Red Hawk Realty Co-Owner and Broker Receives Recognition in SDAR 2022 Circle of Excellence Award
The Greater San Diego Association of Realtors (SDAR) announced its list of premier brokers for 2022 including Red Hawk Realty’s Donn Bree. Circle of Excellence winners are determined based on client and member submissions for integrity, professionalism, and ethics. The winners are selected by industry colleagues through votes before the prestigious SDAR Awards event. The “Awards of Excellence” and “Recognition of Excellence” acknowledge outstanding service to the Association, its members, the community, and the real estate industry as a whole.
The backcountry brokerage located in Santa Ysabel, known as the gateway to the Historic Town of Julian, started with just Donn Bree, but now has a network of a dozen agents working throughout the Southern California region. When asked about his plans for the brokerage, Bree stated:
“Developing the talented people of this brokerage is what’s next! Simply put, we are in the business of people. High levels of brokerage expertise and experience are essential to helping our clients buy and sell property.”
Q&A With Donn Bree
Q: What makes rural California interesting from a real estate perspective?
DB: There are many ways a property can differ in the rural backcountry compared with traditional residential properties. When it comes to ranching and high-end real estate, no two properties are the same. I’ve seen unpermitted improvements, boundary disputes, unregistered land, and more. For those reasons, there’s often more litigation in today’s rural markets. For buyers and sellers in the backcountry, it’s essential to find a real estate broker with high expertise and specialized experience.
Q: What makes today’s rural markets different from the past?
DB: In the past, there’s been a lack of capital through the middle and upper tiers of buyers. Due to prolonged periods of economic stimulation, there is ample capital available today. In the San Diego backcountry, there is significant demand for quality San Diego real estate with an exceedingly limited inventory. Recession-proof cash buyers interested in high-end ranching are everywhere.
Q: What are the most common questions you field from your clients? What’s hot right now?
DB: Investment diversification, rare, and undervalued properties for short-term and long-term holding are popular. Properties that they can buy, develop and sell in the short-term OR pristine land to buy and hold for long-term mitigation. Other questions are typically about our process. Our initial focus always goes from the property in question to negotiating a deal.
Q: What are the biggest changes you have experienced in real estate over the past 4 decades?
DB: Technology, risk mitigation, and teamwork.
Technology. The speed of communication between all parties to a real estate transaction. The ability to message existing and potential clients in continuously evolving ways.
Risk mitigation. With more environmental issues legislated into play regularly, the scope and volume of investigations, reports, and disclosures have created several new specialized fields within the industry.
Teamwork. Teamwork makes the dream work. With the demands technology and risk management bring to a real estate transaction, establishing and operating a successful and adaptable brokerage requires a well-trained team of real estate specialists.
Donn Bree and the Red Hawk Realty Team