BACKGROUND MAP COURTESY BING
(Left) Matt Halperin, president-elect of the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches.
Wellington
Real Estate On The Rise By Chris Felker
It’s still a buyers’ market for real estate in the Wellington area, but if you’re looking to buy a home, you should act sooner rather than later, advised Matt Halperin, president-elect of the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches. With the local economy in general, and the real estate market in particular, making a strong comeback, and historically low interest rates possibly poised to rise, Halperin said the balance may soon tip toward a sellers’ advantage. Halperin, 46, will take the RAPB’s helm in January. He is a district sales manager for the Keyes Company in Wellington, where he lives. A homegrown product of Palm Beach County, Halperin was born at Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, where he grew up. He graduated from Forest Hill High School before earning an associate’s degree in business administration from Palm Beach State College and his bachelor’s degree in economics from Florida Atlantic University in 1992. He then studied at the Gold Coast School of Real Estate before becoming certified in 1997. But real estate was not his first job. He took a job with McDonald’s during his junior year in high school and continued to work there through his col-
lege years, taking advantage of leadership training programs whenever he could. He had 12 years of service with that company before deciding to go into real estate as a career. Recently joining the Keyes team this year, Halperin spent the first 16 years serving the needs of buyers and sellers at Coldwell Banker, while rising through the ranks of the Realtors Association. He joined the group’s board of directors in 2007, serving as vice president in 2012 and 2013. He has also been on the executive and finance committees and headed the outreach and awards committees. Halperin has been heavily involved with the association’s charitable efforts, leading its delegations to the Quantum House, Paint Your Heart Out and the Great Barrier-Free 5K Race in Boynton Beach. He was also co-chair of the association’s Habitat for Humanity home selection committee from 2007 through 2010. The organization’s main mission, though, is to help meet its members’
professional needs. “We’re continuing to offer training with the Multiple Listing Service, training with contracts and how our Realtors must interact with the consumer,” he explained. “Being a member is invaluable to being a voice for real estate in Palm Beach County. Most of our elected officials, most of our media, turn to the RAPB first to get any advice and any media information about real estate in our county.” The association also plays a role in helping voters choose candidates for office who will protect their homeowner and property rights. “With the elections coming up, we interview local candidates,” Halperin said. “There’s a committee, the Government Affairs Committee, that screens them and asks questions, so that we can help promote those leaders who are advocates for home ownership and homeowner property rights. Advocacy is one of the things that the Realtors Association is involved with throughout the year.” This work often takes RAPB repre10th Anniversary |wellington the magazine| September 2014
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