Broker Spotlight: Eloy Carmenate and Mick Duchon, Corcoran

What are 3 things you’d like readers to know about you and your partnership?

Mick: One thing that makes our partnership so successful is that we trust each other. We’ve been partners since 2015, but Eloy was my mentor even before that, so we were able to form a symbiotic relationship before becoming equals.

Eloy: Secondly, we pull our equal weight in the partnership. Before Mick and I joined forces, I was working 70-hour weeks, and now with his help, I’m able to breathe a little. Before 2015, I was the top broker in the condominium space, and after Mick became my partner, he brought a new dynamic. We were able to shift focus and expand to single-family waterfront homes.

Mick: Lastly, partnerships need respect for each other’s strengths. Eloy is an incredible mentor and partner who is an expert in the South Beach market. I learned and continue to learn more from him every day. I’ve lived here for a long time now, but he has the knowledge of someone who grew up here.

Eloy: And Mick with his drive to succeed has surpassed me in many ways. Building new business and retaining clients requires dedicated persistence, and with Mick’s commitment to the follow-up, we’re able to keep clients for many years.

How did you get your start in real estate?

Mick: I started as Eloy’s intern right out of college because a mutual friend who happened to be one of Eloy’s best clients made the introduction. I did everything from reception and marketing and then finally started showing. Once I started showing, I gained my own clients and kept working hard to increase my production. In 2015, I knew I was ready for more and approached Eloy about becoming partners. He said yes on the spot.

Eloy: I came from a very Cuban upbringing and grew up in a poor area in southwest Miami. I knew when I was young I wanted something bigger. When I moved to South Beach, I fell in love with Art Deco design and architecture.

The first apartment I moved into in 1994 was a beautiful Mediterranean building. I loved it so much that I persuaded all my friends to move in. Surprisingly, the building offered me a job, and I was actually getting paid to have my friends move in. I was hooked! I started to work in property and asset management until about 1994 and transitioned into sales.

What do you wish more people knew about working in real estate?

Mick: When I started, everything surprised me. It’s an “around the clock” 24-hour position if you want to make this a successful career, and it does seep into your personal life. I rarely disconnect, but due to the Miami market slowing down in the summer, there are times we are able to detach. However, even during that time, we are still looking for new ways to build business.

Eloy: Mick is relentless, and the reason he is so good at his job is that he stays in touch with clients. I wish more agents were more knowledgeable about the market and followed up more. I always say, “Just because they say no, it’s not a no. It’s just a “not right now.” We never take no for an answer.

What’s your top prediction for 2022?

Both: While we’re seeing the same amount of demand in 2022 as we did in 2021, it has been more difficult to facilitate transactions due to low inventory and high prices. The top-tier houses, lots and condominiums are seeing multiple buyers, and that is driving prices higher.

We’ll also continue to see an influx of people moving to Miami from out of state — New York, New Jersey, Connecticut — and making it their primary residence rather than their second home. Prices no longer allow for the investment home.

We don’t like to make predictions, but in 2022 sales are more likely to go down because of lack of inventory and not because of a lack of demand.

Tell us about a high point in your career.

Mick: Of course partnering with Eloy was a high point in my career, but I would also point to my first $20 million sale in 2016. It completely changed the game for our business because it catapulted us into the single-family homes arena. That same year we sold three out of the seven homes listed above $20 million, and now our business is 60/40 condos to single-family.

Eloy: When I broke the $20 million range, it had never been broken before in Miami. Previously the highest sale was around $12 million, so in 2002 when I did this deal with Ken Griffin it changed the market. The cherry on top? The same day we signed the deal, I broke my ribs. Thankfully Mick was there and basically carried me to the meeting.