Wait. What?? 86th? Is that something to celebrate? Absolutely!
There are 825 real estate companies in the St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County, Missouri markets, from small mom-and-pop operations to large, national brokerages. For the first half of 2021, Fathom Realty – St. Louis ranked 86th in total transactions and total volume in the Mid-America Regional Information System (MARIS) for those markets. The MLS covers brokerages that are members of the two largest associations in the area, St. Louis REALTORS®, and St. Charles REALTORS®.
“This is quite a feat, considering we only had one agent on January 1, 2021, besides me, and he had just received his license,” reports Randy Alaniz, District Director. “Also, the first transaction in 2021 wasn’t until February, and it was a lease!”
“I’m so proud of the agents who have seen the vision and joined us this year. They are amazing representatives of who we are and what we are about. In return, they’re getting great support and keeping more of their income to help their families and grow their businesses,” continues Alaniz.
It would have been easy for Alaniz to chase after new agents or non-producing agents in a new market, but he is a firm believer in quality over quantity.
“We, at Fathom Realty, set a high standard for ourselves, and I feel that standard needs to be reflected in the quality of agents who join us. This is especially true in a new market, where the first exposure a non-Fathom agent has to our Company may be across the transaction table. I want every agent we encounter to walk away thinking, ‘Wow, that company has professional and knowledgeable agents!’,” adds Alaniz.
Currently, Fathom – St. Louis has 23 agents, with numbers 24 and 25 joining soon. The District is on track to add about one agent per week this year.
“I know that’s not an explosion of agents, but this is a marathon, not a sprint. As we continue to grow with quality agents, I see exponential growth in the not-too-distant future,” predicts Alaniz.
A great example of the type of high-quality agents Alaniz refers to is Lori Sharpsteen and her team from Out of the Box Properties. Sharpsteen followed Alaniz to Fathom Realty from a previous brokerage.
“Since joining Fathom as a three-person team in February 2021, the Out of the Box Properties Team has enjoyed amazing growth in so many areas, using the tools and philosophies supported by Randy and Fathom!” exclaims Sharpsteen. “Now, with seven licensed agents (and more joining soon) plus an unlicensed administrator, I can finally realize my vision of a team of agents growing and developing their business AUTHENTICALLY…in ways that are true to who they are and their unique skill set. The financial model allows my agents to be more profitable so they can invest more efficiently and effectively back into their business. We are just scraping the surface of the technology and tools available. The single property website training is next for the team. We are all looking forward to what the second half of the year brings! Thank you, Fathom, for providing a platform that provides real growth for their agents and teams!”