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Erin Sykes, the former chief economist for Nest Seekers International, has launched her own Side-backed firm called SYKES, the white-label firm informed Inman.
Sykes and the firm will continue to serve the golden triangle of Florida, New York and New Jersey.
Initially, Sykes will work as a solo agent with a transaction coordinator with an eye toward gradually expanding to a small group of agents representing each market.
Having grown up in a family-run construction business, Sykes told Inman that owning her own brokerage has always been part of her career plan and that now was finally the right time.
Erin Sykes
“It had always been my long-term goal to have my own brokerage,” Sykes said. “So it was just a question of timing and when I was going to do it and, more so, how it fit into my personal life than anything else because, obviously, it’s a lot to take on.”
With Side as a partner, though, Sykes felt like launching her own company was highly feasible.
“Side does such a good job of supporting their founding partners and making sure that things like compliance and training — all of that they manage. So that was really the reason, when I was like, ‘OK, I think I can handle this,’ because they’re taking the weight off my shoulders for the things that I don’t want to deal with.”
Stephen Capezza | Side
Side’s president, Stephen “Capz” Capezza, said Sykes is the “perfect addition” to the firm’s community.
“She’s got decades of experience as an elite agent in the golden real estate triangle of Florida and New York and New Jersey,” Capezza said in a email sent to Inman. “On top of the impressive deals she’s done, she’s dedicated so much of her career to educating consumers and her fellow agents on what is happening in the market and what they need to know to be successful. We’re thrilled to see her take the entrepreneurial spirit that we’ve always witnessed from her and use it to strike out on her own with SYKES.”
Sykes worked at Nest Seekers International as chief economist and real estate wealth advisor for about four years and, prior to that, worked at Halstead part-time in New York City, she told Inman. Before that, she worked in project management and marketing for the family business, John Sykes Company, Inc. She has also been a frequent industry source over the years to a variety of news outlets, including Fox Business News, CNBC, Today, CNN and NBC Nightly News.
Sykes’ family business, which initially specialized in roofing and sheet metal, was founded in 1901 by John Sykes I, Sykes told Inman. Sykes’ father is John Sykes IV, and her brother is John Sykes V. For generations, everyone in the family took part in the business, which evolved over time to construct airplane wings during the World Wars, build casinos and help put together the largest pipe organ in the world, located at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Unfortunately, in the years after the 2008-09 recession, things changed. The company’s business model was no longer economically viable, and they had to shut it down.
Of her time spent at Nest Seekers, Sykes had only positive things to say.
“My time at Nest Seekers, to be really candid, was amazing. I’m very, very grateful for the opportunities that I had with them, particularly the economist role.”
For now, Sykes said she’s focused on growing in an intentional and methodical way, and ultimately developing the company to include brands for construction, property management and design.
Some of Sykes’ most recent professional accomplishments include representing the $11 million sale of Scottie Pippen’s Fort Lauderdale mansion and being named the exclusive sales rep for the 100-floor Waldorf Astoria Residences currently under construction in downtown Miami.
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