May 2022

Earlier this week, Robert Reffkin, Compass’s co-founder and CEO wrote about his mother. He has often stated that he started Compass because of his mom, Ruth. 

As a single mother who provided for herself and her son  entirely on her own, she embodies the entrepreneurial spirit: “She’s a resilient optimist who never lets setbacks slow her down. She’s a big dreamer who sees every interaction, every conversation and every moment as an opportunity. Watching her do the impossible every day made me feel like anything was possible.”

I’ve been surrounded by amazing mothers my entire life, and I’m happy to take this opportunity to call out a number of them. 

First, my own mom, who at 82 years old this year, continues to live on her own, shop on her own, and still puts quite a number of miles on her car driving friends to and fro, whether to Costco to stock up on supplies, go out to eat, or to a friend’s home for weekly mahjong games. Since my parents divorced early on, she’s always been on the go, running her own Financial District cafe, selling real estate and life insurance, manning the front desk at a seniors home, even waiting tables. How many 5’4″ middle aged women do you know who’ve driven mammoth rented moving trucks to help friends move 400+ miles away? A truly outgoing person who has been an example of optimism, generosity and outspokenness, my mom is one of a kind.

My first business partner Marcia, who found herself a young widow with four children to support, started her real estate career in the 1970’s, and had a long fruitful career. Marcia’s a prime example of someone who’s dealt with life’s ups and downs with class, dignity and a knowing sense of humor.

My current business partner Natalie was a divorced single parent when I met her. If you’ve ever witnessed her relationship with her daughter Allison, you’d want to sign up for lessons on how to do it right. 

My wife Monica shares this in common with Natalie. No one I’ve met is better at being a mom than my Monica – as good maybe – but not better. I’ve had the privilege of witnessing the effects of her hands-on raising of our Marco, who was 7 when I met him. When I drove him to an appointment recently, I asked him if he had any role models that he looked up to. Without a second’s hesitation this 15 year old answered, “My mom”, and proceeded to enumerate his reasons.

To the mothers who’ve had young children at home during the pandemic and had to care for them, teach them and keep them safe throughout; the mothers with a supportive partner at home, the mothers who have to do more than their fair share and the mothers who do it all on their own; the mothers who’ve given birth, who’ve adopted, who’ve step-mothered, who’ve foster-mothered and who’ve acted as mother figures to young people who needed it…we salute you.

Robert’s closing comments, we happily share: “Mother’s Day is this Sunday. To everyone whose mom is still in your life, we encourage you to find a way to honor and celebrate her this weekend. If you haven’t already written your card, ordered your flowers, picked out your gifts, scheduled your visit or whatever else you do, now’s the time. And for everybody whose mother is no longer with us, or who has a more complicated relationship with their mother, or whose personal journey towards motherhood has been challenging, we want you to know that we see and celebrate you as well.”

Till next month, stay healthy and happy,

Derek, Natalie, Mo & Arwin

We surely miss seeing all, your growing families and dogs, and generally catching up on your lives. Perfect timing, since the holidays, is right around the corner! Time to get that special photo for you and your family.

Need a recent pic of the two of you; the family? 

An updated glamour shot of you and your dog or cat? 

We’ve got you covered! More details to follow.

“Natalie and Derek are outstanding agents, professionals through and through. We recently sold our San Francisco single-family home and highly recommend the team and Compass. From the initial walk-through, it was clear that this team would pay attention to the details. They asked good questions and really took the time to get to know us and the house.

Perhaps most important, the marketing and pricing strategies were spot on and resulted in a sale price well beyond even our most optimistic expectations.

Natalie took the lead on our sale and suffice it to say we had some surprises along the way that made the sale more complicated than we expected. Natalie took it all in stride. She excelled at working with the buyer’s agent/team and steadfastly managed the deal over the finish line. 

Steph (the staging team) and concierge service were wonderful (our house looked amazing!!) and we were extremely pleased with their work and the arrangement. 

For most of us, our home is our biggest asset and so selling it is a *big* deal, you need an experienced professional who can manage all parties and aspects of the sale. You won’t be disappointed with Natalie and Derek.”

* The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate home loan rose to 5.27% from 5.1% a week earlier, the highest reading in nearly 13 years. The average rate on America’s most popular home loan was 3.22% in early January and 2.96% a year ago. From January to April, rates rose at their fastest 3-month pace since 1994. While equity markets plunged yesterday, so too did BITCOIN which traded down 8.4% in one day.

* After yesterday’s’ almost certain’ narrative of a recession, David Rubenstein contradicted this saying a recession soon was unlikely…..and there you have it! Lots of opinions and only time will tell.