M Realty Officially Launches in Orange County

This long overdue post formally announces what has been evidenced by several changes you’ve seen here recently on OC Real Estate Voice – I’ve made some big changes with my company and we are now M Realty! It’s been something I’ve carefully considered and am passionate about.

To explain my reasons, I have to go back a bit and explain the evolution of my business over the last year or two.  When I launched Belterra in May of 2008, I came into managing a brokerage greatly dissatisfied with the big brokerage model I had been part of in previous years.  Mass hiring, promises of quality that often felt empty, and a general sense that my clients clearly didn’t seem to care whether I worked for my own private company or a national brand.

I immediately had some long term agent relationships that expressed interest in joining Belterra, entirely unsolicited. I will confess, I thought very little about the brokerage model I was delving into. My real intent was to operate my individual business with integrity and autonomy.  Hiring like minded individuals was the extent to which I thought of ‘brokerage’.

In 2009, I sat at a dinner table at Blogworld in Las Vegas surrounded by some of the most fascinating people in the internet real estate space.  The conversation that night and for weeks preceding that dinner surrounded around ‘Brand Promise’, ‘Brokerage of the Future’, and the like.

It became clear to me that the industry was on the cusp of potential change.  I was surrounded by folks that considered the current big broker model broken (maybe even beyond repair) as I did, and that the small brokerage model may in fact have the ability to make significant local change.  The ideas spoke to me, the part of me that is passionate about the industry, the general poor consumer perception of agents, and the value we provide our clients.  It was that trip that I became interested in participating in that industry change – not just witnessing it from the sidelines.

I began to look for like minded people that could support me in creating the technology support to execute my developing vision of a brokerage that provided a clear promise to consumers – great, experienced, knowledgeable agents that are able to provide their clients exceptional information and knowledge utilizing superior technology.

I was fortunate enough to talk to some of the best and brightest in the real estate space that helped me evolve a vision and a plan.  In the end, Garron Selliken’s M Realty in Portland was most in alignment with my philosophy; it really resonated with me and I knew that this was the type of environment I was looking for.

Orange County became the first M Realty office to extend outside Portland, Oregon.  The brand has now extended into Seattle, Washington.  I feel fortunate to be part of the M Brand and am so thrilled to see my vision coming into reality in Orange County. I really believe what we can bring to consumers and agents are unique and powerful!

Next week, we will be participating in the BuzzRE OC event 29th and will be talking about the role of the internet in agent’s business and how they can bring real meaningful value to their clients utilizing technology.  That evening, we will be enjoying the Launch Party at Tijeras Creek Golf Club.  Looking forward to celebrating!

Welcome back to the newly launched OC Real Estate Voice.  Lots of changes happening here so stay tuned and check back.

About the Author | Linsey Planeta

• More posts by Linsey Planeta

Selling real estate since 2001. Active in the South Orange County real estate market. Broker Principle of M Realty.