Jay Hummer began his career on the corporate side of real estate, starting off in franchise sales with Century21. In 2007 he became executive vice president and regional director of RE/MAX of New England and now writes the Jay’s Peek blog on www.remax-newengland.com.
Jay Hummer
Title: Executive Vice President, Regional Director
Company: RE/MAX of New England, Natick
Age: 49
Experience: 25 Years
What drove you into real estate?
A mistake. Well, not a mistake, it just kind of happened. I was a radio personality before. It wasn’t intended, it wasn’t supposed to, I loved what I was doing. I have no idea. Truly.
You just woke up one day in a Century21 office?
I was glancing at the classifieds one day over lunch and I saw this opportunity that sounded really pretty cool. I went down to New York [for the interview] – I had been living in Connecticut – and I took the job, and there I was. It just happened. And 25 years later, here I am.
They always say about radio that it gets in your blood and you never want to leave, and I never did want to leave. I really enjoyed it. But I fell into this, I like it, I liked the industry. I like helping people, whether it’s people who are looking to start their own business and start their own franchise, or agents looking to further their careers, or people who are looking to be able to give their family things they’ve never had before. Those are all things that we can do in real estate. We help agents achieve their dreams, and our agents help families achieve their dreams by getting them in or out of their homes. So it’s a rewarding business, and I’ve stuck with it.
Were you with Century21 the whole time?
I was a three-year man for a while, until RE/MAX. I’ve been with RE/MAX 15 years. Before that, my stops included Prudential, where I was one of the first people hired to create their real estate franchise division, and that’s how I moved up here. I took the position to open up the region here in New England for Prudential. And so I was with Prudential, and then I went to Coldwell Banker – I was hired away to do a big deal that they had up in Canada, with Canada Trust. It was a big conversion of a company-owned facility. We went up to Canada and we did that, and it was an exciting piece of the educational process as you grow in the industry. I went to Coldwell Banker for three years and enjoyed that, and then I was asked to come over here.
What are your goals for RE/MAX of New England as we come out of this recession?
There’s a lot of different goals. We added 20 new franchises in New England last year, in 2009, which some people think was a tough year. But I would question if any other franchise company added more than 20. I don’t know that number; I haven’t seen their results. But we added 20 new offices, with a goal of adding 25 for 2010, across New England. We plan to continue to add to our market share number across the board. We plan to continue to add to our charitable giving, through Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and for children’s hospitals.
And beyond that, our most important goal is that we continue to try and help families with their real estate needs. Particularly in the marketplace we have now, so many people are in positions where something like short sales have become a really important thing for professionals to be experts on. A good portion of our RE/MAX agents have become certified distressed property experts to try and help people…[in a situation] where today [they’re] owning a home and all of a sudden, [they’re] in a problem with this home, and a short sale is important before foreclosure might happen. So helping families with both listing and buying homes is our immediate goal.
RE/MAX is one of the leading companies in New England. Where are you positioned in the various states?
We’re No. 1 in Rhode Island, No. 1 in New Hampshire, we’re second in Massachusetts, in Maine we’re No. 2 in share and No. 1 in volume, and in Vermont and Connecticut we’re third.
Anything else we haven’t touched on about your role here?
It’s fun. My son said, when he grows up, he wants to be a baseball player. But if not, he wants to be a RE/MAXer. As a second choice. So that’s pretty cool that your son thinks that what you do is not too far removed from being a baseball player.
Hummer’s Top Five Most Rewarding Career Moments:
1.) “I met my wife at the first company I worked for.”
2.) Helping brokers and agents advance.
3.) Raising money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
4.) Working with the Celtics on the Home Court Makeover contest, in which a needy family gets their driveway repaved and a home basketball court installed.
5.) Working with the Patriots to cheer up sick kids.
