This year, we highlight top-producing CRSs during a tumultuous period in the real estate industry
CRS Designees are the best real estate agents in the industry.
Here, we highlight our top producers* who have shown tremendous growth over the past year and how they continue to thrive despite market volatility.
*Recorded sales numbers as of September 2021
Winner — Adam Levy, CRS
Adam Levy, CRS, is a broker-associate with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty in Miami, Florida, and is on track for $50M in sales this year with 45 transactions.
The origin of Levy’s success dates back 24 years ago, when his mom (now his business partner) told him that the most important relationships he would have in this industry were with his fellow REALTORS®. From that point, Levy understood that if fellow real estate agents were treated as business partners, it would create an atmosphere of respect—resulting in more properties, offers and sales.
Fast-forward to this past year: In addition to approaching his peers as partners, Levy also thrives in treating his clients with the same respect. Taking it a step further, he treats them like family, as well. Throughout the pandemic, Levy made many of the adjustments that other real estate agents did, implementing various technologies to assist buyers and sellers—Facebook Live open houses, Zoom listing appointments and walk-through video tours—but one approach stood out from the others: his personal touch.
“The overarching method I adopted was simply to reach out to my sphere and let them know that I genuinely cared about them,” Levy says. “And most importantly, I showed those that I was working with that when the pandemic hit, we were going to get through it together.”
Contacts are a large part of a REALTOR®’s business. When things slowed down, Levy sent a direct mail piece that included a family photo, which resonated with people and showed clients that he was there for them during this difficult time. “The family photo had a comforting, community feel that we were all in this together,” he says. “I think it was just good timing—like a lot in real estate, it’s just timing.”
Even though we are close to two years past the initial shutdown in 2020, and despite Levy’s increasing success, he still makes a point to continue learning. He watches webinars, does online research and tests out different technology, so he stays current. “I like to show off new technology at the listing table,” Levy says. “That way, we’re able to stand out and be considered more often.”
Levy also says the CRS Designation has brought him added clout, more substance and more credibility. “It shows potential and current clients that I want to be their trusted advisor, one similar to their attorney, family doctor or their CPA,” he says. “I want to fit right in with that level of professional in their lives.”
With everything he has learned and his track record of success, Levy believes that agents can always get better and improve.
“I regularly rehearse, review and challenge myself so that I can get better at my job,” he says. “My routine has been altered, revised and upgraded—I think that gives me the edge over my competition.”
Runner-up — Karen King, CRS
Karen King, CRS, is a REALTOR® for Karen King Group with RE/MAX Connections based in Monson, Massachusetts, and has made $18.4M in sales this year with 68 transactions.
King lives and works in Monson, Massachusetts, a town with a population of 8,500 residents. She is one of the town’s biggest advocates, and even started two Facebook pages to promote it: Monson MA Fun Places to Visit and Monson Military Care Package Drive, to support our military. This passion is reflected in the way she cares for her town and gives back. “I show people that I’m not just a REALTOR® but a good neighbor and care about my community and our military,” King says.
When it comes to giving back, it’s not just in the community—King strongly believes in mentoring and taking people under her wing to help them fly. One of her buyer agents was once a waitress, and King worked with her to become a full-time agent who now is thriving in the industry.
This hands-on approach is reflected in who she is as a person and her career, and it’s her “one-stop shopping approach” that King attributes her success to. “I have names for all services that I give to my buyers/sellers, so they can call me for anything at any time, even if we aren’t actively working together at the time,” King says. “I keep in touch with past clients and make sure they know it’s my pleasure to serve them. Every client is treated as if they’re my family.”
Because of the way that King treats her clients—and the “get what you give” mentality, that love has been returned tenfold, especially over the past year in her deepest time of need. In July 2020, she had an acoustic neuroma brain tumor removed during a six-hour surgery. It took her weeks to get back on her feet. “My clients brought me dinners, cards and made sure I knew everything was going to be OK, just like I always strive to make them feel,” she says.
When it comes to the logistics of her business, King believes in video and professional photography, and she invests heavily in them for each listing so that it not only attracts buyers to a home, but many sellers look to see what type of marketing she does. A tried-and-true method that will always be relevant for her is communication—following up and something as simple as always answering the phone are key. “We are in an instant-gratification world. so being timely and treating each client as if they are the only one is so valued,” she says.
King has been a CRS for over 30 years and credits the superior training and networking with other CRS Designees as what has brought her business to another level. “I learned early on to focus on those who do more business than I do and to listen to those who have paved the way before me. I’ve attended many RRC conferences, and each and every time I have increased my sales.”
Runner-up — Greg Hanner, CRS
Greg Hanner, CRS, is a broker/owner at Garden Realty in Waterford, Connecticut, and has made $22M in sales over 74 transactions this year.
Last year, Hanner helped 74 families and generated $21.46 million in gross commissionable income as a solo agent without any transaction coordinators or personal assistants. As you may have guessed, Hanner is a hands-on type of agent. Instead of embracing the team approach that many agents utilize, he prefers to provide that extra layer of personal assistance himself.
Hanner even goes as far as wearing the hat of a home inspector when needed, pointing out physical problems of the home to buyers; or an appliance repairman, walking homeowners through A/C issues. His goal is to make a positive impact on his client’s buying and selling experiences, and the connections he makes last way beyond the closing table. “Many buyers call with home-care questions years after their closings, and I love helping them solve their problems,” Hanner says. “I make myself available to answer any questions that come up after the deals are done.”
The challenges of the past two years didn’t affect Hanner or his business because he’s always had tech skills and considers himself a “wired agent.” But he’s taken his use of technology up a notch to match market needs, going all-in on video and generating broker previews for clients to review remotely. This has served him well with non-local buyers. “They have a margin of safety when they work with me since I have 35 years of custom-building experience, so I quickly identify things during first showings or walkthrough videos,” he says. For his sellers, he provides professional photography, a narrated video walkthrough and a 3D tour, which includes a floorplan.
Being active in his local association has been a key ingredient for Hanner’s transition from part-time agent to becoming a top producer in his local market. To extend his growth further, he decided to obtain the CRS Designation. “When you are dealing with other agents, we inevitably look at who’s on the other side of the transaction,” he says. “I feel that my designation has paved the way for many of my buyers to get deals ahead of others. The CRS Designation essentially certifies that I’m an agent who is a pro, and one who’s serious about what I do.”
Every year, The Residential Specialist asks RRC members for submissions for its annual cover contest. Stay tuned for more details on 2022’s contest—it could be you on next year’s cover!
