RE/MAX Newstyle Realty Ltd.

Entrepreneurial spirit is in her genes. Kim Silver, a real estate agent in Antigonish, says she learned a lot about business from her grandfather, then her father and uncle, who ran a plumbing and heating company in this Northeastern Nova Scotia town for over 45 years.

“I learned from them that service, people skills, commitment and dedication are most important,” says Silver. “And as the old saying goes, treat people as you would like to be treated.”

“I would see my father leave home to go and get a washer, worth 75 cents, so that a homeowner wouldn't lose heat on a cold night,” says Silver. Now an entrepreneur herself, this is the kind of service she strives to give each of her clients.

Silver works with four other agents at RE/MAX Newstyle Realty Ltd. on James Street across from St. Francis Xavier University. She says about 90 per cent of their business is in the town of Antigonish and the remainder is the Guysborough County market.

The university and the hospital are major employers in the area and often bring new people here, says Silver. Plus, there are always people moving into and upward in home ownership.

Antigonish, a town of about 4,200 permanent residents plus an additional 4,200 St. FX students, is located on Nova Scotia’s north shore, just over two hours’ drive from Halifax International Airport and under 30 minutes from Cape Breton.

Sliver says it’s a place where neighbours help neighbours. “It has that small town feeling,” she says. “You feel like you know everyone and can trust those around you. On special days, like Canada Day or the Christmas parade, the whole town comes out.”

Silver says the two counties she services offer different advantages for homebuyers. While new residents to Antigonish may be looking to become part of a small town community, nearby Guysborough County is favoured by those interested in the province’s less traveled areas.

“People looking in the Guysborough region can often find waterfront properties and privacy,” says Silver, “yet often they are only about 45 minutes from Antigonish or about two hours from Halifax.”

Silver takes particular care with good communication and customer service. She describes one occasion when an out-of-province client bought a house without having visited it. The client grew up in Nova Scotia so she knew the province, but wasn’t able to come here to view the properties herself. When a perspective house was found, Silver acted as the client’s “local eyes.”

“I took many pictures and we communicated often,” says Silver. “I think she knew every crack in the wall.” The woman bought the property, and on closing day, she and her husband and three cats drove here from Ontario.

Silver was there the first time the couple walked into their new house. “The pleasure in seeing the smile on her face, it was such a good feeling,” says Silver. “I had helped them find a home; to be where they wanted to be.”

Ted Rowe, owner of the RE/MAX Newstyle Realty franchise, says a case like this demonstrates Silver’s ability to earn clients’ trust.

“Kim goes the extra distance for her clients,” says Rowe. “She started in the town four years ago when there wasn’t a RE/MAX sign on any corner. She was dedicated to doing this kind of work. Now she and four other agents have a very successful office.”

Rowe, a licensed real estate agent in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, owns several RE/MAX offices in Atlantic Canada. He bought the franchise for RE/MAX Newstyle Reality in 2004 and opened a New Glasgow office with local broker, Diane MacNeil. They expanded to nearby Antigonish the following year.

“These two markets in the centre of Nova Scotia are very interesting communities,” says Rowe. “They’re progressive communities, ones where things are happening, where people seem to be living a quality lifestyle. They were the kind of places I wanted to be associated with as a business man.”

Rowe has been a RE/MAX agent since 1983 and has seen first-hand the company’s impressive growth over the years.

RE/MAX was started in the US in 1973 by a young couple in Denver, Colorado, and came to Eastern Canada in 1980. During the next 10 years, says Rowe, the bulk of their growth in this country happened in Ontario and Eastern Canada.

The company now has over 7,000 independently-owned offices in 67 countries, including Germany, South Africa, Australia, Greece, Singapore, Ireland, Turkey, Spain and Norway.

In Canada, RE/MAX sells one out of every three houses, a record it has maintained every year since the late 1980s.

There are certain attributes that make RE/MAX successful, says Rowe. One of them is care in hiring the agents. A second, he says, is the tremendous marketing and brand support, with advertising across Canada. The distinctive red, white and blue RE/MAX balloon celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2008. With more than 100 hot air balloons around the world, RE/MAX has the world's largest commercial balloon fleet.

Rowe says a third attribute contributing to RE/MAX’s success is its support for industry training and seminars, which is unmatched by other real estate companies.

This kind of international presence and industry support give RE/MAX agents the right tools to be successful for their clients.

Kim Silver has already shown promise. Although she has been a real estate agent for less than four years, in March 2009 she will be presented with the 100% Club Medallion, her third industry award. It’s a sales achievement award only earned by the top 25 per cent of RE/MAX agents worldwide.

But there are many ways to measure success, and for Silver, there is also the pride in being able to help people at this critical decision point in their lives.

“There is much pleasure watching a first-time home buyer achieve a dream of owning their first home,” says Silver. “Seeing the kids picking their rooms and talking to me about the paint colors, or about the new friends they made the week after they moved in, that’s a good feeling.”