Realty Executives Associates, with more than 550 real estate experts serving all of east Tennessee, has been named Realty Executives International’s Brokerage of the Month for May 2017.
Founded in 1979 by Vance Burkey, the brokerage is led by Steve Fogarty (President), Tony Rodgers (Broker/Owner), Pat McGill (Broker/Owner) and Greg Cates (CFO). Realty Executives Associates has led the east Tennessee market for nearly four decades and has once again ranked amongst the industry’s best, gaining national recognition in the 2017 REAL Trends 500 and in RISMedia’s 29th Annual Power Broker Report. The prestigious reports list the top 500 largest residential real estate companies in the country, ranking them by closed transaction sides and total closed sales volume for 2016.
The company ranked #73 for transaction sides and climbed nine places year-over-year, coming in at #137 for closed sales volume for the RISMedia report. For the REAL Trends 500 list, Realty Executives Associates came in at #74 by sides and again advanced in the sales volume ranking to #136.
“We were paperless long before the vogue of going paperless, we have a true compliance division that oversees all listings, sales and closings, we have a great marketing department, and our staff is always available to help agents,” Fogarty told RISMedia.
The firm recruited more than a dozen Executives in the month of May, with the company’s existing agents often acting as word-of-mouth brand ambassadors, bringing new talent in on a regular basis. Since the company has strategically built offerings that “speak for themselves,” top producers are consistently attracted to the brand when performing a cross-sale with a Realty Executives Associates agent, and learning more about what it’s like to be a part of the team.
“What our agents tell other agents in the field is genuine. Focusing on agent retention has been our best, most important, and most authentic recruiting strategy,” Fogarty says.
“We’ve set out to be the firm in the area that agents aspire to join, and I believe we’ve achieved that by keeping our focus on only offering platforms and services that are meaningful to productive agents,” Fogarty explains.
All of the firm’s offerings are founded on a tech-driven culture. For example, Realty Executives Associates recently introduced concierge and transaction management services which provide inclusive, assistant-level benefits to agents for a nominal fee. With the goal of ensuring agents can easily “do business more professionally, and do a lot more business without having to hire an actual assistant,” Fogarty says the program has been extremely well received.
The “cherry on top” of their latest tech offerings, according to Fogarty, is a “new, advanced technology presentation for listings that will allow clients and other agents to feel like they are in the house, walking through it, with new 3D immersive virtual tour tools by Matterport.”
In addition to this, top-notch broker support is offered seven days a week, and the company’s eight branch offices are staffed daily. Fiercely competitive commission fee structures with no hidden charges, along with paperless transaction management platforms distinguish the company from the competition. A central business development center with live streaming broadcasts also point to the company’s hyper-awareness of today’s productive, modern, mobile agent.
The business development center is open to agents to share their own live broadcasts or to coordinate meetings. The brokerage also has a special event vehicle equipped with a commercial sound system, commercial grill, big screen, heating and cooling system, and other amenities, and is used by the company for outreach events. It is available for agents to lend to churches, non-profit organizations and other causes the Executives hold dear.
“Realty Executives Associates staffs it, delivers it and sets it up,” Fogarty said. “Our Executives know best what community happenings are taking place, so why not give them the freedom to give back to the community in a meaningful way, again and again.”
With all that the brokerage has to offer its real estate professionals, it extends company assets with a strong sense of grace and freedom to those who call Realty Executives Associates home. With innovation, technology and entrepreneurial freedom at it’s core, the firm’s impact on the east Tennessee market remains profound. “We are constantly trying to innovate things that are real, that show real results and that genuinely help a productive agent,” explains Steve Fogarty.
