REALTOR®: Meet President Jim Hamilton, 2023 SILVAR President
Jim Hamilton, 2023 President of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR), needs no introduction to many California REALTORS®. A broker associate at Compass Los Gatos, Hamilton has extensive involvement in
REALTOR® leadership at the local, state and national levels. He also has been involved in numerous aspects of real estate, including sales, real estate development, training agents, and management of real estate offices in
Southern and Northern California.
At SILVAR, Hamilton has served as president-elect, board director, and chair of the Los Gatos-Saratoga District. He also served as 2002 treasurer and 2005 president of the California Association of REALTORS® and as a director and regional vice president for the National Association of REALTORS®. He was president of the South Bay Association of REALTORS®, and named REALTOR® of the Year by both the national and local Associations of REALTORS®, including SILVAR in 2019 and the South Bay Association.
Anyone who has met Hamilton remembers him because his optimism is contagious. Whenever asked how he’s doing, Hamilton always smiles and replies, “I’m living the dream every day.”
Originally from Southern California, Hamilton was encouraged to get his real estate license in 1983 because real estate appeared to be a lucrative career. He has since learned that it’s not all that, but has ridden the waves of housing market cycles and stuck with it because the fulfillment he derives from the profession is “priceless.”
“Handing buyers the keys for the first time - there’s no experience that tops that one,” says Hamilton. “That feeling I get seeing the expression on their faces when they are first-time homebuyers and even when they move up, is always new to me each time.”
Once a client, you become part of Hamilton’s family forever. “I’m always going to be there for them,” he says.
Hamilton trains agents in the art of relationship-based transactions and helps them understand the crux of the business. “No matter the state of the market, what we do for a living doesn’t change. We are there to counsel our clients. We are, in essence, real estate counselors. We are not order takers. We never sell anybody anything; we are there to help our clients make good decisions. No matter how tough, this purpose permeates through every market.”
As 2023 SILVAR president, Hamilton wants to strengthen the relationship between SILVAR and brokers and their agents. He wants to hear their concerns so they can better serve their clients.
“I want to make a difference. I want to make members more aware of how valuable SILVAR is to them. For me, it’s always been members first,” says Hamilton.
Involvement in leadership or in any association role is key to being a good real estate professional, according to Hamilton. “It’s important to realize being in a leadership role is not for the greater glory of real estate. What members get with being involved opens up opportunities at every level of real estate that you don’t get on the street every day. The Association makes decisions about your business. Members need to know what is happening, keep up with today’s news, because there have been so many changes in our business. Knowing all these, you can be the best for your client.”