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Broker Spotlight: Abel Gilbert
Name: Abel Gilbert
Title: CEO
Experience: 19 years total, 5 years at ONEPATH Realty
Location: Miami, Florida
Brokerage name: ONEPATH Realty
Team size: 49 agents
Transaction sides: 2,831
Sales volume: $1.21 billion
How did you get your start in real estate?
My journey into real estate began with a personal connection to homeownership. Growing up, I was always aware that owning a home was an important goal for me. My parents left everything behind to move to the United States and help provide a better future for my sister and me.
During my teenage years, my mother often took us to open houses to look at homes she couldn’t even afford. In later years I realized that these visits planted the seeds of ambition and vision in me. They allowed me to dream and gradually shape the reality I’m living in today.
After experiencing homeownership myself on several occasions, I felt a responsibility to guide others towards achieving this dream. This led me to create my own brokerage, where we have successfully assisted thousands of families in becoming homeowners.
My start in real estate wasn’t just a career choice; it was a continuation of a journey influenced by dreams and my personal aspirations.
How did you choose your brokerage?
I created my own brokerage instead of choosing an existing one. After building a successful career in real estate, I realized that, despite being a part of some of the largest real estate brands, I felt isolated.
My first goal was to build a brokerage focused on fostering genuine teamwork. The foundation of our brokerage is a set on four core values: family, action, collaboration and trust, an ethos we refer to as FACT.
Over the past five years, our approach has guided hundreds of agents toward consistent success, and our model has inspired the formation of several other real estate teams and companies.
What do you wish more people knew about working in real estate?
I wish more people knew how to effectively communicate with their clients. Professionals in this field should prioritize genuine engagement over self-promotion or boasting about fictitious awards or self-proclamations. It’s more impactful to demonstrate your capability through the success of your homebuyers and sellers.
Ultimately, clients value assistance tailored to their needs over an agent’s personal achievements. Success in real estate hinges on showing, not just telling, how you can support a client’s objectives.
What’s something you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
Reflecting on my journey as an agent, I now understand the immense value of mentorship over just pursuing a higher commission split. In my earlier years, I prioritized keeping a larger percentage of my commission, which led me away from opportunities to learn directly from experienced real estate agents. When you prioritize money over proximity you can potentially lose more money by making your learning process slower.
As a broker-owner, a key lesson I’ve learned is the distinction between being a business owner and evolving into an effective CEO. While owning a business can be straightforward with a competent team in place, embodying the role of a CEO demands a unique set of skills that are gained through experience and informed guidance. Learning these skills and embracing this role has profoundly influenced my approach to leadership and business management.
What makes a good leader?
A good leader is someone who’s able to find the right balance between putting others first while being able to move a business mission forward. The bottom line is, if a leader is not able to move their business mission forward it’s difficult to lead from a place of giving and not getting.
Good leaders are able to show their way and inspire others to follow, but great leaders teach their way and inspire others to also become leaders.
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