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Kyle Whissel’s team, Whissel Realty Group, was founded in 2010 and, in its 14 years, has never had a single down year. “We won’t let things like COVID, REOs going away or a shifting market stop us from growing,” Whissel said. “Grow or die is a core value of ours that we obsess over every single day. We hire, fire and review all of our staff based on our core values.”
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Name: Kyle Whissel
Title: Team leader
Experience: Investing since 2000, licensed since 2005
Location: San Diego, California
Team name: Whissel Realty Group
Rankings: No. 1 in San Diego seven times per Real Trends
Team size: 110
Transaction sides: 650 in 2023. On track for 950+ sides in 2024
Sales volume: $418 million in 2023. On track for $650 million-plus in 2024
Awards: No. 1 Video Influencer in North America per BombBomb, mega team of the year per San Diego Association of Realtors
How did you get your start in real estate?
Growing up, I HATED real estate. My dad was in real estate and it always seemed to take priority over me. Whether it was constantly being on calls in the car or being late to my games, it was all real estate’s fault.
He pushed me to buy my first home when I was only 20 and attending college. I did, and ended up making $17,000 in just a few months. That was quite a change from the $0.05/hour I recently received at the movie theater. From that point on, I worked with my dad in the commercial space for a few years and eventually branched out and started my own brokerage.
How did you choose your brokerage?
Initially, I started at my dad’s indie brokerage. When I left him, I started my own indie brokerage. After 12 years, I decided that the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze being an indie broker and joined eXp Realty. That was, hands down, the best business decision I have ever made in my life.
What do you wish more people knew about working in real estate?
It’s nothing like what they show on TV. Ninety percent of “reality” TV these days is scripted and many of the scenarios you see are embellished or completely fake. The real business requires hard work, rejection, late nights, working the weekends.
What’s something you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
Real estate is a long game. When I first started, I was so focused on the short game that I often neglected opportunities that would have paid off massively in the long run. One of the mottos I developed over time is that you have to make every client feel like they’re your only client.
Whether you only have one or you have 100, making them feel like they’re your only client will ensure they come back to you as a repeat client in the future and, more importantly, that they refer you anyone they know who has real estate needs.
Tell us about a high point in your career
One of the highest points in my career was in 2021 when an agent on my team surpassed $1,000,000 in GCI. Often times, people misunderstand teams and think that they’re only for newer agents and that there’s a ceiling on their sucess. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
The reality is that not only is there no ceiling, the floor is significantly higher due to the systems, support and structure that a team provides.
What’s your top prediction for 2024?
The early indicators are that the first half of 2024 is going to look like the first half of 2023 all over again with limited inventory and demand outpacing supply. As a result, we will see prices increase. Given that inventory is starting out 2024 lower than 2023, the price increases should be more significant than 2023.
Tell us about an epic fail you’ve experienced since you’ve been a team lead
The most epic failure I’ve experienced was working my face off to land one of the most coveted channel partner accounts, only to lose it less than a year later. What I learned from this experience is that while these opportunities appear attractive on the outside, they couldn’t be more ugly on the inside.
My experience and opinions were completely disregarded and we were constantly walking around on eggshells. It was a toxic environment. Losing that account was one of the best things that has ever happened to me.
What’s your top tip for newly formed teams?
Running a team isn’t for everyone. If you don’t have a passion for helping others succeed and are just in it for the money, you’re going to fail. Most people running teams are making less money than they were making when they were top-producing solo agents.
