Mansker takes reins at Reed Bros. Realty

Mike Mansker has taken the reins at Coldwell Banker Reed Bros. Realty after purchasing the business from Mike Reed and his brother Bill's children Ashley, Ryan, and Brittany Reed.

"Mike Reed asked me to buy him out," Mansker told The Nugget. "I said yes because I really appreciate the fine business the Reed family had put together and want to honor their legacy by keeping one of Sisters' oldest businesses healthy and strong."

As part of honoring that legacy, the name of the business will remain the same, and Mansker doesn't plan major changes.

"I am not planning any big changes," he said. "More like steady-as-she-goes and continue to make improvements in how we serve the public. It certainly isn't broke, so I am trying to be smart enough not to fix it!"

Mansker does plan to re-establish rental property and property management services. And he's adding an artistic touch.

"The coolest thing in my mind is bringing in a collection of J. Chester (Skip) Armstrong's fabulous wood sculptures," Mansker noted. "Our clients and locals will finally have a place to buy the works of our most famous hometown artist. That's going to be a fun collaboration."

Mansker has been in real estate in Sisters Country since he moved here in 1995.

"We came here to raise kids," he told The Nugget. A pure quality-of-life move. My wife, Karen (a registered nurse) and I looked at 40 communities before picking Sisters. It's exceeded our expectations.

"I got into real estate so I could live wherever I wanted to, and because buying, improving and selling real estate had really become a passion for me."

Real estate is certainly a business with its ups and downs, and the past several years have been brutal on the industry. Mansker has always looked at the market with a realist's eye - and he is starting to see some hopeful signs.

"Nationally, we're hearing great news of strong real estate activity in Southern California, Texas and the Dakota oil patch," he said. "In parts of the Willamette Valley, where most of our buyers come from, inventory is really shrinking. 

"Our market lags California and Metro Oregon, but there are a lot more buyers around as a result of improving conditions in those markets. Those buyers naturally come looking for really great deals. Locally, that's resulted in a lot of multiple offer situations on bank-owned (foreclosed) properties and distress sales."

That doesn't mean a boom is just around the corner in Sisters Country.

"What I expect next is for the market to stabilize, distressed inventory will continue to dry up, and when it does, we'll finally know how much non-distressed properties have dropped in value," Mansker said. "I don't think it will be the 50 percent or more we've been seeing in foreclosures.

"Historically, the pattern for recovering markets following a major downturn is a flurry of buying by investors, followed by a long period of flat values, followed by slow appreciation until demand outpaces supply."

Sisters remains a desirable place to be, and that could have a positive effect as the market picks up - though the slow recovery has taught everyone to be extremely cautious with their optimism.

"The wild card this time around is that Sisters has a lot of people who have had to delay their plans to make this their home," Mansker said. "It will be interesting to see what effect that pent-up demand has on the market."

The business has a long history in Sisters.

The General Land Office was founded in 1974 by Bill Reed. Mike Reed recalls that it was located in an old remodeled house across from Ruth's Café (now The Gallery Restaurant). Mike Reed joined the firm in 1976. Bill returned to Portland in 1977, working for his father's insurance firm while commuting to Sisters to work in real estate Friday-Monday.

"His briefcase was a full-sized suitcase," Mike Reed recalled. "Dad put up with this for quite a while but finally gave Bill a six-month leave of absence and told him 'to go back to Sisters and either get real estate out of your system or don't.' Bill never returned, I became half-owner and the name was changed to Reed's General Land Office."

The brothers bought the Coldwell Banker franchise in 1992 and the name was changed for the final time to Coldwell Banker Reed Bros. Realty.

Bill and his wife Jan were killed in 2005 and their three children inherited Bill's half of the business.

For more information, call 541-549-6000 or visit www.mikemansker.com.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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