Getting to Know Century 21 M&M Realtor Kevin Johnson

From his office on Ary Lane, Kevin Johnson helps people achieve the American Dream.

Johnson is a Realtor at Century 21 M&M in Dixon who specializes in residential real estate, representing homeowners who are selling their homes and those who are interested in purchasing real estate.

“One of the things about me is that I work outside of just Dixon,” he said. “It allows me to say ‘yes’ to my clients a lot more about what I can do for them and where I can go.”

Johnson works the I-80 corridor selling and buying homes for his clients in Solano, Sacramento, Napa and Yolo Counties. The housing market is looking up, Johnson said, primarily because interest rates are at an all-time low, and the value of homes is going up.

It’s a seller’s market, he said.

“I sell 50 to 60 homes a year and in the last year, I can’t remember … the last time I wrote an offer where there has not been multiple offers,” Johnson said. “So great time to buy, but you need to be patient. Be aware that you have to write multiple offers on multiple properties.”

About 60 percent of Johnson’s clients are people who are interested in buying homes, 40 percent are people who are listing homes. Of the people listing homes, about 90 percent are short sales.

“It’s a bad and a good thing,” Johnson said. “It’s a bad situation for them, but at the same time when it’s done, there’s a massive sense of relief.”

Johnson said that short selling a home does not rule out future homeownership for his clients. He said that 10 or 12 of his clients have sold their home as a short sale and within a few years have purchased a new one.

Asked what he finds the most rewarding aspect of his job, Johnson said “That’s easy. … people that are young and have never bought a home before, don’t think they can buy a home, but you take them through the entire process and you hand them the keys to a house. Seriously, that’s pretty cool.”

When Johnson isn’t helping people sell or buy homes, he is devoted to his family and the many organizations he’s a part of including the Dixon Rotary Club, The Dixon Chamber of Commerce, Dixon Network Association, The Dixon Teen Center and many others including serving on the city’s Traffic Advisory Committee.

Johnson attributes a lot of his success to his team, which includes his wife Carla, and his assistant Ana Henry and co-agent Isreal Bewley. The team has recently won the company’s prestigious President’s Award, given to teams who have excellent customer service ratings.

What makes Dixon a good community to do business in?

“It’s a very special dedicated town, totally family orientated and there’s a sense of family that I have never found anywhere else. And I’ve lived in the larger communities in Solano County and you can’t get that anywhere else. I feel like there’s no doubt  in my mind, I will be here for the rest of your life. So, family.”

How big is your family?

"That’s a dangerous question. My wife and I have eight children (age range 9-29). Our youngest will be in Dixon schools from the beginning to the end. We have eight children, we have two grandchildren. It’s a big family, we are never bored.”

What is the most challenging aspect of your home life?

“With all that I do for my civic things that I volunteer time for and the different boards and the different things that I do  … definitely the most difficult time is truly bracketing out time when you are just going to be with your family. It’s a hard thing to do.”

Who is your role model and why?

“I find myself more thinking about what my dad (Randy) or my grandfather (Claude) would think of me , they both have passed, but I had really great relationships with both of them. My grandfather was a perfectionist that I can’t even explain. Right was right and wrong was wrong … and sometimes you couldn’t always tell where family fit in. My dad was kind of the counterpoint to that, in that my dad believed in a lot of those things (but) he was just a fun, joking (guy). Super loving and super caring.”

Did you ever envision doing your job as a young man?

“Because of my grandfather and because I love numbers ... everything was around numbers. It was never around sales or putting contracts together. When I first went to college, I wanted to be a CPA. It was way, way boring. It was just not social enough for me. So it didn’t take long for me to know that I needed to be in some form of a social environment. I have only not worked for myself for three years in my life. When I was 24, I owned Midas shops … until I was 37.”

What was you first car?

“My first car was a 1972 Delta 88 that could fit six adults comfortably and for three years of high school, for two-and-half years of high school, I drove five girls to school. And it was quite hilarious as I went around and picked them up one by one in my neighborhood. It was a car that fit.'

If you could have dinner with any celebrity or historical  figure, living or deceased, who would it be with and why?

“I would probably say Babe Ruth, best baseball player of all time. Nobody has ever done or will do what he has done. I love baseball.”

What do you do for fun?

“I would say my current number one hobby is probably poker. You know just general poker with my friends and Texas Hold Em’. Mostly because I can do it in the evening, when I am not sneaking time away from my family. I love golf. I just spent the whole last week at the U.S. Open. I also love movies and I love going to the movies with the family. And I got my little man cave/home theater in my garage, decked out ready to go.”

How did you propose to your wife?

“With a glass of wine in front of a fire on an obscure evening.”

What is your favorite genre of music?

My favorite group is AC/DC and probably Foreigner, Styx  and The Cars and all that kind of stuff. Everyone who was in the ‘80s. I basically love AC/DC and country.”

Any hidden talents?

“I probably better at Xbox games than people think that I should be.”

What are you playing now?

“Tiger Woods Golf and Madden.”

Who are your favorite baseball and football teams?

"(San Francisco) Giants, (Dallas) Cowboys. I was born in Dallas. My whole dad’s side is in Dallas. I’m a Texas Rangers fan too, but Dallas Cowboys , I’ve been able to maintain that. I bleed blue and grey for the Cowboys. I love it.”

What advice do you have for someone who wants to buy or sell a home?

“Today, if you own a home and you are thinking of selling it, you don’t want to sell it right now unless you have to. It’s very possible that a year from now we’re going to look back and maybe January of 2012 was the lowest that the market ever was. At the same time, there are situations and each person has to judge them on your own. As far as buying a home, get pre-qualified right away. If you have a chance to buy a home now, do not sit back in your chair. It’s just not a better time."

If you could be doing any job whatsoever what would you be doing?

“This is what I was meant to do.”