Elizabeth Cuico Prudential Real Estate ranked "Highest in satisfaction for home sellers among national fullservice real estate firms," in J.D. Power and Associates' 2008 Home Buyer/ Seller Study.

The study measures customer satisfaction of home sellers with major national real estate companies. Overall satisfaction is determined by examining four primary factors involved in the home selling experience: agent, marketing, office and services.

Among home sellers, Prudential Real Estate achieved the highest scores (793 on a 1,000 point scale) of all the major national real estate firms. In addition, Prudential Real Estate received particularly high ratings from customers in the marketing and office factors.

"Our team at Prudential California Realty works hard to not only meet, but exceed the expectations of its clients - sellers and buyers," explained Bob Majorino, broker/owner of the largest Prudential franchise in Ventura County.

The J.D. Power and Associates study finds that despite the popularity of home buying and selling resources on the Internet, the real estate sales professional remains key to customer satisfaction. A large proportion of home buyers and sellers rely on the Internet to facilitate the process, with 68 percent of buyers saying that they used Internet tools to help them in the purchase process and 61 percent of sellers reporting that they used a website listing to market their home. In addition, among sellers, online methods are the most important aspect of marketing. However, the sales professional carries the greatest importance among the factors that comprise overall satisfaction.

According to J.D. Power and Associates, although the Internet provides home buyers and sellers with the ability to perform some essential tasks, it still does not replace the importance of a sales professional. In an uncertain real estate market, professional advice can be especially valuable. The knowledge provided by experienced sales professionals is an important benefit of using a fullservice real estate company.

"We are very proud of this distinction, as it underscores the quality of our affiliates and their hardworking sales professionals," said Laurie Keenan, president of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc. "This recognition is especially rewarding because it comes from a most discerning group: our customers."

Elizabeth Cuico was welcomed to Prudential California Realty's Channel Islands/Oxnard office by Broker/owner Bob Majorino, Senior Branch Manager Jim Chutuk and Associate Branch Manager Rick Cobos.

A veteran real estate professional, Cuico was born in Saigon, Vietnam but was raised in the Philippines. Her mother is Vietnamese and her father Filipino. Cuico can speak both languages, which enables her to easily communicate with her clients.

Cuico graduated in the Philippines with a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology. She worked in that field before working in sales. "I love it," said Cuico. "In the Philippines, I worked in a wellknown hotel as part of their sales team and was awarded as one of their top three producers."

In 1989, Cuico immigrated to the US. She worked in a laboratory at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach for ten years, but missed working in sales.

When she married, Cuico devoted her time to her family. "We always do things together, and I am so proud to say that I have very smart, good boys."

After Cuico made the move to Oxnard, she chose real estate as her career, because she takes pleasure in helping people find their dream home. She has been an agent since 2004. "I enjoy what I'm doing and I finally found the job that I love. Ever since I have been with Prudential, I have always been in the top 10 producers for the Oxnard office."

She can be reached at 512-5773