The office is located at 3321 S. Fletcher Ave. in Fernandina Beach.
WHO IS THE BROKER?
Presley Hollingsworth has been the broker for eight years.
WHAT DOES HE DO?
“My job is to manage the office and assist the sales associates in any way I can to help them with their sales and listings and provide support for them.”
NEW BUILDING?
They just moved to their new building in October 2002. The office originally opened three doors down from their current building in 1987.
WHAT DOES THE OFFICE SPECIALIZE IN?
Residential, property management, vacation homes and condominiums.
HOW DOES EVERYONE GET ALONG?
There are 30 agents in the office. “Numbers don’t matter that much. If you have 15 agents, then you still have 15 different personalities. Thirty just means you have more. They are all fairly compatible and get along well.”
WHO IS IN THE OFFICE?
Adrian Kelly, Andrea Hatton, Christy Burden, Dalia Keck, Danny Summersill, Dave Truluck, Debbie Kornacki, Diane Maurer, Don Cantin, Ed Greene, Gulsevil Bridges, Henry Sarwark, Janet and Phil Griffin, Jeff McKay, Jerry Dingman, John Sanner, Ken Bridges, Lisa Miller, Lynda Dahl, Lynda Wood, Marcia Brown, Mary Bunk, Melissa Freeman, Melissa Sheffield, Phil Beigbeder, Shay Cramer, Sonny Mann, Sylvie McCann, Tom O’Connell and Toni Crowder are Realtors. Holly Herkenhoff and Laurie Ligon are administrative assistants.
WHERE DOES THE OFFICE SELL?
“We have two distinct markets. We have the Northeast market and the Southeast market. In the Northeast market we have people from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In the Southeast, we have people from Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Florida. We have a large relocation market. During the winter, the Northeast people come and during the summer the Southeast people come. We have so many people transferring here. “
WHAT’S HAPPENING ON AMELIA ISLAND?
“Our business never really stops. It may slow down for a couple months, but it never stops. The other beaches experience the same thing because there is so much beach. That is why we have grown so much in the last eight years because everywhere you look, they are building. We also have a lot of relocation business.” Watson Realty is affiliated with RELO, so they get a lot of relocation business from that network. Hollingsworth said they have a lot of buyers buying second homes and vacation homes on the island. “This county is experiencing growth like the rest of the state has had and now it has come to Nassau County.”
NEW OR
SEASONED AGENTS?
Hollingsworth said he has about half and half right now. “You do a lot more training your first six months. The experienced agents may come to the training if they want to. I hold training every week. I require agents to attend for their first six months.” He said the two and a half weeks training from Watson teaches the agents everything they could possibly run into in real estate. “That’s a lot of material, so we come back here and sort of take it and break it down and focus on different topics.”
GROWING THE OFFICE?
The new building has room for 42 agents, but Hollingsworth said he is happy with the amount he has for right now. “I do not plan on adding any more at this point until I get finished training the new agents I have now.”
WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR OFFICE?
“The one thing that is our biggest strength is Bill Watson himself. The people who know him and know Watson Realty. It’s the reputation that has been built up over the 35 years he has been in business. Our biggest strength and advantage is the strength of the Watson name.”
INVOLVEMENT IN PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS?
“I encourage all my agents to get involved in a committee on the Amelia Island/Nassau County Board of Realtors. The more you work with the board, the more you become aware of what we stand for and represent in the community. The more involved you are in the association, the more you can do for your profession.”
ADVANTAGES OF HAVING SUCH A LARGE OFFICE?
“The more agents you have, the more opportunity you have to get business. If all your agents are producing, 30 will produce more than 15. The higher the number, the greater your chances of are increasing your volume.”
CHALLENGES YOUR OFFICES FACES ON THE ISLAND?
“We are a long way from being built out, whether it is resales or new construction. It may be easier if everything was resales because we have to compete with new construction. But as long as the market is growing it doesn’t matter if it is resales or new construction because the market is going to determine the price. A lot of people would rather move into an established neighborhood than new construction. One day it will all be resales.”
HOW HAS THE ISLAND CHANGED SINCE YOU CAME ON BOARD?
“Eight years ago, you would have had trouble finding a half a million dollar house, it was just not here. Now, we have $3 million, $4 million and $5 million dollar homes. We have buyers for those, just like we have buyers for the $100,000 - 150,000 homes. The higher priced property is actually moving better than the lower priced homes.” Hollingsworth said the biggest change is the older homes on the beach that have been torn down and a new house is built in its place. He said the area looks completely different with all the new homes and renovated beach houses.
INVENTORY ON
THE ISLAND?
Hollingsworth said $95,000 to $200,000 homes are what most people buy. “That is what a large percentage of the population can afford to buy. And that is where a lot of our business comes from, but we are getting more and more buyers for the $500,000 to $2 million houses.”
— by Michele Newbern Gillis