Event Coverage

Gene Steil recognized as Honorary Member for Life

At SAMCAR’s Combined Marketing Meeting held at the Elks Lodge on Tuesday, April 4, Executive Officer Janet Case bestowed upon longtime Realtor Gene Steil an Honorary Member for Life status with both the San Mateo County Association of Realtors® (SAMCAR) and the California Association of Realtors® (CAR). Steil, a Realtor for nearly 38 years, who owns Rupert Taylor Real Estate.

Born in San Francisco in 1930, Steil graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing. He worked in San Francisco’s Macy’s throughout college and after he graduated, he helped open the Hillsdale Macy’s store.

Steil and his wife Maggie were married in 1953. He opened Steil’s Baby News in Belmont in 1958, a children and furniture store, whose slogan was, “We deliver everything but the baby.”

By the early 1960s, the Steils owned a 12-unit apartment house in San Carlos, a beach house in Aptos and a custom view home in Belmont. In 1968, Steil decided a career in real estate “made more sense than delivering diapers and assembling cribs.”  He began his real estate career with August Associates in San Carlos in 1968. Two years later, he purchased Rupert Taylor Real Estate with his partner, Rudy Helin. By 1980, Rupert Taylor Real Estate grew to 11 offices and about 350 agents throughout the Peninsula and the Coast. Steil purchased the business in 1982. His daughters Carolyn and Ellen have joined him in the business.

Steil was given a standing ovation by his peers as he received the honors from Case and California Association of Realtors® (C.A.R.) president Vince Malta at the breakfast meeting. He thanked both associations for the recognition and described how much real estate has appreciated in the Bay Area. He noted, a home priced at $120,000 dollars in 1971 sold for $1.2 million in 1986. Two and a half years later, the same house sold for $2.5 million. Nearly three years later, the property sold for $5.5 million. Today, he announced that the same real estate sold for about $7 million.

The longtime Realtor encouraged everyone to purchase property and gave his peers this advice: “You’re doing great at listing and selling, but also buy real estate. Buy real estate now!”

The San Mateo County Association of REALTORS® (SAMCAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 3,800 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula. SAMCAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in San Mateo County.

The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.

For further information, please contact Julie Ziemelis, Director of Public Affairs, e-mail , or phone (650) 696-8214.

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