Mr Wolff was presented with the Number One Sales Agent title at Harcourts USA’s recent awards function in California – the first event of its kind since Harcourts launched in the US in late 2010.

With an impressive real estate career spanning more than 30 years, Mr Wolff reached an incredible career milestone in 2011 by surpassing $1 billion in total career sales.

Mr Wolff is currently achieving sales volumes in excess of $100 million annually and consistently ranks among the top sales agents in the US.

As a long-serving agent, Mr Wolff does minimal advertising, and instead thrives on repeat and referral business from his long-time clients, completing most of this within three miles of his Monarch Beach office.

Mike Green, Harcourts International Managing Director, is proud of Mr Wolff’s outstanding career achievements to date.

“Bob has an absolute passion for the real estate industry and has a laser-like focus on exceeding his clients’ expectations.

“He is respected throughout the US for his contribution to the industry, his professionalism and his inspiring results,” Mr Green said.

“Bob is an outstanding real estate professional and is a consistent top performer. I’m incredibly proud that he is part of our group and look forward to celebrating his future successes,” Mr Green added.

The first ever Harcourts USA Conference, which was held in Orange County, attracted over 200 attendees from throughout California.

Over the one-day event, delegates were treated to three exceptional keynote addresses from social media guru, Matthew Ferrara, real estate professional and Harcourts USA Partner, Rick De Luca, and real estate speaker and trainer, David Knox.

Mike Green, Harcourts International Managing Director, launched the event by welcoming attendees, reflecting on the challenges of 2011, and focusing on the year ahead.

“Our key focus for 2012 is all about going back to basics and ensuring a great client experience,” Mr Green said.

The event also provided the chance to launch Harcourts’ international theme for 2012 – One Team, Great By Choice.

“Great by choice is all about our mindset. There is only one thing that determines our success – it isn’t the market, interest rates or the world economy – it is how we think, what we believe, and the actions we take. Quite simply, our success is our choice,” Mr Green said during his launch speech.

The launch also featured world class singer, Katy Breznell, and a mock boxing match which saw Tony “The Marine” Harcourts knock out Geoff Lais, the current title holder.

The group’s annual awards dinner concluded the conference where Bob Wolff was named the Number One Agent for Harcourts USA and Harcourts Prime Properties Aliso Viejo was awarded Number One Sales Office.

Overall, Mr Green said the event was a great success.

“Our first Conference in the US was a fantastic success and was really embraced by our team. The vibe throughout Conference was outstanding and it was great to have the chance to celebrate the growing strength of our culture and brand in the US,” Mr Green said.

The group’s US corporate office is also home to The Harcourts Academy, a state-of-the-art training facility that provides Harcourts’ world renowned training systems free of charge to all Harcourts agents and brokers.

The Harcourts Academy incorporates online learning, in-class training, in-office training and in-the-field projects, and offers learning opportunities for new to seasoned agents in a variety of real estate fields and disciplines.

Tina Sander, Harcourts’ International Operations Manager, is confident that the opening of the corporate headquarters will assist with further growth for the brand within the US.

“Having an established headquarters and a dedicated facility for The Harcourts Academy is fantastic for our team in the US and will allow them to further grow and develop the brand. Harcourts really is starting to make its mark on the US market which is very exciting,” Ms Sander said.

On the heels of opening their corporate US headquarters, Harcourts USA also announced the appointment of Belinda Barone-Stowers to head up the company’s franchise development strategy.

Ms Barone-Stowers’ real estate background incorporates all aspects of sales, recruiting and strategic planning. Formerly associated with a major national real estate franchise, she was credited with increasing agent growth and revenue from $7 million to $419 million in less than three years.

Ms Barone-Stowers’ continued success led to her promotion as the Southern California Regional Director during which time she expanded the company’s 14 franchises to over 1,800 agents during one of the most historical down turns in real estate.

“I’m excited about Belinda’s appointment. She brings an incredible track record of success and a competitive reputation built on trust and integrity. I’m confident that Belinda will further grow and develop the Harcourts brand throughout the US,” Ms Sander said.

Initially, Ms Barone Stowers will be responsible for developing the franchise in the Southern California regions of Orange County, Los Angeles, Riverside/Inland Empire and San Diego, and later expanding franchise opportunities throughout the US.

As part of the joint venture’s launch in the US, several new and exciting appointments have been announced to head up the group’s American operations.

Aaron Hodson, former International Franchise Development Manager of Harcourts International, has been appointed as Harcourts USA Chief Executive Officer. In his new position, Mr Hodson will oversee the growth and development of the Harcourts brand in America, as well as manage the day-to-day operations of the business.

Real estate industry veteran and co-founder of Altera Real Estate, Gary Thomas has been appointed as Chairman of the Harcourts USA joint venture. Since starting his real estate career in 1976, Mr Thomas has become one of the most successful and highly regarded real estate professionals in America.

Joint co-founders of Altera Real Estate, Dennis and Colleen Badagliacco have been announced as partners in the group’s US joint venture. The Badagliacco’s established their first real estate firm in 1980 in California and have since become one of the most dynamic real estate duos in the state.

Leading American real estate professional, Rick De Luca was also announced as a partner and shareholder in the Harcourts / Altera joint venture. Throughout his 35 year career, Mr De Luca has been a highly successful sales consultant, manager, and coach and trainer.

Harcourts International Managing Director, Mike Green is thrilled to announce these appointments and is confident that this team will lead to success for the joint venture.

“I believe we have assembled an exceptional team to head up our US operations and am confident that their level of combined industry experience and knowledge will serve us very well as a group,” said Mr Green.

“This is an exciting time for our organisation and I’m thrilled for such exceptional talent to be involved in our US operations.”

At the official launch events which were held in both San Jose and Orange County, leading American real estate trainer, Rick De Luca was announced as a partner and shareholder in the new joint venture project.

Mr De Luca’s real estate career began in 1976 and in his first year, he achieved an amazing 42 property sales. He then went on to average nearly 200 property sales per year and has been honoured with numerous industry awards in America including Reno’s Salesman of the Year and Nevada’s Realtor of the Year.

Mr De Luca went on to operate his own real estate and management business, which lead the entire country for productivity per agent.

As well as an outstanding sales and management career, Mr De Luca has been successfully coaching and training within the real estate industry for almost 30 years and has become one of the most highly regarded trainers within the industry.

Through his training seminars, Mr De Luca shares his proven methods of success with other members of the real estate industry, from new recruits through to experienced managers. Mr De Luca’s provides training on a wide range of topics with seminar titles including “Avoid the 20 Biggest Agent Mistakes”, “Launching Your Real Estate Career” and “From Success to Super Stardom”.

To add to his list of achievements, Mr De Luca was voted National President of the Certified Residential Specialists in 1988 and President of the Realtors National Marketing Institute in 1992.

Harcourts International Managing Director, Mike Green was thrilled to announce Mr De Luca’s appointment at last week’s official USA launch.

“I am thrilled to have Rick on board in this role and am confident that his years of experience and depth of knowledge will serve our group well,” said Mr Green.

“Rick has a fantastic reputation in the US real estate industry and we are so pleased that he is now part of Harcourts USA. I’m confident that his involvement will lead to some truly outstanding growth and success for our group,” Mr Green continued.

The USA team with Harcourts International Managing Director, Mike Green (far right)

Last week, international real estate group, Harcourts has celebrated their official launch in the USA through their joint venture with California group, Altera Real Estate.

First announced in June 2010, Harcourts’ entry into the US market will represent the company’s biggest ever undertaking, with the joint venture including 26 offices and 750 salespeople in total, with 25 offices based in the state of California, and one in Hawaii.

Last week’s official launch was held over two days and focused on introducing the Harcourts Group to the Altera joint venture partners and their staff. Day one was held in San Jose, California on Tuesday and attracted a crowd of over 180 people, and day two was held in Orange County on Thursday which drew a crowd of nearly 300.

The focus of the launch events was on ‘The Harcourts Way’ of conducting real estate business, the company’s purpose and values, and its culture and business model.

The groups were addressed by key members of the Harcourts team including Managing Director, Mike Green, Harcourts USA CEO, Aaron Hodson, and International Operations Manager, Tina Sander. Gary Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of Altera, also addressed the groups.

Two exceptional keynote speakers also delivered keynote presentations to the teams including Bob Wolff, one of the leading real estate agents in America, and Rick De Luca, one of America’s leading real estate trainers. Also announced was Rick De Luca’s role as a partner and shareholder in the new venture.

Harcourts International Managing Director, Mike Green is thrilled with reception the company has received in America thus far.

“The launch events have been fantastic and Harcourts has been met with such a great response from our American partners. Many have commented that Harcourts is a breath of fresh air in the uncertain US market,” said Mr Green.

“We’ve also had a great response to the Harcourts systems, particularly our business planning and accountability process. Our reception here has been simply outstanding!” Mr Green continued.

“People are so excited about the brand and its launch; it really is great to witness”.

With sights firmly set on the future, the Harcourts Group together with their joint venture partners have set some key objectives, starting with establishing a strong foundation in the California market before expanding their operations into the rest of the US.

Entry into the US market is Harcourts’ biggest ever undertaking, with joint venture partner Altera  having 23 offices and 700 salespeople in total – 21 offices in California, one in Oregon and one in Hawaii.

From left, Harcourts International Chairman Paul Wright with Dennis Badagliacco and Gary Thomas from Altera Real Estate and Harcourts International Managing Director Mike Green.

Starting out in New Zealand in 1888, Harcourts is a long-standing brand that has gone from strength-to-strength in the industry, entering its first foreign market in 1997 (Australia) with eight additional countries, including the USA, since then.

Mr Green said in just over a decade Harcourts has established itself as one of the top three real estate groups in Australia and expanded into South Africa, China, Indonesia, Zambia, Botswana and Hong Kong in the last two years alone.

“As a 50% shareholder in the US joint venture Harcourts will have a heavy focus on the American market throughout 2010, as long-term plans are put in place for further expansion in the country,” Mr Green said.

“The United States’ property market is just beginning to show signs of improvement and we believe the timing for this step is perfect. The market opportunity is huge, with a population of nearly 310 million,” he said.

“By entering into the US market Harcourts is placed firmly on the world stage, and we hope to further our business activities over the next few years throughout America.”

Altera Real Estate, which was founded by American real estate industry veterans Gary Thomas, Dennis and Colleen Badagliacco in 2008, is looking forward to the growth opportunities off the back of this partnership.

Harcourts International Managing Director, Mike Green (centre) signs the agreement with US partner, Altera

Mr Thomas, Chairman of the new joint venture company, said he has known the principals of Harcourts for more than 15 years and been intrigued with the group’s culture and systems.

“I felt it was a perfect fit for Altera to enter into this joint venture with Harcourts in order to bring a refreshing culture and platform to our network and the ability for rapid growth,” he said.

“Our initial focus will be on the integration of the Harcourts systems and culture across all the existing Altera offices. Once we have achieved this, we will then look at expanding to other states.

“With the training and technology platform Harcourts has to offer, along with our values-based, performance-driven culture, we believe there is huge opportunity for this new Harcourts joint venture company to grow rapidly as the general economic situation in the US improves.”