Lake Homes Realty agent Stephanie Millard has been named this year’s Best Real Estate Agent in Hoover’s Magazine’s 2019 list of bests.
“I’m honored to have been selected by the community as Hoover’s Best Realtor,” Millard said. “I’m only here because I have the BEST clients, colleagues and support staff!”
Millard also attributes her recent “best” designation to her “client-first” philosophy.
“I’m not just selling homes or helping people buy pieces of property,” she explained. “I’m selling a lifestyle and helping clients invest in their futures. My client-first philosophy not only keeps me accessible and responsive to my buyers and sellers, but also allows me to build relationships with them that last long after closing.”
It’s these relationships and her clients’ happiness, Millard says, that gives her her deepest sense of satisfaction as a real estate agent.
This is the first year Millard has received a Hoover’s “Best” award; however, it is not the first recognition she has received for her work in the industry.
In 2018, Millard was named a Lake Homes Realty premier agent and Aqua Award winner for having closed more than $5 million in transaction volume for the year.
“Stephanie’s recent accomplishments are a testament to her work ethic and dedication to her clients,” said Lake Homes Realty CEO Glenn S. Phillips. “We are proud to have her as part of our Lake Homes Realty family and to see her hard work pay off.”
Finalists for the 2019 Best Real Estate Agent designation included Renee Hamilton, Jennifer Harris, Gwen Vinzant, Amy Wingo.
Lake Homes Realty named Terry and Sherrie Norton 2017’s Splash Award recipients at its annual Agent Summit, which took place Oct. 17-20, 2017. Additionally, both members of the Lake Wedowee, AL team are now recognized as Lake Homes Realty Premier Agents.
“We are incredibly honored, humbled and appreciative of this recognition of our hard work,” this year’s winners said. “It is an honor to be chosen from among our fellow agents who all work so hard to attain their goals. It really is an incredible honor.”
The Splash Award Defined
The award, presented to company’s Realty Agent of the Year, is given to the Lake Homes Realty agent, or agent team, with the overall best performance across a number of important accomplishments.
“Winning the Splash Award is an honor and a great way for LHR to say that our company appreciates our hard work,” the Nortons said. “Maintaining and working toward this goal again for the coming year is certainly a great incentive.”
Eligibility is open to agents who have been licensed with Lake Homes Realty for a minimum of 24 months by Aug. 31,2017.
These agents must also have completed at least 12 transactions on either the buyer or seller side of a sale within a 12 month evaluation period, which began Sept. 1, 2016 and concluded on Aug. 31.
Lake Homes Realty’s Terry (center) and Sherrie (right middle) Norton named 2017 Agents of the Year at annual Agent Summit on Oct. 19, 2017.
Additionally, agents had to have closed $3.5 million or greater in transaction volume during this time in order to gain award eligibility.
“Eligible agents are then ranked, relative to each other, by performance in a number of key areas. These include overall effective commission per side and percent increase of year-over-year transaction volume in dollars,” explained Glenn S. Phillips, Lake Homes Realty CEO.
Additional areas assessed include average number of days it takes from closing to office file completion, total number of sides closed and number of listings in Multiple Listing Services as of Sept, 1, 2017.
Agents are also ranked by total transaction volume closed in dollars.
This volume is defined by sale price apart from the number of sides an agent represents for a given transaction. Referral transactions are not included in the total transaction volume.
Determining the Agent of the Year
To determine the Splash Award winner, the best performance in each of the criteria areas is given one point. The next best performance receives two points, the third receives three points and so forth.
The points from each area are then totaled with the lowest total score named the winner of this prestigious award.
“In the event of a tie in total points, the tie-breaker is determined by the highest transaction volume between those tied during the evaluation period,” Phillips explained.
For 2017, the Splash Award winners and the second best overall performing agent were separated by justone point.
“Lake Homes agents are the special forces unit of real estate industry,” Phillips said. “They are the lake real estate experts and their knowledge and skills continue to be reinforced year-after-year.”
2017 Agents of the Year
“We feel extremely blessed by our past success,” they said. “We have to continue to strive to always do our best.”
During the 12-month evaluation period alone, the team sold more than $7.7 millionin lake property.
The Nortons are proven local lake real estate experts who are passionate not about selling property, rather their passion is for selling the lake experience.
Their credibility is further made evident by their relationships among both buyers and sellers. From Sept. 2016 to Aug. 2017, the Premier Agents team represented 55 total sides closed.
The Key is Happy Clients
“Our motto is ‘we work hard for our clients.’ Our clients are our success,” the couple emphasized. “There is great satisfaction in a job well done and in knowing we have provided the best service possible to our clients.”
Additionally, the Nortons’ transaction volume increased by an impressive 44.15 percent in the last year.
“Hopefully clients and potential clients who read about our awards and success will feel confidence in LHR,” they said, “and about our abilities to represent them as they list their home or purchase a new home.
Lake Homes Realty is the largest, lake-focused real estate brokerage in the nation. The company business model focuses on creating a national market reach for local properties and agents.
Phillips and his wife Doris, who serves as Lake Homes Realty’s Chief Operating Officer, shared that treating their agents with respect and confidence in their abilities is paramount to the company’s success.
“We always say we have four clients: the buyer, the seller, the agent, and our staff,” the COO explained. “Just like we want Lake Homes buyers and sellers to be happy with us, we strive to maintain positive relationships with our agents. Their happiness is what drives their success, and ultimately, the success of Lake Homes Realty.”
This mindset is proving its worth as LHR is currently licensed in 16 states, and counting, and belongs to more than 70 MLSs.
“We are so proud to be a member of the LHR team. Simply put, we could not provide the customer service we provide if we did not work for such an amazing company,” the Nortons said. “We can proudly state [Lake Homes Realty] is the leader in lake home sales. We know we work for the best.”
Thirty-three Lake Homes Realty agents were honored with a Premier Agent designation during the brokerage’s 2017 Agent Summit, held Oct. 17-20.
The designation was awarded to Big Wave and Aqua Award recipients from across eight states, and nearly 25 lake real estate markets.
“We are just so glad to see so many of our agents succeeding in their lake markets,” said Doris Phillips, COO of Lake Homes Realty. “Awarding them with these honors recognizes how hard they have all worked in the last year and what an asset they are to the Lake Homes team.”
Big Wave and Aqua Awards Explained
Lake Homes Realty’s Big Wave Award is presented to agents who have obtained a total transaction volume of at least $3.5 million up to, but not including, $10 million.
Winners of the Aqua Award are agents who have a total transaction volume of $10 million or more.
Nearly 100 Lake Homes Realty and visiting agents attended the 2017 Agent Summit. Of these agents, more than 30 received honors.
“Transaction volume, for the purposes of Lake Homes awards, is based on sale price independent of the sides represented,” explained Lake Homes Realty CEO, Glenn S. Phillips. “Further clarified, this means sale price apart from whether an agent represents a single side of the transaction, either the buyer or the seller side, or both sides.”
This transaction volume must be obtained within a 12-month evaluation period.
For 2017, this evaluation period was from Sept. 1, 2016 through Aug. 31, 2017.
Referral transactions are not included in determining the winners of company’s Big Wave and Aqua Awards.
The Aqua and Big Wave Awards, which are presented annually at the Lake Homes Realty Agent Summit, are two of the company’s most prestigious awards.
“In addition to being recognized for their outstanding effort, performance and dedication to Lake Homes, our agents also reach Premier Agent status as winners of these awards,” said Phillips. “With this designation, agents are able to market themselves as our company’s top earning lake-area real estate experts.”
These agents are some of Lake Homes Realty’s best ambassadors, characterizing the business as convenient, attentive, and passionate about finding its clients the lake-area homes they have always dreamed of.
With continued success and efforts of agents like those awarded Big Wave and Aqua honors, Lake Homes Realty remains the nation’s largest, lake-area real estate focused brokerage.
