San Francisco Business Journal April 16, 2004 By: Sarah Duxbury

Ken DeLeon was reconsidering his career at Wilson Sonsini before he even had his first day of work. In August 1998 he was hit, and almost killed, by a drug-crazed driver. Seven months of rehabilitation, followed by two years of 70-hour weeks, and DeLeon knew that he wanted a career where success would still include financial reward, but where he could have a life, too. So he traded in the law for real estate.Working in the Silicon Valley, 31-year-old DeLeon believes that an advanced degree, and his Wilson Sonsini pedigree, give him a critical edge on his competition. "The expertise in real estate is not at the level it should be, considering the price of homes," he said. Buying his first house in Palo Alto -- he now owns two -- was DeLeon's biggest investment. He was frustrated that his agent did not have the hard data on market trends and housing prices that he wanted. DeLeon provides some of that data at the informational seminars he holds every six weeks or so. These events help his business only indirectly; the purpose is to inform potential sellers what their houses are worth, and how to net the highest possible price. Should those potential sellers become actual sellers DeLeon has an arsenal of other, unconventional selling techniques. "I'm not beholden to the old ways," he said. "Most agents are still marketing homes like they're $500,000."DeLeon earmarks 1 percent of the sale price for marketing. That money, $20,000 for a $2 million house, goes for a professional photographer, full-page ads in local newspapers, and lattes and mochas at open houses. Because 90 percent of his offers come from other agents, DeLeon has spent up to $1,000 on his broker tours. He also is so confident in his ability to sell a house that he will sign one-month listing agreements instead of the six-month industry standard. The market helps."If a Palo Alto property listed at $1.5 million doesn't sell within two weeks, DeLeon said, "Someone's not doing their job."DeLeon is on track to have completed $17 million worth of deals in the past seven months. "You can sell a home doing very little," De Leon said. "But it won't be for as much."