The April 18, 2008 issue of the Pittsburgh Business Times includes the List For Largest Residential Real Estate Firms and Achieve Realty now stands at number eleven, up one notch from last year. The climb results from a 24% increase in year-over-year sales volume, not to mention another banner year of recruiting.

“We’re delighted with the results,” stated Kristen Stokes, Achieve’s President. “We’re very proud of our agents. They work really hard and we’re constantly getting positive feedback from our clients,” she added.

Excluding Howard Hanna and Northwood Realty, Achieve Realty is the only “non-affiliated” company among the top 18 firms on the list. “Our growth continues to prove that we don’t need to buy a franchise in order to succeed,” stated Stokes. “Furthermore,” she stated, “our retention rate remains at nearly 100%. I’m confident that we’ll continue to climb the list as we continue to add agents to our ranks at a steady rate.”

Wexford, PA, September 16, 2007 - Every year brings new challenges to real estate agents, and staying ahead of the curve is critically important to agents who desire to meet those challenges. To help its’ sales professionals reach even greater results, Achieve Realty, Inc. announced today the launch of a comprehensive online career center exclusively for its agents.

"In order to recruit and retain high-quality agents in this fast-changing market, broker/owners need to differentiate themselves and one way we’ve chosen to do so is to offer first-class online training for our agents," says Kristen Stokes, President of Achieve Realty, Inc. "The real estate industry is changing fast and this change is creating lots of opportunities. Our continued success depends upon how we take advantage of those opportunities."

The Career Center includes the following educational and training services for agents:

• Individual web-based business planning tool for each agent with weekly marketing to-do lists and accountability tracking;
• Over 100 hours of skills-based classes covering such topics as experienced agent training; negotiating, prospecting, farming, team strategy and internet marketing;
• The largest online real estate mentoring library of money-making strategies delivered by over 200 of the industry’s top producers;
• Access to online licensing and continuing education (CE) classes;
• Online Access to a wide range of real estate designations classes such as ABR, ASR, CNS and AHS;
• Special reports covering such topics as customer acquisition, profitability, bundled services, business planning and technology;
• Additional resources including: daily industry news, blogs from industry experts, online dictionary and career newsletters; and
• New online courses and content added every week.

This project has been in the works for many months with the industry leader in career development services, RealtyU, a California company. "We are excited to work with a company as progressive as Achieve Realty, "says Bill Shue, President of RealtyU. "This company has made the commitment to invest in the future of its agents and to create the best trained agents in its market."

About  RealtyU
Formed in 1995, RealtyU has developed into the nation’s largest real estate career development corporation for real estate brokers and agents. RealtyU has numerous investments in the real estate education and real estate training arena, including RealtyU, Inc., iSucceed, Inc., CreateAPlan, Inc., Seller Agency Council, Inc., CourseDates.com, Real Estate Apprentice Foundation, Inc. and Broker Agent Speakers Bureau, Inc. With over 200 campuses, 32 websites and online educational services and over 300,000 agents trained in 2006, the RealtyU group of companies educates approximately one out of every five REALTORS(R) every year.

Read more here: Download first_personv2.pdf

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1.    After only our second calendar year in business (2006), we’re now ranked #12 on the Pittsburgh Business Times List of Largest Real Estate Brokerages (up from #15 in 2005).

2. 2006 saw a 135% growth in sales volume. The next closes competitor was 28% growth.

3. No one has left the company due to dissatisfaction.

4. Our compensation plan hasn’t changed since our inception.

5. 50 REALTORS(R) now proudly hang their licenses at Achieve.

6. Achieve Realty is the only real estate brokerage in Pittsburgh, PA with a blog. Actually, there are four. The other three are here, here and here.

7. Our office moved to 10475 Perry Highway, right in the middle of the Wexford "flats." Our office is now 4,600 square feet with plenty of room for more agents.

8. Each of our listings are syndicated throughout the internet.

9. In 2006, 14 (30%) of our agents were $3M+ producers.

10. 21 of our agents are former RE/MAX agents who are delighted to not have bills.

11. Our Butler Office is opening soon.

12. Our newest recruit, Jeanne Pangonis-Felitsky is a top producing agent from Howard Hanna Real Estate.

March 25, 2007 (Wexford, PA)  The March 23, 2007 issue of the Pittsburgh Business Times featured a list entitled "Largest Pittsburgh-Area Residential Real Estate Firms." The order on the List was determined based upon 2006 gross sales (in dollars). Once again, Achieve Realty made the list, advancing to #12 from #15 last year.

The List included a column entitled "Percent change from 2005." Achieve Realty’s Percent change from 2005 is 135%. Second place in the Percent change column is Why USA Homes For U Realty, who posted a 28% increase. Other noteworthy percent changes are RE/MAX CSI (-21%) and Keller Williams Realty - North Hills Division (-19.1%).

Achieve Realty owner Kristen Stokes stated, "we’re very proud of our accomplishments. The percentage gain, by anyone’s standards, is phenomenal. This is a testament that our agent-centric model works. We have differentiated ourselves from everyone else."

Achieve Vice-President Lawton Stokes stated, "we are very fortunate to work with such a talented group of REALTORS(R). They never cease to amaze us with their work ethic, professionalism and creativity. Also, our support staff is second to none."

In response to the recent announcement by Westinghouse Electric Company’s Nuclear Division, Achieve Realty has created an informative site dedicated to Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania.

Achieve Realty is proud to announce another "first" for the Pittsburgh real estate market. This time, we’re the first company to feature video tours of our listings. This dynamic new way of displaying homes for sale will soon be commonplace.

When Achieve Realty opened in the Spring of 2004, we were the first residential real estate brokerage in Pittsburgh to display our web site directly on our sign panel.

As usual, Achieve Realty is on the cutting edge of technology, providing services to our customers that are otherwise unheard - in the Pittsburgh residential real estate marketplace.

Inman Wiki is the world’s largest real estate encyclopedia. And while you’re there, don’t miss our entry.

Our listings are now also online here.

Achieve Realty is the first real estate brokerage in Pittsburgh to syndicate its listings! Shortly, we will be syndicating the entire West Penn Multi-List for no charge and with no strings attached.

In order to view our listings as they are posted, you must subscribe to a feed aggregator like bloglines, pageflakes, or feedraider. You’ll never look at the internet the same way again.

Effective September 1, 2006, Achieve Realty is located at 10475 Perry Highway, Suite 200, Wexford (McCandless Township), PA 15090. This address is known as the Town Centre building and it is located at the corner of Perry Highway and Weller Drive (map).  Achieve Realty will be occupying a large portion of the second floor. Click here for a guided tour of the new office!

Achieve Vice-President Lawton Stokes, stated, "our five year lease at Stonewood East has concluded. The timing could not have been better, because we need much more space." The new space in the Town Centre building is nearly 4,700 square feet, compared with 2,700 in the previous tenancy.

There are lots of private offices. Most of the agents that currently utilize the "bullpen" workstations will be moving into the private offices. New recruits are welcome to occupy the remaining private offices on a first come - first served basis. "Basically, there’s an incentive to join Achieve Realty now," stated Kristen Stokes. "If you hesitate, you may end up on a waiting list for a private office.

Besides the increased space, the new office features wireless internet connectivity, a conference room with a dramatic view overlooking the hustle-bustle of Route 19, a kitchen with an espresso machine, new carpeting, new paint and new furnishings.

At a time when the real estate industry is undergoing dramatic changes, Kristen Stokes sees the move as creating an opportunity. "Three of the four largest brokerages in Pittsburgh have built enormous offices within two miles from here. As pressure on real estate commissons heats up, increasing numbers of agents will be joining high commission companies just to maintain their financial status quo. We’ll be well positioned to catch them.

Achieve’s sister companies Allegheny Settlement Company, ARDA Custom Mortgage and Antol & Stokes, PC. Attorneys At Law are also making the move.

Where are we?

Achieve Realty New Location September 1, 2006 map - Tagzania