Pace Woods

F. Pace Woods II, Chairman Emeritus of Woods Bros Realty and owner of Woods Investment Co., passed away Monday at the age of 86 after a long illness.

Woods served Woods Bros Realty and the Lincoln real estate and development markets for 50 years, having retired from his position as chairman in 2004.

Woods followed his father, F. Pace Woods Sr., in the family business, which was founded by Pace’s great-grandfather, Col. Frederick M. Woods, and grandfather, Mark W. Woods, in 1889.

Born in 1924 in Lincoln to Frederick Pace and Olive (Black), Woods was educated in the Lincoln Public Schools through junior high and then attended The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey where he graduated cum laude in 1943.

He later earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., in 1950, graduating with Dean’s honors. At Yale he majored in creative writing and drama and minored in economics.

During World War II he served in both the U.S. Army Air Corps and the 75th Infantry Division, earning the rank of sergeant.

In 1950 he started his career in the television industry in Hollywood. At ABC he was the Audience Promotion Director and later transferred to NBC where he became the Advertising and Promotion Director for KNBH, NBC’s Los Angeles affiliate.

At NBC he transferred to the live television part of the network operation and ultimately became senior director for NBC Hollywood, directing such shows as The Dinah Shore Show, the Jimmy Durante Show, the Bob Hope Show, Matinee Theatre and Colgate Comedy Hour with stars such as Martin and Lewis, Ethel Merman, Frank Sinatra and others. He also had a hand in NBC’s first color television commercial for RCA.

Late in 1958, Woods returned to Lincoln between shows to work for the family business. He had planned to return to his own pilot TV project in Hollywood; however, he soon became an integral part of Woods Bros Realty.

Woods received his real estate license Oct. 6, 1965, and his broker’s license Oct. 10, 1968. He aided his family in advertising and management, land development, financing, residential development, farm management and new construction, helping to grow Woods Bros Realty into one of the top real estate firms in Nebraska.

Under Woods’ leadership, Woods Bros Realty embraced the concept of “one-stop” shopping to provide better service to the public. He served as president of Woods Bros Realty; Woods Investment Company, a land development company; and Woods Bros Real Estate Group, which included Capitol Title Co. (now Nebraska Land Title and Abstract); Woods Bros Insurance (now HomeServices of Nebraska Insurance); and Community Mortgage Company.

Woods expanded the brokerage business with his father in 1968 by merging Woods Bros & Swanson Realtors, and then again in 1999 with the purchase of RE/MAX Professionals.

Woods earned his CRB (Certified Residential Broker) designation from the National Association of REALTORS® and was the Nebraska REALTOR® of the Year in 1997 and the REALTORS® Association of Lincoln (RAL) REALTOR® of the year in 2000. As 1999 RAL President, he followed his grandfather Mark Woods, president in 1924 and his father, Pace Sr., president in 1956. He was named to the Woods Bros Realty Hall of Fame in 2003.

He served as a director of the Nebraska REALTORS® Association, was a Nebraska REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) Trustee and was a member of the Legislative Review Committee, along with serving on the MLS Committee of the National Association of REALTORS®.

His political involvement promoted excellence in real estate, including supporting fair housing education, voluntary affirmative marketing agreements and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) laws and regulations. Woods always encouraged political involvement by Woods Bros associates and managers as well.

Woods also established the Woods Bros Realty Foundation for Giving. The Foundation is funded through a matching program with the Woods Bros associates. The Foundation for Giving has given more than $200,000 over 20 years to charitable organizations supporting children and the elderly.

Woods sold Woods Bros Real Estate Group on June 19, 2002 to HomeServices of America Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate. Woods Bros Realty is an industry leader still today with 250 sales associates and three offices in Lincoln and offices in Beatrice, Seward, York and Grand Island, and Woods celebrated the company’s 120th anniversary in 2009.

Woods was a strong supporter of the arts. He was active in Friends of the Lied, Lincoln Symphony, National Historic Trust, as well as numerous other organizations. He served on the Nebraska Repertory Theatre Advisory Board and was inducted into the first class of the Nebraska Repertory Theatre Hall of Fame in 2001.The agents of Woods Bros Realty started a scholarship in his name in 1994 at the University of Nebraska. Woods endowed this scholarship to provide for the education of our youth.

In 2004 he was presented with an Award of Merit by Hixon-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, and he received in 2010 a Mayor’s Arts Award–the Halcyon Allsman Benefactor of the Arts Award–for his significant financial contributions to the arts in Lincoln. Gov. Mike Johanns in 2004 awarded Woods with a Nebraska Admiralship. In 2009, the Woods family received the Distinguished NEBRASKAlander Award for their prominent role in the business, community and cultural development in Lincoln and the state of Nebraska.

Tom Woods, Gov. Dave Heineman and Pace Woods

A world traveler, Woods has traveled throughout the Middle East, Africa, France and England, and he is also an avid Big Red fan, having donated the “Little Red” fire engine to the University of Nebraska the year Tom Osborne became head coach.

Woods enjoyed field training, guiding his beloved late Labrador Retriever, Howland’s Calypso “Skye,” to Field Champion honors. He also enjoyed spending time at his Lake Superior home on Madeline Island.

Pace Woods and his beloved dog, Skye

Woods remained active in real estate and land development beyond his retirement through the completion of the Rolling Hills development and Rolling Hills Ridge, built in the Woods Bros tradition of Woodsshire and Sheridan Boulevard.

Family members include his sister, Marilynn Woods Ellick and 10 nieces and nephews, Lisa Kilbourne Briggs, Marjorie Curry Woods, Marilyn Anne Girard, Shauna Colton Woods, Shelley Clarke Lentz, Rondi Woods Pike, Pace Woods Wilson, Diana Wyman Eisner, Robert Black Woods, Mark Williams Woods.

He was preceded in death by his parents and brother Mark William Woods.

Memorial Service: 3:00 p.m. Sunday (8-1-10) First-Plymouth Congregational Church, 2000 ‘D’ Street. Rev. Barb Smisek officiating. Private prior family committal service. No visitation/cremation.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the City Mission and the Lincoln Food Bank.

 Posted by Woods Bros Realty

By MATT OLBERDING / Lincoln Journal Star

The federal homebuyer tax credits helped propel local home sales in the first half of the year to their highest level in three years.

According to figures released last week from the Realtors Association of Lincoln, there had been 2,001 home sales through the local Multiple Listing System as of June 30.

That’s a more than 13 percent increase over the same period in 2009 and the most since there were more than 2,100 sales in the first half of 2007.

Sales of new homes, which have been a drag on the market for several years, were up even more.

For the year, sales of new homes are up more than 40 percent after increasing nearly 150 percent in June.

Despite the good news, most signs point to a slowdown in the second half of the year.

For the second straight month in June, pending sales – sales that are under contract but have not yet closed – were way down compared with last year.

“As expected, there was a reduction in the number of pending home sales in June, compared to those in June of 2009, due to the April 30 Homebuyer’s Tax Credit deadline,” said Nicole Jensen, executive vice president of the Realtors Association.

The tax credit, which offered $8,000 to new buyers and $6,500 to repeat buyers, expired at the end of April.

Despite continuing closings of sales related to the tax credits, sales of existing homes in June were actually down compared with June of last year – 370 to 396.

“We definitely foresee that the volume of home sales are going to curtail and are going to curtail pretty quickly,” said Kent Thompson, the elected president of the Realtors Association.

Still, Thompson stands by an earlier prediction he made that home sales will be up overall for the year.

“I think that Realtors, as a whole, will have a good year this year,” he said.

Mike Rezac, owner of Rezac Construction and president of the Homebuilders Association of Lincoln, is not as optimistic.

Despite the spike in sales of new homes, permits so far this year are down slightly compared with where they were at this time last year.

While that may not sound so bad, Rezac points out that last year was a 29-year low.

“I don’t see this being a terribly strong year,” he said. “We’re really holding out for next year.”

Not everybody is looking at the market with skpticism, though.

Rita Dinger, a real estate agent for Woods Bros. Realty, says she’s been plenty busy since the tax credits expired.

“I’m having one of the busiest Julys I’ve ever had,” she said.

Dinger said she thinks that all the incentives did was push people to buy a home earlier than they would have otherwise.

And she’s not convinced yet that the slowdown is anything more than typical late summer seasonal drop-off.

There are plenty of people still considering buying a home, Dinger said.

“They’re looking for all the reasons that people have always looked.”

 Posted by Woods Bros Realty

Here are the June numbers from all Woods Bros offices, including Lincoln, Seward, York, Beatrice and Grand Island:

• $58,461,004 Total Volume Sold (Up 4% over prior year)
• 402.28 Total Sides Sold (Up 12% over prior year)
• 233 Sides Placed Under Contract
• 509,536 Page Views on WoodsBros.com
• 46,424 User Sessions on WoodsBros.com
• 35 New Saved Searches on WoodsBros.com
• 765 New Saved Properties on WoodsBros.com
• 72 New Customers on WoodsBros.com
• 980 Visits to Facebook.com/WoodsBros

View our monthly Market Snapshot here.

 Posted by Woods Bros Realty

From the National Association of Realtors Government Affairs:

After a close brush with the deadline, Congress has passed an extension on the Home Buyer Tax Credit closing deadline, the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act (HR 5623).

The extension applies only to transactions that have ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010 that have not yet closed. The legislation is designed to create a seamless extension. The new closing deadline for eligible transactions is now September 30, 2010. There will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law.

The National Association of Realtors worked closely with Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle to enact this important legislation. Extending the Tax Credit Closing deadline will help provide additional stability to real estate markets across the nation.

For additional information on the extension, visit www.realtor.org/government_affairs.

Additionally, the United States Senate has passed the National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010 (HR 5569), extending the National Flood Insurance Program until September 30, 2010. This will allow transactions to move forward. The bill is retroactive and covers the lapse period from June 2, 2010 to the date of enactment of the extension.

For more information on the Flood Insurance Program, visit www.realtor.org/government_affairs.

 Posted by Woods Bros Realty