George Spohrer has been the broker and co-owner of Ponte Vedra Beach Realty for 11 years.
BEFORE PONTE VEDRA
BEACH REALTY?
He owned a Coldwell Banker franchise, Coldwell Banker Jennings Spohrer Realty. Before that, he worked for Watson Realty. He has been in the real estate business for 30 years.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO REAL ESTATE?
After college he was drafted into the Army during the 1960’s and was stationed in Germany. Two years later, he went to work for the Gillette Company.
“I was hired by Gillette in Tampa and was moved to Jacksonville. The career path ahead of me then was probably a good one, but it involved about six or eight moves over a 20-year career. I really didn’t want to do that. I loved the Beaches and Ponte Vedra and I saw a lot of opportunity here. I started looking for a career that would be challenging and yet enabled me to stay in this area. I discovered real estate and it has been a good career.”
COLLEGE
He has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut.
WHAT DOES HE DO AT PONTE VEDRA REALTY?
He primarily lists and sells Beaches and Ponte Vedra Beach property. He also does a little bit of real estate development through Ponte Vedra East LLC, a development company he has formed with two partners.
WHAT ARE THEY DEVELOPING?
A new community called Ponte Vedra East which will have 19 single family homes. The price range for the homes is $560,000-$900,000 and so far six have been sold. They are also selling lots starting at $165,000. “The buyer can either use our builder, Arthur Rutenberg Homes/Marcus Allen Homes, or they can select their own builder.”
WHERE DID YOU GET
THE LAND?
“We purchased the land in smaller parcels and eventually assembled the entire site which is about 12 acres. We then had to get the land re-platted and then developed it. We have been working on it for about two years. There is virtually no land left. You certainly can’t go out and buy 50 acres of undeveloped land at the beach, so we are going to have to be creative and piecing pieces of property together.”
MORE DEVELOPMENTS?
“We’d love to do more, but it will probably be west of the waterway.”
WHAT’S GOING ON AT
THE BEACH?
“While I certainly feel the prices have moved up significantly, they are still a good value when compared with other beach-front communities in Florida. The people who are selling homes in New York, New Jersey and Ohio to come here don’t have the same reaction to the prices that our local people here do. If you come down and compare our prices to Sarasota, Palm Beach area or even the Daytona area, our values are very good. I think they will continue to move up because people will continue to want to live at the beach.”
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT REAL ESTATE?
“I like the independence of it and working with different types of people. I’ve made a lot of good friends over the years. Every day is different. I have a new adventure every day when I come to work.”
HOW HAS REAL ESTATE CHANGED OVER THE YEARS?
“I’ve had to be pretty versatile to survive. There have been a lot of changes over the years. Certainly technology is changing as it is changing many industries. There are probably going to be fewer people working in the business who will be working more productively with technology. That would be my prediction. I do not think that technology will ever replace the individual. Technology may help you identify properties in which you have an interest, but you still need a person to show it to you, answer your questions, identify your needs and help you meet those needs.”
ADVICE TO
NEW AGENTS?
“I can sincerely say there has never been a better time to be in real estate. Interest rates are at a 40-year low. Many people are looking for investment alternatives to the stock market. Florida is experiencing and will experience for the next 10 years an infusion of baby boomers who are moving to Florida. They are coming to Florida to buy a condominium, townhome or a home for a retirement home. The Beaches, Mandarin and Orange Park will continue to develop as bedroom communities for Jacksonville as Jacksonville grows.”
NOTABLE FAMILY MEMBERS?
His younger brother is Bob Spohrer, a partner at Spohrer, Wilner, Maxwell & Matthews, a downtown Jacksonville law firm. “He’s my kid brother. Invariably when someone speaks of Bob, they speak very highly of him, so that’s good.”
FAMILY
He has been married to Shirley for 16 years. They have two children, Erika and Alexandra.
HOBBIES
Reading, music, tennis and distance running. He runs the River Run every year and has run six or seven marathons.
PAST OFFICES
He is a past president of the Beaches Association of REALTORS® and a founding president of the Ponte Vedra Association of REALTORS®. He also has been an instructor of the License Law course and the GRI course.
RESIDES
Sawgrass Beach Club.
FAMOUS CLIENTS?
He has dealt with several professional football players, a rock musician and the heir to the Coca-Cola family, Asa Candler. “It is fun, you never know who is going to walk in the door.”
FAVORITES
His favorite movie is “Forrest Gump”. A book he read recently and recommends is “Leadership” by Rudolph Giuliani. His favorite place to visit is Islamorada in the Florida Keys. When dining out, he enjoys Barbara Jean’s, located on Solano Road.
— by Michele Newbern Gillis