BIRMINGHAM, Mich. (WXYZ) — A new home under construction in Birmingham is just a block over from the office where Simon Thomas is managing a fast-growing realty brokerage firm in a red-hot real estate market.
"We’ve recruited just under 80 agents in just around 2-and-a-half years, our sales are booming and the industry's great, knock on wood, it was a big part of it," Thomas, who runs Dobi Real Estate, said.
According to Thomas, the culture at the firm also plays a key role in their success at attracting agents who generate listings and close deals.
“I think our growth is from really just doing what we say we’re going to do, it’s very important to us, our core values are very important to us," he said.
They're also front-and-center on Dobi's marketing pamphlet for recruiting agents.
- Boss up
- Client above all
- Create value
- Be humble
- Come together
“One of the things we talk about here all the time is, you’re not on a team, you’re your own individual, the sky's the limit, go, but you actually come in here and you have the support though of a team, it feels like that," Thomas said.
There are no agent offices in Dobi's 4,000 square foot office space. it's open and collaborative by design.
“You have a $30-40 million dollar producer sitting next to a $3 million, how much can they teach each other?" Thomas said. "I didn’t know what was going to happen when we did it, I was just saying, please, just work and it’s working.”
According to Thomas, they finished last year with 48 agents and averaged about $5.2 million per agent.
"That’s unheard of, so I like to look at it as our agents are making money here, our agents are all making a living," he said.
Thomas said he'd love to grow to multiple locations in the end, with possibly 5-7 locations to benefit everyone.