Maitland realtor nabs the most sells in Central Florida for 2016

It was a busy year for Chris Creegan, broker and owner of Creegan Property Group in Maitland.

Although it is well known that the Central Florida area is a mecca of real estate, selling a home to a client takes hard work, determination and a friendly approach.

Creegan worked magic as he finished off 2016 as the top seller in Central Florida — cementing the top spot with a whopping 116 units.

“It’s the most units I’ve sold,” Creegan said. “And I think this year we are on track to do a little more than that —we’re at 68 units for half the year.”

CAREER CHANGE

The fact that Creegan has become a staple in the community as a trusted Realtor has been quite the experience for a man that never expected to end up in the field. Growing up, Creegan had dreamed of becoming a police officer and actually did just that until 2006, when his desire to sell homes took over.

“Doing the 

right thing and really caring for your client, and doing whatever it takes to make sure your client is happy, then translates 

to referrals — 

happy clients are 

what run this business.”

 

— Chris Creegan

When he first got his license, work overlapped. Creegan patrolled at night, came home to sleep for two to three hours and then would get to the office by 9:30 a.m. After a year of that, he decided it was time to start focusing on real estate.

“I left a job with a retirement, benefits, a salary, everything — I left it all to pursue this career,” Creegan said. “It was definitely a big leap of faith when I did that, but I took the precautions when I was making the transition — I didn’t just flat out leave. I prepared for that full year to prove to myself that I could make up salary benefits and retirement in this career.”

After a few years working for RE/MAX, Creegan, along with his wife, Kristin, took the next step and opened Creegan Property Group in 2014.

Since its launch three years ago, the group has grown from the two Creegans to 23 agents across the Central Florida area — although much of his business comes from Winter Park and Maitland.

PERSONAL TOUCH

For Creegan, there are two things that motivates him to make his company the best — a desire to see his agents succeed and to be a community-based business.

“I really love seeing my agents succeed,” Creegan said. “Watching them grow and succeed in their business, because they have true support and have a real family behind them, it’s really awesome for me.”

The combination of being locally focused and maintaining the mom-and-pop feel of his company is a big part of the magic that makes it so successful, Creegan said.

“When I started this company, I didn’t do it to make more money; I did it for the people,” Creegan said. “Doing the right thing and really caring for your client, and doing whatever it takes to make sure your client is happy, then translates to referrals — happy clients are what run this business.”

Being able to get to know his clients on such a personal level, while making the process as consumer friendly as possible, helps Creegan learn  his or her specific desires, which makes for a smoother process for everyone.

“Most of our clients are friends after — we have dinner with most of our clients afterwards, and we see them and talk with them,” Creegan said. “That is the kind of family business that we run here, and I think that is what makes people feel comfortable and refer us out.”

That family dynamic has been so effective that it has actually led to referrals from other people’s clients. People, Creegan said, want to deal with companies that are run by normal, everyday people. 

Although the housing market has currently leveled off a bit, it is still an unpredictable beast that can turn up or down at a moment’s notice. Concentrating on building relationships with clients and expanding out his small, family run business is what Creegan sees as the future for Creegan Property Group.

“We’re going to have a cyclical market, but I really do believe that the franchises are the ones that are going to take a backseat to the boutiques,” Creegan said. “I think the consumers really want a more personal experience, and a more local experience than the franchises can offer.”