Q & A WITH ONE OF AMERICA’S TOP FIVE REAL ESTATE AGENTS: SEAN STANFIELD OF FIRST TEAM REAL ESTATE
A brand-new national awards event sponsored by The Wall Street Journal and REAL Trends titled “The Real Estate Top 200” has named Sean Stanfield of Huntington Beach as America’s fifth highest-ranking agent in individual sales volume.
At First Team Real Estate, where Stanfield has been an agent since 1991, all are proud of their Teammate Stanfield’s distinction – though no one is surprised by it. Stanfield was recently honored at the company’s legendary “Hall of Fame” gala for Top Overall Units, Top Overall Sales Units, and Top Overall Sales Volume (approximately $130 million) in 2006. His is a familiar face at the celebrated gala: Stanfield has been First Team’s “#1 Top Producer” every year since 1998, consistently outselling nearly 2,000 First Team agents in 38 offices located throughout Southern California, including Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties plus the Coachella Valley.
We recently talked to Sean from his office in Huntington Beach’s spectacular Sea Cliffs development about his accomplishments.
Q: HOW DID YOU DO IT – HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO RANK AMONG THE TOP FIVE REAL ESTATE AGENTS IN THE U.S.?
A: I have great tools and support from the company at First Team, and within my own organization, Stanfield Residential Group, I go even further with marketing. Combined, it absolutely blows away the competition. Also, I was born and raised in Huntington Beach, so I know the area and its people very well. I’ve been doing this for 19 years – I started when I was 18. Although I’m known for high-end properties, I focus on the whole range of real estate, from condos to expensive homes and everything between. I work just as hard now as I did when I was 18, if not harder. You’d think I’d kick back, put my feet up, and take a month or a year off, but I really love what I do.
Q: HOW MUCH REAL ESTATE HAVE YOU SOLD IN YOUR CAREER SO FAR?
A: I’ve sold well over 1,000 homes. I’ve had more than $1 billion in sales volume, and exceeded that of any other agent in Huntington Beach year after year. I have the highest sales in Huntington Beach, at $5.65 million. I also specialize in areas of Surfside and Sunset Beach, and have the highest sales there, too, at $7.4 million. The key, though, is that I built my business selling condos and worked my way to the multi-million-dollar homes, but I’ve never stopped selling the full run of price ranges. I think that’s important.
Q: LET’S GET THIS STRAIGHT: YOU’VE BEEN WITH FIRST TEAM REAL ESTATE FOR 16 OF THE 19 YEARS YOU’VE BEEN A REAL ESTATE AGENT. SURELY OTHER REAL ESTATE COMPANIES HAVE TRIED TO LURE YOU AWAY?
A: (laughing) Oh, I’ve been promised the moon from other companies, believe me. The thing is, none of the others comes close to First Team, or else I’d be there. We have highly successful people who’ve been with First Team for 29, 30 years – several people, not just one or two. That says volumes about a company in an industry where agents typically change companies a dozen times in their careers.
Q: WHAT MAKES FIRST TEAM SO DIFFERENT?
A: The thing that strikes me the most is the strength of the leadership – specifically, the owner, Cam Merage. He has such foresight. He looks ahead at what the next trends are going to be, and implements changes at First Team to meet them. When other companies are just catching on to a change in the market, we’ve already seen it coming and adapted to it.
Another big thing, aside from incredible research tools and marketing support that none of the other companies have matched, is follow-through. My manager, Chuck Grant, is the type of manager who, if you really want to work and dedicate yourself to your business, will sit down and put together a business plan that will let you achieve your goals if you stick with it. He did it for me, and in fact, he helped me achieve far beyond my goals – I never dreamed I’d be able to sell the amount of homes I’ve sold.
Q: YOU WERE BORN AND RAISED IN HUNTINGTON BEACH. HOW HAS THAT HELPED YOU IN YOUR CAREER?
A: The most obvious thing is that I’ve seen all the changes over the years of going from a sleepy beach community to what it is today, and I think that gives me an edge. Another thing is that to me, it’s a small town. I recognize people everywhere. Both of my children had the same kindergarten teacher that I had. I helped some of the people I went to school with get into their first homes, and then when it came time for them to move up into bigger homes, I was there for them again. They’ve referred me to other people and other classmates, and it’s just gone from there.
Q: WITH SO MANY LUXURY HOMES IN HUNTINGTON BEACH, WHY HAVEN’T YOU FOCUSED EXCLUSIVELY ON THAT MARKET?
A: I’ll never stop selling in the full gamut of price ranges. I sell people a home for $3 million, and they have children, brothers, and sisters that are in more of an average price range, so you can’t help but not sell those, also. Besides, it’s always especially exciting – or maybe I should say satisfying – with first-time buyers when you’ve done well by them. I love Huntington Beach, and it’s always a treat to help people who thought living here was beyond their means, reach their dream.
Q: WHAT’S THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT HUNTINGTON BEACH REAL ESTATE?
A: They don’t know that it’s one of, if not the, most affordable beach communities in Southern California, and it has a huge variety of properties in every price range. We have tract homes, we have country club homes, we have dock-oriented harbor homes, we have equestrian homes, we have entry level condos – in fact, I just sold a condo last week for $380,000 that’s only a half mile from the coast. The reality is that Huntington Beach delivers the biggest bang for your buck when it comes to the beach-oriented lifestyle.
Q: WITH ALL YOUR YEARS OF SUCCESS, AREN’T YOU AFRAID OF GETTING BORED OR BURNING OUT?
A: Oh, it’s not drudgery. Its never been drudgery at all. I did feel a bit wiped out a few years ago – I sold a home every day in February of 2004. But then I brought my older sister, Michelle Greer, on board with me at Stanfield Residential Group. She rejuvenated me. In fact, I’ve expanded my business to include the Coachella Valley from Palm Springs to La Quinta, because I’ve had a love of the desert since I was a kid and I know first-hand that Orange County and the desert community have a close connection. But I’m 37, I don’t play golf, and I don’t take long vacations. My family and my work are the two things I enjoy the most. I have a phenomenal wife, Cindy. Our son, Colin, is six, and our daughter, Sarah, is nine. I drop the kids off at school every morning and I’m the first one in at the office. I love what I do.
Q: WHY? WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT IT?
A: I know this sounds like a cliché, but I enjoy making the dream of home ownership come true for people. To do that, and to give them good guidance in what for many is the largest single transaction they’ll make in their lives, and then when you’re done to get a smile, a handshake, a hug, or whatever – it’s a good feeling. It’s really almost addictive.
Q: THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO TALK WITH US.
A: You’re welcome!
As the #1 independent real estate company in Southern California for sales volume and the #1 independent in the state of California for total transactions, First Team is one of the largest privately held real estate companies in the country. According to the 2007 National Real Estate and Relocation Magazine Power Broker Report, First Team increased their ranking this year from #11 to the #10 real estate company in the nation for overall sales volume. Founded in 1976 with five agents in one office, First Team is now home to over 2,000 sales associates and over 300 employees in 38 offices across the region. Visit www.firstteam.com for details.