JBGoodwin’s family atmosphere helps it earn the top spot for the sixth time in the past eight years.
During a sluggish year for San Antonio ’s housing market and a settlement that changed how people buy and sell homes nationwide, the leaders of JBG oodwin Realtors said they have focused on education. That meant reminding real estate agents that the frenzied pace of sales they saw during the pandemic isn’t the norm historically, filming videos about the market for social media and discussing down payment assistance programs and the perks builders are offering that they can use as enticements when trying to draw buyers struggling to afford a home, said Erin Cestero , president of JBG oodwin’s San Antonio office.
“We really focus on how we can bring value to the community,” Cestero said. “That’s the way to build business.” It also meant hosting training sessions about the new rules for commissions that took effect this fall in the wake of the National Association of Realtors’ $418 million settlement and drafting scripts for agents to refer to when talking to clients. Cestero recalled that when the organization announced the changes in March, agents swarmed a sales meeting that week and they went through the lengthy agreement as a group. “Our team really leans into each other for strength, and I think that disseminates out into the industry, that our clients lean into us a resource,” Cestero said. JBGoodwin was honored as the Top Workplace among midsize employers in the San Antonio area this year, the sixth time in eight years it has earned the designation. The real estate brokerage bested dozens of other employers, including Documation of San Antonio Inc., Community Bible Church, Ben E. Keith Foods, Airrosti Rehab Centers, Generations Federal Credit Union and Jefferson Bank. J.B. Goodwin started his eponymous firm in 1972 and has since expanded it to encompass offices in the San Antonio and Austin areas with about 850 agents and staff members, including over 400 locally. The midsize employer category is for employers with 150 to 499 workers locally. JBGoodwin debuted on the Top Workplaces list in 2012, when it was No. 6 in the small employers segment, and shifted to the midsize employer list in 2016. ‘Family’ environment Agents and staff members described the brokerage as a supportive place to work in comments to Pennsylvania-based Energage, which conducted the survey that determines the Top Workplaces rankings on behalf of the San Antonio Express-News. They said they enjoy helping people with a major decision — buying or selling a home — and JBGoodwin provides them with the resources to do that effectively. They also said they appreciate the flexibility that working as an agent affords them. “I interviewed 5 different brokerages and decided that JBG was the one for me,” one agent said in the survey. “I keep getting asked to go to other brokerages and there is no way.” “I feel connected and listened to at my office. My ideas, comments, and input are important,” another respondent said. “I can make things change or improve. I have a great staff that is dedicated to making sure we perform to the best of our abilities. We are given numerous opportunities to learn and grow in our roles.” Christie Stott worked in corporate America and at her church and was also a stay-at-home mother before she joined JBGoodwin about 5½ years ago. She initially served as Cestero’s transaction coordinator and moved up in the brokerage to director of operations, the position she currently holds. In an interview, Stott praised JBGoodwin’s collegial atmosphere and said agents and staff members get along well. “Initially, I found it unusual that we refer to ourselves as a family in a work environment,” Stott said in an interview. “But the more time I spent with agents, the more I understand it here. Agents genuinely support one another. They answer questions, offer assistance, mentor, teach and volunteer to help with various charities. It’s far from the cutthroat atmosphere one might expect. “It’s a place where you come to work and you just have that peace, that joy, where you don’t dread it. That’s huge to me, because I have worked at jobs where I would cry the night before because I had to go into work. This, it’s never like that — it’s more of a privilege to me,” Stott added. F. Alberto Hernandez joined JBGoodwin as an agent 13 years ago and also rose through the ranks, holding sales management roles before becoming vice president. In an interview, he said the brokerage is a place where questions, new ideas and technology are welcome. “As this business evolves, you can’t stay static. You have to look for new ways of approaching things, new ways of marketing, new ways of putting yourself out there,” Hernandez said. “Very few places can say we’ve been around for a half century, but we’re still at the cutting edge of the market.” Weathering storms During the ups and downs in the market, Cestero said it’s important to remind her colleagues that they can navigate the shifts together, At a recent sales meeting, she said she told agents about the challenges she has faced in her career, including losing her father to cancer when she was starting out and the first time she was fired by a seller. Afterward, about 30 agents reached out to share situations they were grappling with and to ask if they could sit down to talk about it, Cestero said. Their biggest struggle currently is delivering bad news to clients, Cestero said, such as suggesting they lower their asking price if their home has been sitting on the market for months and they want to sell it. Inventory in San Antonio has ballooned amid higher mortgage rates and prices that have sidelined some prospective buyers, and the traditionally slow winter season is on the horizon. “We all have tough days and tough times, and the industry has tough times, but if we band together, we can weather that,” Cestero said.
San Antonio Inc. San Antonio Express-News Airrosti Rehab Centers JBG Jefferson Bank Generations Federal Credit Union Erin Cestero Christie Stott Jbgoodwin Realtors F. Alberto Hernandez Goodwin Energage Ben E. Keith Foods San Antonio Top Workplace Top Workplaces Community Bible Church Pennsylvania Austin America J.B. Documation
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