervacio clarifies modestly. "I know there are actually some of us who are experiencing this kind of upswing business. Everyday, we get a lot of conflicting information about the market. But my personal experience is that people are still buying and selling houses more than ever, and gloomy forecasts have not affected this trend on the local level. In my "farm" which are the hillside communities of Hillsborough, Somerset and Westridge, I have been getting multiple offers, sometimes at full or even above price."

As an added feather to her cap, Gervacio has also managed to break through the mainstream market, using a unique and aggressive marketing style that involves passing out highly-attractive, professionally-designed promotional materials, heavy usage of the Multiple Listing Service on the Internet, and a very "personal touch" that has become the hallmark of her professional service.

It is this "personal touch" that has made her a standout in a highly competitive business that deals with the buying and selling of what Gervacio calls "the single most valuable and important investment for most people: a home."

For her part, Gervacio attributes her success to hard work, creativity and persistence.

According to entrepreneurs Shailesh and Jaishree Rama, they found out about Gervacio through her door hangers and fliers which she sends religiously to prospective clients. Eventually, they contacted her when they decided to sell their house in Hillsborough.

"She was very professional. I deal with a lot of agents in my business, but Reeza's service was perfect. At the time she was selling our house, she also sold two more houses. I've seen other houses for sale and the agents couldn't sell them for over a year. Reeza could sell houses pretty fast and got a very good price for them. That's what she did for us. She's the perfect realtor," Rama says.

On any given day, including weekends, her appointment book is filled with names of people who want to sell or buy properties. And while her phone keeps ringing off the hook, while her pager buzzes constantly and as the volume of paperwork increases, Gervacio nevertheless still manages to spend hours of undisturbed time with clients. Clients credit her for her patience and diligence, particularly in explaining crucial details about the process of selling or buying, and generally making herself available to them at their convenience.

"I always send my clients a thank you note after the transaction," Gervacio says. "Their satisfaction is the most compelling reward of my job. When clients say to me that I'm part of their family now because I helped them purchase their home, it gives me great pride in my accomplishment."

For someone who started out in the business with the long-term goal of becoming a top-notch professional real estate agent, Gervacio has, in a relatively short time, surpassed everyone's expectations, including her own.

Her phenomenal rise from the ranks to superstar status is perhaps best described by Lou Rosenkranz, Century 21 Astro's broker and owner who says that Gervacio's remarkable professional growth is due to "her concern for clients, organizational skills and tenacity. Each of the foregoing attributes standing on their own will make a good real estate agent. Any two of them and you have more than average agent, verging on excellence. With all these, you have Reeza Gervacio, a 'superstar' in the real estate profession."