On becoming an agent:

Ginny: In 1985 my husband decided to change businesses. I felt that I needed to go to work. I thought, "What could I do?" I'm a retired music teacher from Oak Park, Ill. So I decided I would go into real estate.

On pedigree:

Joe: I went to Villanova University, where I got a football scholarship. I played tight end. I gave professional football a shot. My highlight was having a workout with Tom Brady for the 49ers, right before the NFL draft in 2000. After that I did this small league called the XFL.

On dropping the hint:

Ginny: When he was trying the professional football routine, I suggested he get his real estate license, just to have it in case he ever needed it.

On catching the hint:

Joe: Ginny had thrown a real estate book at me during the summer, right by the pool. I thought maybe I'd start with her and move on to commercial.

On gender:

Ginny: When I started out, it was mostly women and a whole lot of ex-teachers.

Joe: I started in '01. I used to get ripped on by my friends who would say, "Isn't that the ladies side of real estate?" I thought, "Damn it, I want to make this 50-50 somehow." I'd say now it is 30 percent men. We've seen men who were in commercial coming over to residential.

On protocol:

Joe: I started calling her Ginny when I started working for her.

Two years ago I think, she started calling me "partner," which she never had to do. We'll share the listings. Sometimes as we're driving to a listing presentation, I'll find her saying, "You just do the talking." I like that.

On family sales teams:

Ginny: There are getting to be mother-daughters, father-daughters.

On family homes:

Ginny: We moved to Portola Valley in 1976. The house was $200,000. I would guess it is worth $3 million now. If we had known that, we would have put more money in houses.

On the market:

Joe: Right up until October, last year was booming. We didn't have a whole lot of inventory, but when it was coming on, if it was priced well, it would go. And not just with one offer. We'd have multiple offers.

Ginny: I think since Oct. 1, perhaps there have been two sales in Portola Valley. One in the high 3s (millions), one around $1 million. There are currently about 20 homes on the market in Portola Valley.

On selling:

Ginny: Some of our clients that live locally realize that though they're not going to get as much for their houses, their new purchase might be lower, too. It could be a wash.

On buying:

Joe: 2009 will probably be the most interesting year for the two of us. This is where pricing becomes more crucial than ever and the great real estate agents are going to stand out.

On agents getting out:

Ginny: I don't know that they have as yet. I would suspect they might. I would say in this business, probably 20 percent of the agents do 80 percent of the work.

On other agents getting jealous:

Joe: I'm sure they do. I don't blame them. I would think that way if it were someone else. I'll say this: I wouldn't be in this business if it wasn't for Ginny. I wouldn't have seen someone succeed like she did.

E-mail Sam Whiting at swhiting@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page P - 4 of the San Francisco Chronicle