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Top producer and star negotiator Maggie Kent has made a name for herself as a featured agent on HGTV’s hit Selling New York for seven seasons and a featured real estate expert in publications including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
Kent’s family real estate firm won numerous awards in Canada, offering boots-up market insight, experience and client service expertise, combined with her own background in the arts, her creative sensibility and her marketing savvy.
Learn how she leverages her sense of professionalism to develop a higher level of client trust and how she has developed resilience to navigate the ever-changing world of real estate.
Name: Maggie Kent
Title: Associate broker at CORE, sales team at Eastlight Condominiums
Experience: 20 years
Location: New York
Brokerage: CORE Group Marketing
Sales volume: $850 million career sales
What would you tell a new agent before they start out in the business?
Real estate can be a very emotionally rewarding and lucrative career, but too many people enter into it thinking it doesn’t take much work to get started. The days of real estate existing as a side hustle are long gone, and it’s important for new agents to recognize that real estate is a full-time job and that these first years are crucial.
From building your clientele to getting listings to working with sellers, these things take time, energy, effort and strategy.
Find a great mentor who can guide you through as you build your career, stay up to date on market trends and pricing, and never be afraid to ask questions.
What do clients need to know before they begin a real estate transaction?
Being realistic about the financial requirements is paramount. For buyers, obtaining pre-approval for a mortgage is a crucial first step. This not only provides a clear picture of what they can afford but also strengthens their position when making offers.
It’s important for clients to account for additional costs beyond the purchase price of the property. This includes closing costs, property taxes, insurance, maintenance and any potential renovation expenses. Buyers should also consider the costs associated with moving and setting up their new home.
Perhaps most importantly, buyers and sellers need to know that while it’s important to be prepared financially, it’s equally important to be prepared mentally. Real estate transactions can be emotionally charged and stressful — there may be challenges and delays, so maintain a level-headed approach throughout the process.
Having a support system, whether it’s friends, family or, of course, a great real estate agent, can help manage the emotional aspects of the transaction.
What do too few agents know that would make their lives easier?
Realistic pricing — and remaining confident in your pricing — is key to a successful business. I was working on a new development in NYC in 2019; we priced everything according to market comps and felt confident in our choice.
Then COVID hit and the market went haywire. While other projects were offering extreme concessions for property, we remained steadfast in our pricing, offering no concessions, and were still able to sell the building out during COVID.
The same is true for my current project at Eastlight in Manhattan’s Kips Bay. We’ve seen significant success with the project, and realistic pricing based on market projections is core to that success.
What is the one thing everyone should be doing to make their life and business better?
Work-life balance. Our work tends to take over since we are independent contractors — you eat what you kill. As such, burnout is common in our industry, so planning and blocking out time to rest, recharge, and spend time with family and friends will help you maintain your sanity. As a result, you’ll be more efficient and build a longer-lasting, sustainable business.
If you could do anything other than real estate, what would it be?
I would be a doctor, specifically with Doctors Without Borders. It becomes clearer and clearer to me as I progress through my life that health is the most important aspect of every living thing. If I really had the capacity to be a doctor, I would love to help someone heal. I can’t think of anything more noble or important than that.
