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Quarter Century with Coakley Realty: 20 Years and Growing
We trust you’ve been enjoying our time capsules from Coakley Realty’s 25 years in business. Our fourth installment spotlights what was going on at home and abroad in 2004 – 2008, when we hit the 20-year mark in providing full-service residential and commercial real estate solutions for clients in Greater Washington. Read all about it!
What Happened in 2004
- President George W. Bush defeats Democratic challenger John Kerry to gain a second term of office.
- U.S. transfers sovereignty and control of Iraq back to the Iraqi people.
- Facebook is launched as a social networking site, open only to students from Harvard University.
- The National World War II Memorial opens to the public in Washington D.C.
- Rory Coakley is named Rockville “Citizen of the Year” by the Rockville Chamber of Commerce.
What Happened in 2005
- Pope John Paul II dies; Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger elected as the new Pope and takes the name Pope Benedict XVI.
- Average price of a new U.S. home is $297,000.
- Tony Blair is elected to a third term as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- Disneyland celebrates its 50th anniversary.
- Microsoft releases the Xbox 360 gaming console in North America.
- Coakley Realty raises more than $60,000 for Stepping Stones Shelter at the organization’s annual Hat Party the most money ever raised at this event in its history.
What Happened in 2006
- Saddam Hussein is found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death.
- North Korea carries out its first test of a nuclear weapon, becoming the world’s 9th nuclear power.
- Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hits his 715th home run, breaking the all-time record held by Babe Ruth.
- The one billionth song is purchased from Apple iTunes.
- Pluto is downgraded from a planet to a dwarf planet by The International Astronomical Union .
- Coakley Realty hired its 20th agent.
What Happened in 2007
- Rupert Murdoch acquires Dow Jones & Co., which includes The Wall Street Journal.
- The Mitchell Report is published, showing widespread use of anabolic steroids and human growth hormones in Major League Baseball.
- Nancy Pelosi is elected as first female Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
- The final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is published.
- After joining the Board of Directors of Capital Bank, Rory Coakley becomes director in charge of marketing (a role he continues to serve in today).
What Happened in 2008
- In the U.S. presidential election, Democratic candidate Barack Obama defeats Republican John McCain, becoming the first African-American to win the office.
- Fidel Castro steps down as president of Cuba after almost 50 years in power.
- Property prices continue to fall on both sides of the Atlantic, causing hardship to many homeowners and problems for financial institutions in the U.S. and Europe.
- Citigroup, the nation’s largest bank, reports a fourth-quarter loss of $9.83 billion caused by sub-prime mortgage problems.
- Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, a $700 billion bailout of the U.S. financial system, is signed into law.
- Despite the market being down and two investment bank giants, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, declaring bankruptcy, Coakley Realty’s sales increased.
We’ll have one more blast from the Coakley Realty past – 2009 to 2013 next month. As always, we’re eager to hear about your own noteworthy accomplishments—then and now!
Sincerely,
Rory S. Coakley
Founder and President