2019 a Year of Growth, Giving Back and Recognition for Air Realty

As another year comes to an end, there is always a wonderful opportunity to reflect on any lessons and what the year brought. For Air Realty, there are three things that were very significant this past year, says Joshua Svec, founder and owner of the real estate brokerage in Dartmouth.

The first is the tremendous growth Air Realty experienced in 2019. The brokerage saw two new agents come onboard this year — Adam Pottie and Damien McCartney. And now, Jessica Sherman, currently the vice president of TreePad Property Management, another company owned and run by Svec, just finished writing her real estate licencing exam this month and will be joining the team as an agent the beginning of the year. “In total, we have five agents, which is significant for a small brokerage that recently started,” he says.

“We also provide our own coaching through the brokerage, which is great because it allows us to mold (and model) good habits in our new agents,” he explains. “We have an expected level of professionalism for agents [at Air Realty] for how they deal with clients and other agents, and we set the bar high, as we should.”

The second accomplishment Svec is proud to claim as 2019 comes to a close, is a scholarship program through Air Realty, called Opening Doors.

“Although it is new, we have had a few people apply already,” he says. The scholarship includes a full ride (more than $3,200) for the Salesperson Licensing Course (SLC), which is designed to ‘prepare individuals to enter the real estate profession with an acceptable level of technical knowledge, competence and skill.’ The course is pretty stringent, students must attend 100 per cent of all classes and pass the Nova Scotia Real Estate Commission’s (NSREC) course with a grade of 70 per cent or higher within one year of completing it as a requirement for licencing in the province.

 

On top of paying for the SLC, Air Realty also provides the individual with $1,500 to be used toward business development, like a laptop or other items that will help them essentially develop their business, he adds.

“Once they pass the course, although we would love if they joined us, the scholarship is not dependant on that. They can work with anyone they want,” explains Svec. Air Realty intends to offer the scholarship every three-to-five years moving forward, he says.

The third thing Svec says is a highlight of 2019 for Air Realty is that the brokerage was nominated for Innovative Business of the Year by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.

“Air Realty is now selected as a finalist and they will pick the winner on Jan. 23,” he says.

The Chamber recognized that Air Realty created a new way for people to list their property online while also having a buyer agent in the transaction, which allows for their protection, something not currently offered through traditional seller/agent channels, he explains.

Svec says he essentially developed a new and exciting model to list a property. “The speed of uploading your listing, combined with our technology, is what makes this concept innovative,” he adds.

Something Svec did not mention is the other program Air Realty offers. Aptly named Give Back, agents can donate a portion of every transaction they make through the brokerage to a charity of their choice, and then Air Realty will match that donation at the end of each year.

Overall, 2019 was a great year for the company says Svec. That being said, he is looking forward to 2020 as he anticipates it will be ever better.

“We intend to continue to grow and give back to the community that supports us. We want to keep the positive momentum going!”