Bruce has been President of Century 21 Venture Ltd. and Asset Real Estate Management, Inc. for 31 years. He has a background in marketing, real estate development and construction management. Bruce has worked in newspaper advertising, radio advertising, and once owned an advertising agency. As Vice President of Salter Properties with offices in Boston, Massachusetts and Maine, he was involved in the site acquisition, development, and leasing of office buildings and subsidized housing projects. While in Boston, Holmes also worked with Meredith and Grew, Endeavor Development, New England Communities, and R M Bradley Real Estate. In addition to real estate brokerage, Holmes owns Asset Real Estate Management Company, which currently manages apartments, shopping plazas, and office buildings. Holmes's management company had a 10 year relationship with Bradley Real Estate Trust for its properties in Maine. In 2007-2009 he worked with Lockwood Mills, LLC in setting up the leasing and management system for the Hathaway Creative Center in Waterville, Maine, a $24 million Historic Rehabilitation project totaling over 300,000 SF of housing and commercial space. Holmes has enjoyed unique experiences ranging from creating and marketing private placement investments at 100 Federal St. in Boston, Massachusetts to acting as the American Master of Ceremonies for the United States/South Korea, Tae Kwon Do Conference with Master Joon Rhee at the Hyatt Regency in Seoul, Korea. He has had the fun of marketing the Elizabeth Arden Estate, the Prince Tara Tasso Hunting Lodge, and a 40 acre island off the Maine Coast. Commercial sales include 28 poultry farms, a poultry processing plant, and a Maine paper mill. Holmes' commercial experience ranges from office and shopping center management, extensive commercial leasing and sales, to helping set a company record of over 1000 units of multifamily sales within a several year period. The firm works with owners and developers from throughout New England in the sale of Maine industrial, retail, commercial buildings and development sites. He has had a career long involvement with Realtors, having been a past President of the local board of Realtors, Vice President of the state association of Realtors, charter member and two year President of the Commercial Board of Realtors, current Commercial Board Director, two-time recipient of the Realtor of the Year Award, and State Realtor Fair Housing Chairperson for 5 years. Since his involvement with Century 21, Holmes has participated in IMA (International Management Academy) and Orbit with Mike Berry. He was chosen for the Century 21 National Advisory Board in 2005 and has taught courses in Commercial Real Estate Leasing at their National Conferences. Bruce has served as Century 21 Council of Maine's President for three years, Board of Directors for two years and Board Chair for one year. In May, 2007, Holmes was certified by Harvard Law School as an Instructor under the PON'S (Program on Negotiation) method for teaching negotiation in an organization and puts on seminars on negotiation. In 2010 he obtained his 'Certified Negotiation Expert' designation from the Real Estate Negotiation Institute. In 2012 after taking 8 additional courses at different locations in the country, he received his Master Certified Negotiation Expert designation and will be presenting the courses to certify other realtors. Holmes received his B.A from the University of Maine, Orono in 1971. He has since taken numerous real estate courses, has taught the real estate practice and real estate law courses as an adjunct instructor for Thomas College and the University of Maine at Augusta both in the classroom and on the State-wide ITV (televised system). Holmes presents courses nationally in Negotiation and Commercial Leasing. During the fall of 2009, he was asked to present three courses to an international audience for the Century 21 Commercial Conference at the Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas. During the summer of 2011 he presented a negotiation course to 90 municipal assessors at the 64th Annual Maine Tax School at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center in Belfast, Maine. In 2015 he presented 'Winning Through Negotiation' at a commercial real estate conference in Washington DC with attendees from various countries including Turkey, Belize, Jamaica, Canada, and the United States. In 2016 he presented a course on Commercial leasing at the Century 21 Global Conference in Orlando, Florida. He has contributed toward articles in The Wall Street Journal and Realtor Magazine. Past or current memberships have included CCIM Candidate (Certified Commercial Investment Member), ICSC (International Council Shopping Centers), Maine Association of Realtors, and National Association of Realtors, ABR (Accredited Buyers Representative), REA (Real Estate Educator's Association), MIAQC (Maine Indoor Air Quality Council, and the Association for Conflict Resolution, New England Chapter. Bruce has had a long history with "Leasing", enjoying any opportunity to be involved with a transaction and attending training whenever possible. He has been through AT&T 's weeklong certification course in New York City, University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business, Lease Analysis course, and has attended the ALLA-ABBA Commercial Leasing courses in Boston, Massachusetts. He has negotiated lease transactions of every kind during 30 years in the real estate industry. Although not a certified real estate appraiser, Holmes has had to provide opinions of value on numerous commercial and residential real estate properties. He has also had experience in the valuation of real property of various kinds throughout his career. He has testified in Boston, Ma. at a major Maine industrial bankruptcy hearing, and has worked on the valuation of rail road rolling stock and equipment. Holmes recently sold the Belfast and Moosehead Lake Rail Road equipment and real estate. He has enjoyed serving as a judge for the Maine Academic Decathlon and as a 'Stakeholder' representing the Commercial Board of Realtors and the Maine Association of Realtors for the Maine DEP Waste Oil Remediation Program and Legislative Resolve. One recent commercial assignment was as a listing agent to the Good-Will Hinckley School in Fairfield, Maine marketing the North Campus of the Good Will-Hinckley School, a 92 acre property including 11+/- buildings with frontage on the Kennebec River. He sold Good-Will Hinckley's 849 acre organic land parcel. Holmes has been acting as a 'Court Ordered Receiver' through several Maine law firms for both commercial and multifamily properties. Century 21 Venture Ltd Bruce M. Holmes, President, 1 Orchard St., Augusta, Maine 04330, Cell: 207-632-7542 Email: Bruce.Holmes@century21.com Tel: 207-622-6221 x 212 Fax: 207-626-2750
Designations
REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® National Assoc of REALTORS®
Commercial Specialist
Accredited Buyer's Representative
Spoken languages: English
Client Reviews (8)
5.0 out of 5
(5)
Buyer Review
stephan bamberger Brunswick, ME
Bruce is the consumate professional. He is easy to deal with and has extensive knowledge of the area. Most of all, I trust him as a person to do the right thing always. I have known him for many years and can't speak highly enough of him.
2 years ago
Seller Review
Amy Colter, Manchester
Bruce is an incredible asset to Century 21 and our family as well. I appreciate his professionalism, knowledge and kindness. He made this process fun.
3 years ago
Buyer Review
Mary Courtney, New Vineyard
I tried communicating with several other brokers with no success. They either were slow to respond or didn't understand what I was looking for.
Bruce was immediately approachable and understood what I was looking for.
A+ for all the above. I would grade higher for communication. Bruce kept me updated on everything despite my limitations on communication... poor phone reception and intermittent email access.
5 years ago
Buyer Review
Ryan, Augusta
Bruce was great throughout the process and was a strong advocate making sure there were no surprises. He also was very patient with us as we looked for the perfect property.
