Woods Bros Realty is gearing up for the third annual Soup or Chili Cook-off for Cancer today at 11:30 at 3355 Orwell St. in Lincoln.

New additions this year include three celebrity guest judges: 2011 Miss Nebraska Kayla Batt, KLKN-TV Anchor Rod Fowler, and Sandhills Golf Club Head Chef Jake Thiesen. Furthermore, the group is introducing a silent auction to help raise additional funds. 100 percent of the proceeds go to the local American Cancer Society. The group raised about $1,200 in 2010 and $1,700 in 2011.

“Cancer has affected so many of our family of agents and employees that we wanted to find a way to support this worthwhile cause and put the heat on cancer,” said HomeServices of Nebraska CEO Gene Brake.

Woods Bros and HOME Real Estate agents and staff, along with staff from Nebraska Land Title and Abstract, HomeServices Lending, HomeServices of Nebraska Insurance and Larabee School of Real Estate vote for their favorite soup or chili with purchased voting beans. The winning chef gets bragging rights and their name on the Top Chef plaque.

The 2012 Woods Bros participants are: Gene Ward and Karen Duncan, Lincolnshire Square; Susan Ferris, Wilderness Hills; Rachael Pittman & Casey Collins, Beatrice; and Linda Keller, Country Club Plaza. Larry Melichar is cooking for the Support Services office.

 Posted by Woods Bros Realty

Woods Bros Realty is rocking into 2012 with increases all around. Take advantage of the buyers we’re working with due to low interest rates, and consider listing your home in this sellers’ market. Call a Woods professional today!

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

• $20,299,97 Total Volume Closed (Up 16% from Jan. 2011)
• 135 Total Sides Closed (Up 23% from Jan. 2011)
• 271 Sides Placed Under Contract (Up 24% from Jan. 2011)
• 521,533 Page Views on WoodsBros.com
• 55,622 User Sessions on WoodsBros.com
• 7,326 User Sessions from Mobile Devices
• 69 New Saved Searches on WoodsBros.com
• 1,289 New Saved Properties on WoodsBros.com
• 232 New Customers/Clients on WoodsBros.com
• 1,277 Daily Active Users on Facebook.com/WoodsBros
• 121 Text Inquiries to WOODS at 59559
• 3,567 Guided Tour Views at WoodsBros.com
• 197 Views on MyWoodsBrosTV.com

View our monthly Market Snapshot here.

 Posted by Woods Bros Realty

Woods Bros Realty is pleased to announce the completion of a project to make a paperless real estate transaction possible.

Utilizing Doc Central from Real Estate Digital, our online technology partner and industry leader, we now have the ability to instantly give agents and clients online access to transaction documents from anywhere in the world.

Furthermore, we entered in an agreement with the online signature leader, DocuSign, to provide the full product to our agents at a substantial discount. This is just another step in Woods Bros Realty’s commitment to our clients and agents to simplify the real estate transaction. For more information, contact a Woods agent.

 Posted by Woods Bros Realty

On behalf of HomeServices of America, we are pleased to announce that Oregon-based Prudential Northwest Properties is joining the HomeServices family of companies. Founded in 1948, Prudential Northwest is one of Portland’s largest and most respected real estate brokerage firms. Prudential Northwest has nearly 500 agents throughout 21 offices serving the Portland metropolitan area; Southwest Washington, including Vancouver and Longview; Central Oregon; and the Oregon coast. In 2011, they had nearly $900 million in sales.

Prudential Northwest is HomeServices’ entry into the Pacific Northwest market, and they have chosen to take this step with a company who has long-term ties to the community, decades of experience and an unparalleled reputation for consistently providing outstanding services to their homebuyers and sellers.

Please join us in welcoming Prudential Northwest Properties to our family.

 Posted by Woods Bros Realty

Carolina (Caro) Ngoh joins the Lincolnshire office.  She grew up in Cameroon, Africa where she taught elementary school from 2000-2008.  She relocated to Lincoln, Nebraska in 2008 to join her family. Carolina has worked at Lancaster Manor and is currently working at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital.  She is very active in her church and loves serving God!  Her hobbies include hair braiding, singing, meeting new people and enjoying time with her family.  Carolina can be reached at 402-817-4684 or Carolina.Ngoh@woodsbros.com.

Kevin Yontz joins the Wilderness Hills office. He has lived most of his adult life in Lincoln, graduating from Pius High School.  He attended the University of Nebraska, majoring in Business Administration.  He has been in the Insurance field for over 20 years and currently owns Yontz Insurance Agency.  His hobbies include sports in general, travel and most importantly, spending time with his family.  Kevin can be reached at 402-450-3080 or kevin.yontz@woodsbros.com.

 Posted by Woods Bros Realty

We celebrated our  top sales professionals with an Awards Banquet Feb. 9 at the Country Club of Lincoln, in memory of the late Mary A. Kuhlmann, who was inducted into the Woods Bros Hall of Fame. We are so grateful for each of our agents and clients on helping us make 2012 such a successful year. View photos from the event on Facebook.

Vladimir Oulianov of the Country Club Plaza office was named the Salesperson of the Year for 2011, with the most closed volume of listings and the most sales units closed, along with most transactions closed. Oulianov and Craig Loeck of the Lincolnshire office were both recipients of the Century Award for closing over 100 transactions in the calendar year. Loeck also received the Most Closed Listings Units and the Highest Volume of Closed Sales awards.

John Tidball of the Country Club Plaza was honored with the Woods Bros Realtor of the Year award for 2011, who is known for helping his fellow agents and truly embracing the value of homeownership and sharing that with his clients.

Sales Couple of the Year went to Bob & Sally Peterson of the Country Club Plaza office, and the year’s Rising Star for most success within the start of his career was David Kaseman of the Country Club Plaza office. Roger Boltz of the Grand Island office won the Excellence in Outgoing Referrals award for helping people relocate in other areas.

The overall Outstanding Achievement award went to Christine Schwieger of Grand Island office for her 387 percent increase in sales from 2010 to 2011. Office Outstanding Achievement Awards also went to: Sandra Harder, Wilderness Hills; Dick Young, Country Club Plaza; Tracy Zimmerman, Beatrice; Glen Coffey, York; Byron Yurth, Lincolnshire Square.

Top Sales Associates by office were: Vladimir Oulianov, Country Club Plaza; Craig A. Loeck, Lincolnshire; Chuck Winkler, Grand Island; Shelly Nitz, Seward; Susan Ferris, Wilderness Hills; Gayle Coffin, York; Carol Schulz, Beatrice.

To see more of the top awards, please visit www.WoodsBros.com/Awards.

 Posted by Woods Bros Realty