Name: Candace Adams
Title: President/CEO, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services (BHHS) New England, New York and Westchester Properties
Age: 60
Experience: 33 years
Candace Adams started out in real estate sales, but soon got into management and never looked back. She moved up through the industry to become the president and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services (BHHS) New England, New York and Westchester Properties, a company that employs 1,800 agents with plans to expand. Adams credits her success to building a team of positive, client-centered agents who work hard and prize relationships above sales.
Q: How did you get your start in real estate?
A: I was actually a stay-at-home-mom and then started real estate as my first official career. I had worked as a business manager for a physician group previously. I got into real estate sales and after a couple of years, I started my own firm with partners. I was fortunate to have some highly experienced partners who were a generation older than me. We sold (the firm) because they were ready to sell to Prudential and get out. I worked with Prudential for some years and they were bought by Peter Healy in 1998. I worked under his leadership for 20 years. I ended up becoming a regional vice president and COO, and then president. We sold four years ago to Home Services and converted to Berkshire Hathaway shortly after. I’ve been CEO of BHHS for four years now.
Q: Do you still sell homes? Or does managing the firm keep you too busy?
A: I’m really busy but I try to fit in some level of balance. I try very, very hard to go to the gym or go for a walk several times a week. I stopped selling shortly after I opened my own firm in the early ’90s. I certainly didn’t want to compete with my agents. I loved that part of the business. That’s where you make a difference with your clients. I miss it. We have 1,800 agents, so it’s easy to stay close to what’s happening in the field. We have a culture built around client satisfaction and service. We survey every client after a sale and I read every survey. We have a 98.5 percent customer satisfaction rating from the survey because client satisfaction is so important to us.
I think it is important to give my time to support our agents. There’s a trust element to it. They need to know there would be confidentiality and objectivity on my part. If you’re dealing with clients who might want the same house, it gets a little mucky, as far as I’m concerned. It’s hard for smaller firms to do that. Owners have to sell to support the infrastructure.
BHHS has 44,000 agents throughout the country. It’s the fastest growing franchise in the country. We just rolled out three and half years ago and we’re about to enter the global marketplace. Most importantly, BHHS is the second-largest company in the country. We compete very, very well. We provide the most innovative back-end resources. We have the finances to do that and we compete on integrity, financial strength and clients. More important, we compete with ourselves every day. I like to think of us as having differentiation from the rest of the industry so we stand alone.
Q: How do you differentiate your company in a crowded and competitive field?
A: We’re growing very rapidly. A year and a half ago we expanded into Westchester County and now New York City. We’ve been in expansion mode, bringing in experienced people and buying some great companies. We have amazing leadership, strong regional managers, and phenomenal managers in every office. We have agents from every office coming to the home office quarterly. We start every meeting talking about our values. It’s a culture we nurture, protect and talk about all the time. It’s amazing. When we bring in agents from other companies they’re stunned. We brought a fellow in from a competitor at a high level position and he said, “I knew you were a great company but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this company is what it is.” The managers lead and support that culture. I’m a big believer in the culture and managers know that if there’s someone in the room who doesn’t believe in it, we can’t have them around. Sometimes people are just transactional brokers but our culture is about relationships. If someone doesn’t align with that then they find someplace else to work. The money will follow your product or service.
Q: What do you see coming in 2017?
A: We see our focus on growth in Rhode Island, Westchester County and New York City. We have an under four-month supply of entry-level homes in Connecticut. Inventory isn’t there. The buyers are there, they’re all over the place. First-time buyers, investors and downsizers. Twenty years ago it would have just been first-time buyers. It’s a strong market. It’s active and I think we’re going to have a phenomenal spring market. By mid-February we were already ahead of last year by 15 percent.
At the very high end, it’s stagnant, there’s a lot of compression on prices and between 12 and 24 months of inventory. Buyers in those price points are extremely critical about what they’re looking for and they’re very value-conscious. It’s been a busy winter, we’re looking for more inventory. The spring market is definitely here. It’s been mild and there’s a threat of interest rates going up. I think the real estate market is very healthy. The high end will come back after we flush out some inventory.
Q: What does your typical day look like?
A: I have many typical days. There’s a standard process. I try to make sure at the end of every day that I’ve returned every phone call and email and that I start the next day fresh. Never do I start a day with a problem. I am actively seeking new talent and looking for companies for growth. I spend a lot of time with my team. One of our values is empowerment and they remind me of that all the time. I’m a bit of a control freak. I see that as a bit of a weakness. My team helps me with that. I think I’m really happy. I feel very grateful for everything in my life, my career, my team. I have massive appreciation for the people around me.
Q: What’s something people might be surprised to know about you?
A: People who know me well would probably say I really like to have fun. People who don’t know me well might think otherwise. I’m a practical joker. My kids will tell you that. They’re 35 and 37. I have two grandchildren who think I’m one of them; they say, “Mimi, let’s go hide from the adults.” I think everyone knows I’m highly competitive and I love competing. I love playing games and winning.
Q: What do you do when you’re not working?
A: I do a lot. I read a lot. My Kindle is my best friend. I read any time I can. I love fitness. I very much love being outdoors. We spend a lot of time on the beach, riding bicycles, traveling. I do a lot of things while checking email every five minutes. I think that’s important for me to continue growing this organization at this rate and have the quality of culture. You can’t burn yourself out because then you’re no good for anyone. We travel every year; we take a January beach trip to refresh. I travel for business. We spend time in Rhode Island and have a house Fire Island in New York.
Five Things Adams Loves:
- Fresh air
- The beach
- Great wine
- Happy people
- Books
