Star Real Estate Names 2005 President’s Circle Winners

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ORANGE COUNTY, CA -- February 28, 2006 -- Recently, Star Real Estate held their annual awards ceremony to name the 2005 President’s Circle Winners. These awards recognize the top 10% (Four Star) and top 1% (Five Star) of Star’s earners. In addition, the top overall team and individual earners are named. This year over 60 people were named to the President’s Circle and received their awards in front of a company-wide ceremony.

Frank McDowell, Star’s chief executive officer, stated "Star is proud to have some of the top producers in Southern California, and they’ve worked hard to serve our customers and keep us competitive. Being the market leader in our area helps our new agents become successful very quickly. We appreciate the high standards of professionalism exhibited by our agents."

The overall top individual producer is Sean Grange, an agent from the SeaCliff office. Terry Reay, manager of the SeaCliff office said, "Sean is very professional and has an excellent ‘can do’ attitude. All of his clients are extremely satisfied with him and because of this he has a terrific referral base."

The overall top producing team is The Sterling Team, which includes Pat Shipley, Jenny Buettner, and Lisa Knott, from Star’s Harbour Homes office. Dean Zitko, manager of the Harbour Homes office stated, "This mother-daughter team has energy, knowledge and drive; loaded with personality they handle any and all situations with confidence and ease."

At the President’s Circle Luncheon held at The Ritz Restaurant in Newport Beach, Dick Rafferty stated, "These agents have figured out the key to success. Every year we add several new agents in addition to those who have consistently performed well.  We enjoy congratulating them for their outstanding performance in 2005."

Jacqui Giordano, director of recruiting and career development for Star added, "I get so excited when I see the newly recruited agents being named to the President’s Circle for their earnings, sometimes even in their first year of business."  

Star Closes Over 2 Billion in Gross Sales in 2005In 2005 Star Real Estate closed just over $2,150 Billion in gross sales and completed 3,013 transactions. Frank McDowell stated, "Even with the increased competition, 2005 was our best year ever and we managed to maintain our position as the area market leader with a 39.7% overall market share. Our average home sales price is $717,000, up 18% from last year. We are looking forward to an excellent 2006."

Dick Rafferty, Star’s president, added "80% of the real estate transactions completed in our local area are handled by the top three firms. Among these top three, Star’s market share stands at 49.1%, which means we’re handling nearly half of all the local transactions." About Star  Star Real Estate, one of Orange County’s leading independently owned real estate companies, serves the community with both residential and commercial real estate services. Headquartered in Fountain Valley, Star has 500 Realtors and 8 area offices which service Huntington Beach, Sunset Beach, Garden Grove, Costa Mesa, Westminster and Long Beach. Star Real Estate divisions and entities include: Terra Mortgage, powered by Countrywide; Advantage One Escrow; Star Investment Group; The Leading Real Estate Companies of The World Relocation Division; and affiliation with Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate.

For more information on Star Real Estate and affiliated services, go to www.starrealestate.com, or call 1-800-766-Star.