Real Estate Round-Up: An article about yours truly

I started writing "Real Estate Round-Up" in January. The topics focus on subjects that affect home ownership, property rights or the ins and outs of selling real estate. This week, I am reprinting an article written about me by our local realtor association, The North San Diego County Association of Realtors (NSDCAR). I hope you enjoy getting to know me through this article.

NSDCAR REALTOR® member Kim Murphy of Fallbrook has served on the NSDCAR board of directors (2008 to 2012) and has served as an NSDCAR California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) director since 2011.

She currently serves on C.A.R.’s Strategic Planning and Finance Committee. This committee evaluates tools, programs and financing for C.A.R. It’s not an understatement to say this particular C.A.R. committee is crucial to the future of the real estate profession. This committee looks into the future to consider what might happen to our industry.

Kim is in her first year of a three-year term on this committee. After 20 years of working in the apparel industry, she began her real estate career in November 1997 with husband Chris Murphy. They opened Murphy and Murphy Southern California Realty in June 2012. Kim has concerns about the future of real estate and she recently shared her thoughts.

Beware of the disruptors:

The focus of the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee is to help REALTORS® retain their position in the marketplace in the face of all the disruptors and other economic or industry challenges. Consider that only 31 percent of C.A.R. members closed 10 or more transactions in 2017, and one quarter of C.A.R. members did not sell a single unit. Disruptors are entities or philosophies that threaten the role of REALTORS® as the key partner to our clients. Disruptors have the potential of fundamentally altering our industry. For example, technology mavericks are telling consumers today, “You don’t need a REALTOR®, because you can do this easier and cheaper without them.”

Why disruptors are dangerous:

Today’s disruptors are backed by Wall Street capital. We are at a point where competitiveness means rewriting long-standing protocols in a way that the real estate business has not faced before. Well-funded, Wall Street investors are seeing dollar signs, that’s why it’s a dangerous time for our industry. Their promise of an on-demand consumer experience could upend the existing MLS system, revise how homes are bought and sold and displace the traditional roles of brokers and agents.

What does the future hold?

If anything, serving on this C.A.R. committee has taught me one thing: our destiny is up to us, the future is in our own hands. We have the opportunity to rethink our business, and leverage our experience. Yes, it may be time to reject old bureaucracies and outdated systems. It’s a great committee because we’re discussing how to engage our membership and provide the budget and the tools they need to take on those disruptors. If we make the right moves, we can still remain as the “Champions of Home.”

Benefits of C.A.R. participation:

On one hand, real estate is local. But on the other hand, real estate is as big as you make it because our clients come and go from different locations in California and between states. Our state association does an outstanding job at watching the national trends and how they can impact the California market. California is a trendsetter.

Change is nothing new:

For 20 years, my husband and I worked in the surf apparel industry. At one time, I was regional sales manager for Ocean Pacific Apparel Corp., a company that pioneered the surf clothing brand. I went on to become the vice president of sales for Gotcha and eventually with my husband started our own business. But then, our investor sued us for our own company. The legal activity was debilitating. We decided to make a change. Because we were salespeople at heart, we felt that we could be successful in real estate, but it hasn’t been easy.

How to survive in real estate:

I’ve seen new agents believe the lie that all it takes is getting your license and the cash faucet will automatically turn on. Nothing could be farther from the truth. With dedication and perseverance and faith in God, we have survived the economy’s ups and downs when the inventory and buyers and sellers were nowhere to be found. When a challenge hits you, your outcome will be determined by your next step. Is it focused on the challenge or focused on where you’re headed?

Key to success in real estate:

Real estate takes hard work. Our focus has been on serving clients. If you only go after money, you’ll never have enough. But, if your priority is serving your client, then you’ll make more money than you need. We don’t use lockboxes. We personally meet buyer’s agents at the property. My husband and son are terrific “hunters,” they meet with new clients on the front-end. As the broker, I oversee the transactions and contracts. We’re also very involved in supporting charities in our community. We believe in giving back.

Advice for NSDCAR members:

I borrowed this inspiration from Gino Blefari, an industry leader, because it is a truth to me: Don’t be afraid of change and don’t join the easy crowd where the expectations are low or where they don’t care. Keep learning and growing. Go to where the expectations are high, where you will be challenged to study, ready, change, develop and learn the next skill. Because it’s the challenge that creates the mental muscle, the vocal muscle, the actual physical muscle to become better, stronger, wiser and unique.

Kim Murphy can be reached at [email protected] or (760) 415-9292 or at 130 N. Main Avenue, in Fallbrook. Her broker license is No. 01229921, and she is on the board of directors for the California Association of Realtors.