With 33 years in the real estate industry, Mary Holder has a 160-agent, seven-office firm serving the heart of the “Jersey Shore.” Her 17-year-old firm is the newest member of the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate family and the first New Jersey franchisee. In addition, Mary is the first woman broker/owner to join the franchise.

Email Mary

This is absolutely the best time to make this change. First, I am always looking for new ways to bring business into the company. We are a good brand in our market area, but it’s easier to increase business when you have a great name like Better Homes and Gardens that everyone has known since 1924. Second, my children are looking to take over the company one day, and there are excellent businesspeople on the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate team. It really took a load off my shoulders.

Most importantly, I do not believe a small or mid-sized broker can afford the technology it takes to continue to thrive and prosper in the coming years.

I have the utmost respect for Sherry Chris (Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate CEO). She has very carefully selected her team members and I have a tremendous level of confidence in them. We took our management team up to Parsippany (N.J.) to meet them. I also met privately with our company’s top influencers prior to our announcement. I was so proud that our agents gave Sherry and her team a standing ovation when they came in for the announcement.

There are e-newsletters and staging tools online; there are so many other benefits we are still discovering. My agents are now free to list and sell and I’m free to work on expanding my company. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate offers comprehensive tools and I don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

My favorite tool is the yard sign – I love it, and that’s 50 percent of your image right there. In addition, many of our buyers are not from the Jersey Shore area, and tend to use the Internet and social media to find summer homes. Our new online presence will be much more relevant to our buyers and sellers.

We are fortunate to serve both Ocean and Monmouth counties, so we have year-round business covering both shore towns and bedroom communities for New York City. Our company is in the top 2 percent of sold dollar volume out of 500 brokers in Central Jersey. So even in the challenging market conditions that hit at the end of 2008, we still maintained our dominant position. But we can’t rest on our laurels.

I have a wonderful staff with loads of experience and our infrastructure is very strong. I have the vision to grow and develop our company, and now I have the best tools to grow my business. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate has more than enhanced all of this.

Real estate makes such a difference in people’s lives; it’s usually their most expensive investment. Our agents are well trained and very professional, and help buyers make good choices. I know it sounds trite, but honesty, integrity and fairness to all is something my company lives by.

What I also enjoy is seeing the Realtors who work with me and watch their quality of life change. I’ve seen single mothers put their children through college. I’ve seen them buy a home and make investments in real estate. You know, I’d rather put my money in real estate than the stock market. You can’t rent out your stock certificates!

Email to Mary