Bethany Weiser, CRS (center), works with her mom (right) and daughter (left) to strengthen her business
Everyone in real estate has an interesting story about what originally drew them to the industry. From being inspired by design or architecture, to loving the fast-paced environment of selling homes, the reasons for becoming an agent vary for RRC members. But for some REALTORS®, like Bethany Weiser, CRS, of Mehner Weiser Real Estate, LLC with RE/MAX Dynamic Properties in Anchorage, Alaska, the inspiration hits closer to home.
“My mom had been selling real estate since 1974,” Weiser explains. “Her business started taking off around 1992, so my dad got his license and joined her in the business in 1992 and 1993. Their business was doing so well that, in 1995, as I was still in college at Alaska Pacific University, they came to me and said, ‘Hey, we need some help.’”
So Weiser joined her parents’ operation as an assistant, and because she grew up around the family business, working in real estate came easy to her. “Just listening to conversations and how they conducted business, I knew everything that they were talking about,” she says. “It was like I had learned about real estate through osmosis while growing up.”
The family business continued to grow, with Weiser’s husband becoming licensed in commercial real estate and leasing. When her father went to work for the Municipality of Anchorage in 2006, Weiser took the opportunity to grow and in 2010, joined her mother as a partner and created Mehner Weiser Real Estate LLC. “I basically started taking over the business from her,” she says. “My mom is still licensed, she’s still actively involved, but I’m now the team leader.”
RRC involvement
Weiser first started working on obtaining her CRS Designation in 2004. Both of her parents previously achieved the designation, with her father having served as President of the Alaska RRC Chapter in 2000. “I realized that real estate was going to be my long-term profession, and it became clear to me that I needed to start taking classes that were more than just the basic, standard real estate classes,” she says.
Beginning the journey to become a CRS was a turning point in her career, Weiser says. “The first CRS class I took was taught by Mark Porter, and it was eye opening. I came back with pages of notes and started thinking to myself, ‘Okay, how are we going to implement this knowledge into our business?’”
She finished her training and achieved the CRS Designation in 2010, but that hasn’t stopped her from continuing to learn. “Education has always been a part of my life. I want to learn new things every day—I never want to stop that learning process, as I feel like that stops growth. So it was just a natural progression that led me to the CRS. The volume and quality of education available to members is too good to pass up.”
Because of her passion for continued education and her belief in the Council’s efforts, she has been very involved in the organization since she first achieved the CRS Designation—including following in her father’s footsteps and being named the 2021–2022 Alaska RRC Chapter President.
Doing things different
Weiser describes Anchorage, her market, as a “big, small town.” With a population right around 300,000, but comprising about 1,950 square miles, Anchorage is one of the largest municipalities in the United States in terms of actual area.
“Anchorage is a massive area, and it includes a lot of smaller suburbs to the north and a ski resort to the south,” Weiser says. She adds that what makes the Anchorage area appealing is the number of year-round activities available for residents: Mountain biking in the summer, fat tire biking in the winter, fishing, and world-class ski facilities for Nordic and downhill skiing in locations throughout the state.
“Historically, Anchorage’s economy and real estate market has been counter-cyclical to what’s happening in the Lower 48,” Weiser says. However, that has changed, and today the Anchorage real estate market is experiencing the same low inventory, increasing sales prices, greater volume with multiple offers and decreasing market times as the continental United States. “In the first five months of 2021, the number of sales in the Anchorage market has increased by 25%,” she adds.
But what truly separates Anchorage from other large cities is the way people operate up North. “I think what makes Anchorage different is that we are such a small town in the way we think, the way we move and the way we interact with people,” she says. “People come here, and they really find their chosen families, as opposed to the families that they’re born with. I think that’s one of the things that is always surprising to people—how friendly everyone is.” Her husband’s family is a perfect example: they were transplanted to Anchorage in the mid 1970’s with the Air Force, fell in love with Alaska and never left.
A family connection
This idea of forging familial relationships is what drives Weiser and her business, as her family has made Alaska their home for years. “My parents pretty much grew up here in Alaska, so we have family ties that go way back. My dad’s family moved here in 1952, and my mom’s family lived here twice, once in 1954 and again in 1961. My grandfather was in the military—so she was a military brat,” she says. “My parents both went to college here, and after three years overseas with the military, they officially settled back in Anchorage in 1969 and I was born here. We have ties that go back over 60 years in this state.”
With the business being owned and operated for years by first her mother and now her, this has allowed organic community relationships to blossom and continue across generations.
“For me and my mom, we’ve really focused on the relationships that we’ve made over the years,” Weiser says. “We take an approach that’s much more family and community oriented. I don’t think that there’s a single person who knows me, or meets me, and doesn’t know what I do.”
Weiser has made an effort to be out in front of the people of Anchorage and stays active in her community. “I’m active with my alma mater, Rotary International, with my kids’ schools and the Alaska Jewish History Museum, which I’ve been involved with for almost 20 years,” she says. Through her community involvement, she gets to connect with those who aren’t aware of her business.
What’s even more interesting about Weiser’s operation is that her business is about to be three generations deep: Her oldest daughter is in the process of getting her real estate license. “Our third generation is coming!” Weiser laughs. “My daughter just finished her classes and hopes to take her real estate licensing exam this summer to join the team.” Adding youth to their experienced roster will help in a variety of ways, most notably with their business’ social media marketing plans.
These deep family ties have been instrumental to the success of their business for all these years. “We always do our work from a family standpoint, and I think that’s what makes us a little bit unique when compared to other agents around our area,” she says.
