Shirley Yoon, Linda Sargeant
When something happens to a TV producer, it’s not surprising when the experience becomes the subject of a reality show.
Catherine May of W Network’s The Agents sold her house. She was fascinated by the agents’ open house, when 30 real estate agents looked at her house and then freely offered their opinions about her agent’s selling strategy. “The range of feedback was astonishing,” May says. “The differences were fascinating, and I got thinking….”
Steve Massaroni, Janet Sinclair
The Agents is back for another season, this time with a difference. Instead of watching public open houses, viewers will get an inside look at the workings of agents’ open houses and see how agents come up with strategies to price a home properly to get their clients the best price.
For viewers who are agents, the show offers a chance to see their colleagues in action. For the public, the show offers a chance to learn the tricks of the real estate trade as agents weigh the risks of pricing a house above, below or at market value, says May. “The right strategy makes an agent a hero, the wrong strategy, zero.”
Gary T. Taitt, Linda Ing-Gilbert
In each episode, two agents compete against each other to see which one of them can come up with a winning strategy. Viewers see one agent’s open house. Agents who attend talk about the strategy and what they would do the same, or differently. Then viewers see the other agent’s open house and hear agents’ comments. In the end, viewers see which agent’s listing sold and who chose the right strategy.
In the first episode, sales rep Janet Sinclair must price and sell a three-bedroom, fully detached home complete with a Tiki bar, while sales rep Steve Massaroni must sell a Victorian row house that has undergone a high-end renovation.
Eight agents, most from Leslieville, The Beach and East York in Toronto, are featured in the six episodes, which aired in a marathon on the W. Network in July. All six episodes can be seen online at www.wnetwork.com/theagents.
The sales reps featured are:
– Janet Sinclair of Re/Max Hallmark Realty in Toronto, who has more than 21 years in property management and real estate.
– Steve Massaroni of Citysites Realty, who has been in the business for two years. He works mainly in the Leslieville area of Toronto and in Vaughan.
– Kristin Peterson of Core Realty Group, who grew up in a small town outside of Montreal but moved to Toronto after graduating from Concordia University. She has been a real estate agent for seven years.
– Linda Sargeant, founder and broker of record for Core Realty Group, a boutique brokerage in Toronto. Prior to her career in real estate, she developed dental and medical centres.
– Shirley Yoon, also with Core Realty Group, who moved to the boutique brokerage in 2010. She hopes to create a concept-based project space in support of emerging and established artists.
– Stuart Sankey of Royal LePage Real Estate Services, an agent for eight years, prior to which he dabbled in a variety of different professions from restaurant management to acting.
– Gary T. Taitt of Re/Max Hallmark Realty, with more than 15 years of real estate sales experience. His past career as an appraiser helps him in his real estate career.
– Linda Ing-Gilbert of Re/Max Hallmark Realty, a full-time agent since 2005. In a single year, she personally handled more than $10-million in property transactions for her clients.
– Kimme Myles of Royal LePage Johnston and Daniel Division, who was inspired by her father, Lou Myles, a celebrity clothier and self-made man.
