REALTOR FOR THE STARS
The Real Deal Meet Pam Hughes of Harry Norman Realtors By GHR St a f f
amount the next year. I had a listing this year, and that seller asked for my birthday. My Chinese horoscope is the Year of the Rooster, and she commented that roosters never quit. I didn’t! HOW HAS THE REAL ESTATE GAME CHANGED SINCE YOU STARTED? Back then, there was neither mentoring nor much training—you were just thrown into it, and you learned by doing. We had listing books and map books. You picked out listings from the listing books that fit your buyer’s criteria, called the seller, and showed the property to the buyer. If the buyer liked the house, you wrote the offer, called the listing agent, met at the seller’s home, and presented the offer. People needed realtors back then, before the internet. They still do; however, many don’t realize it, so you have to demonstrate your value. As you develop a clientele, they refer friends and neighbors to you. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ZILLOW AND OTHER REAL ESTATE WEBSITES? ARE THEY HELPFUL? Buyers often get started on the internet. Many times, I sell houses that buyers found on the internet, but they don’t know a lot about the property. As their agent, I educate them on the marketplace and help them refine their search to make an informed choice. Ultimately, buyers need an expert to guide them and also need buyer representation; Georgia has a Buyer Agency law. Make sure your agent goes through it with you—it is very important. HOW IS BUSINESS NOW? Currently, business is quite good. I had a great year in 2021, and this year looks to be even better. The real es- tate community and my company, Harry Norman Real- tors, have followed CDC guidelines for COVID-19. We were shut down at first, but were then deemed essential workers. Of course, we’ve proceeded with caution. I have numerous good stories concerning real estate. I recently sold the home of a friend, and his first home was my first sale. That home we just sold was where he and his wife raised their children—they lived there more than 30 years. I love my clients, and most of them are now friends.
Realtor Pam Hughes
“ Many times, I sell houses that buyers found on the internet, but they don’t know a lot about the property. As their agent, I educate them on the marketplace and help them refine their search to make an informed choice. ” I f you’re navigating the real estate market, it’s a good idea to work with a realtor who belongs to the local, state, and national Boards of Realtors and abides by their codes of ethics. In addition, it’s wise to find one who can interpret the massive amounts of information on the internet—and whose expertise can determine what is accurate and useful to your search, and what is not. Realtor Pam Hughes of Atlanta’s Harry Norman Realtors has thrived in the industry and earned the trust of her clients for more than 42 years, going above and beyond to assist buyers and sellers in the Atlanta metro. Georgia Hollywood Review spoke to her about how she does it, and why having a great realtor in the age of information still matters. GHR: WHAT WAS YOUR BACKGROUND PRIOR TO REAL ESTATE? PH: I was a school teacher. My husband graduated from Stanford Medical School, and we moved to Seattle, where
he did his residency and I taught middle school for two years. We then moved to Atlanta, where he worked at the CDC for two years as an Epidemiology Intelligence Officer. In 1976, we moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, where I attended graduate school at the University of Virginia and received a master’s degree in South Asian History. We moved to Atlanta with our 10-day-old baby and a 2-year-old son so my husband could continue his career at the CDC. WHEN WAS THE “LIGHTNING BOLT MOMENT” THAT YOU REALIZED REAL ESTATE WAS RIGHT FOR YOU? I am not sure I ever had a lightning bolt moment—I think I grew into it. I was not sure how much I liked it in the beginning, but as time went on, I realized I did. I remember reading an article in the The Atlanta Journal- Constitution business section. In the early 1980s, the average salary for a woman was $18,500. I had not come close to that, so I set that as my goal, and I made that
404-626-3604 | pam.hughes@harrynorman.com
4 2 | T H E G E O R G I A H O L L Y WO O D R E V I E W | M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 2 2
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs