Holly Hack, A Woman’s Voice

April 26, 2015

Holly Hack, broker-owner of Traverse Citybased EXIT Realty Paramount, was invited to participate in the realtors’ roundtable, but a scheduling conflict kept her away. Still, we wondered about her perspective on real estate growth and life as a woman owner.

EXPRESS: A high percentage of realtors nationwide are female"¦but in northern Michigan, virtually every broker-owner is a man. Your thoughts about being a woman broker-owner in this business locally?

HACK: To be successful in real estate, the characteristics that are required bridge across gender. Having honesty and integrity, having local knowledge, being organized and able to pay attention to details, being hardworking and self-motivated; these are all traits shared by successful real estate brokers. These are traits that both men and women share equally. Within my own business, I spend my time focusing on the things I can do and that I can control. This will help me continually improve to serve my clients which in the long run will help my business. I’ve only been in business as a woman so I don’t spend time thinking about a reality that simply doesn’t exist. I can honestly say I am exactly where I want to be at exactly the time I want to be there.

EXPRESS: What trends are you seeing?

HACK: Inventory continues to be drastically low, we have more buyers than homes available. Construction will boom this year and coming years. Home buyers are savy consumers, they know what they want and how they want it. The interest rates are still at historic lows which is allowing buyers to get much more bang for their buck. Downtown continues to be in high demand as do the condos in the downtown areas.

EXPRESS: Any tips for buyers or sellers?

HACK: First impressions are paramount, whether you are buying a home, selling a home or picking a realtor. Trust your gut intuition. In selling your home, the buyer’s first impression is the only impression; make it count.