Podcast - Carrie McCormick, Top 1% Broker with $1.5B in Sales

Off Market Podcast: Carrie McCormick, Top 1% Broker with $1.5B in Sales

Few have the tenacity to stick through a recession, even fewer come out the other side stronger—Carrie is one of those individuals. She’s a top 1% broker, has over $1.5 Billion in career sales and over two decades of experience in real estate. She’s a member of Christie's Master Circle, and has earned the association's Bronze, Silver, and Gold awards.

Carrie's venture into real estate wasn't predetermined. She began her career in the securities market with E-Trade during the dot com boom. A few years later, she found herself in the real estate development space, and then became a National Sales Manager for one of Chicago's largest & most well-respected development companies, Centrum Properties.

Carrie’s transition from sales manager to realtor to top 1% broker is a testament to the power of client-centric service and the cultivation of meaningful relationships. Sit back, buckle up, and get ready to hear firsthand what happens when someone is bold and brave enough to pursue their personal legend.

Transcript of the Episode

Austin: Welcome back to another episode of the off-market podcast. This week, we have Carrie McCormick, the number one luxury broker in Chicago. She's a member of Christie's master circle and has over 1. 5 billion in career sales. If you're looking to buy or sell in the Windy City, she's the agent you want by your side.

Carrie, welcome to the podcast.

Carrie: Thank you so much for having me.

Austin: So Carrie, why don't you tell us a little bit about how you got into real estate? I know that you were originally in the securities market with E-Trade, then you got into real estate and have worked your way up previously as national sales manager for Chicago's largest and most well-respected development company, Central Properties.

So give us a high-level overview of where you started and how you got to where you are today.

Carrie: Yes. Thank you. So I've been a broker here in Chicago for 23 years. So it's been quite some time and I actually got into the industry by accident. So there was no intent in being in real estate. I was working with E-Trade and this is really kind of during the dot com boom.

So it was a really fantastic position to be in. And I think early on in my career, I learned that I'm very rebel-spirited human being, and I don't want to say I'm not a rule follower, but I really just didn't follow the corporate mold, if you will. And I stumbled across a construction site. Here in Chicago.

And again, this is, you know, over 20 years ago, kind of just curious about, you know, architecture and what was being built. And I was offered a job on-site, you know, on this construction site to work for them. And, um, I mean, there's more to that story, but this is just the short version of it. And I decided, um, to ditch the corporate world and, you know, go into, you know, Construction sales or you know, I was selling new construction real estate and that's where I began my career So for the past 23 years the first decade, which I hate using that word But the first decade of my career was in new construction in which I learned so much about building about you know land development architecture design To the marketing it just was Some of the best learning that I ever had and also just the connections that I made during that time.

And then when the market crashed in 2008, which we know lasted a few years, just like any of us, we had to pivot, right? We had to reinvent ourselves, figure out, you know, what am I going to do next? And I did make a pivot during that time. And pivoted into general brokerage, which is scary, you know, to go during, um, a financial crisis to go into general brokerage, but, you know, always through times of turmoil or, you know, it's, you can either sink or swim.

So I ended up swimming and here I am. I love it. And so you talk about the transition of going from the dot com bubble to then the mortgage real estate crisis of 2007, 2008. Obviously, now today, you're one of the top brokers in Chicago, talk to me about that transition of, you know, going through the struggle of the dot com boom, then going through the struggle of The 2008 mortgage crisis and like ultimately what that's done for your life.

Austin: Has it made you a stronger broker and realtor and representing your clients? Or like, what is real estate done for your life?

Carrie: I mean, really, I mean, that's it. You know, I think I was just trying to think what year it was. And I can't recall, there was a time I called realtors, like order takers, meaning, you know, we didn't really have to do much, you know, people came into a home or people came into our sales center and they're like, where do I sign?

Right. There doesn't, there's not a lot of effort put into that. Right. And when there's, when times change and get more challenging, that's when it's stronger, right? So I do believe through the times of turmoil in any market, again, whether it's the financial. com, whatever it was, you know, those who pivot and figure out the strength and where they can succeed, you know, there's only a small percentage that will, right.

You know, a lot of people either just give up or. They continue to do things the old way. I mean, that's kind of what's happening in the world today with chat, GBT, with this whole AI thing, social media, right? All of our industries are going to pivot, which is good because it's not like all this is going to take over our jobs.

It's the people that are going to learn how to maximize this are the ones that are going to succeed. The ones that just want to rebel against it. I'm not being rebel-spirited during this time, I'm embracing it, but you know those are going to be able to succeed through all this change.

Austin: Yeah, I think that's right.

It's pretty interesting. I think the NAR just put out a report I saw last week and 50 percent of all realtors in 2023 didn't sell a single property. And that kind of blows my mind. It's like people that historically were selling 2, 3, 5, 10 properties and now you have people that are only selling one.

It's like once the game changed, they didn't know what to do because everybody was buying. And you had buy-side pressure, right? Driving up the mortgage values and driving up mortgage prices. And then all of a sudden buy side dries up and now everybody is scrambling to figure out where am I going to find buyers.

And it's the people that come out on the back side of that, that realize how they can find buyers even when buyers are dried up, that they're a stronger agent because of it. And I think that's the story of, of the success, those who give up. It's almost like the story of the people who are mining and they just keep trying to find gold nuggets and eventually they give up, but they were like right on the side of the wall.

Somebody comes in and then they all of a sudden find the gold vein. And so I think throughout history, there's these times when. It's a struggle, but when you make it out on the backside, all you have to do is survive, and you're better because of it.

So, talk to us about the actual process it took to become one of the top agents in Chicago.

Obviously, you didn't start out at the top. So like, what were some of the strategies and tactics you used? And like, what did it actually take to get to the place you are today?

Carrie: You know, I get that question a lot. And what's interesting, and I tell people is, you know, again, I've been doing this for 23 years, 10 years ago, no one knew my name, you know, and, you know, it's just, it's been a little bit of a buildup, right? Just like any business, right? So, you know, people just think like all of a sudden overnight, you know, I became successful or like in the last three months, what did you do? It's like, it's not been, you know, it's been a journey. And I, you know, one thing is it's, it's patience, I think is an important thing.

Because if you try to rush into something and want this quick win or you know, the quick success or quick money or whatever it is, it just doesn't work. Like I felt, I feel like I built a great foundation of my business. And that was done through networking relationships, really learning my business and perfecting it to what I think is the best way to service my clients, you know, and once I kind of figured out my own style.

And the way that I like to do business, I just, every day I improve my business just a little bit, you know, I'm never complacent with where I'm at or how business is done. I'm consistently improving processes, client experiences, whatever it is. So I think patience is important. And another thing I always try to tell people is ego.

So we're in a business where ego is a big thing, right? And. I'm just going to tell you a quick story. I went into a listing appointment. This is just a, this is, I don't know, maybe seven years ago, eight years ago. And I could tell that the sellers were fatigued. They had interviewed probably five agents at that time.

And I was unfortunately the last agent in. So I went in, the husband answered the door and he's just, again, I could just tell he's By listening to real estate agents. Um, and he said, let me guess, you're the number one agent in Chicago. You've sold blah, blah, blah. You've got this award. You're the top 1%. And, you know, he's just rattling on and on and on.

And I looked at him and I said, this is the truth. I said, well, I'm not the number one agent. I'm number three and I haven't sold that much, you know, as much as he was touting. I'm like, I've only sold, you know, whatever it was. And, you know, I took all of his stats. And I told him that he was wrong. Like, that's not me.

Like, you know, this is who I am. But I said, I'm not here to tell you who, you know, about my stats. I want to talk to you about what you want. You know, let's talk about your home. Let's talk about your goals. Let's talk about a strategy to get you to your next place. And he just looked at me and he said, you're hired.

And I was like, and he, you know, the, the lesson there was check your ego at the door. You know, you know, our job is to service our clients and provide excellent service, get them, you know, I'm a fiduciary and I'm not going to go in there and brag about what I do, how I do things. And again, this was. I don't know, eight years ago, and I just learned like, he didn't want the ego.

He didn't want me coming in and talking about how great I am. No one cares, I mean, how great I am, you know, at least a customer doesn't. So, um, so I think having patience, check your ego at the door, you know, refocus your energy on what's important to the client.

Austin: In the episode before this one, we chatted with Steve Koleno. He mentioned that he originally centered his business around himself, right?

He was building his own personal brand and he wasn't succeeding. And then he realized that when he put the customer in the middle of his circle. Everything just kind of clicked. And so in the span of five or 10 years, he went from selling a property here and there, a dozen properties here and there to now. He closed like 4,700 properties in six years, which is kind of nuts.

And he did it all by putting the customer first. And that's kind of, that's the story that I've heard over and over again, regardless of whether somebody is in the top 1%, the top 5%. They just put the customer first and that puts them in a completely different category than somebody who's egocentric.

So talk to me about one of the most exciting deals that you worked on.

Carrie: Sometimes it's not always the biggest deals That's the most exciting but talk to me about what deal you were the most excited to work on and how it ended up I've got so many of them and it's like all Storylines.

So I'm just trying, what is the most exciting one? I would say the most rewarding one that was exciting is I was selling a home in Lincoln Park here in Chicago. I was trying to put the deal together and I'm really, I'm, I'm a really good negotiator and I really can put the hardest deals together. You know, I always think if there's a buyer and there's a seller and that there's a common goal, we've got to put this together and there's always obstacles.

Everyone knows, you know, there's. Buyers and sellers have their egos, personalities, you know, whatever. There are always some things, but I'm really good at puzzling all that together. So the deal was not coming together. Well, let me take that back. The deal came together, but then the seller changed her mind at the last minute, and it was a, it was a big deal.

It was a big number. It was a 7 million deal. And I'm thinking, I cannot let this go. You know, there's no way I'm letting this die. But it was, it was dying. And so I said, I knew the buyer what they were looking for. I was representing the seller and the buyer needed an elevator. They needed, you know, X, Y, and Z in the house.

So I started cold calling people who had houses just like this one. And I called, it happened to be a CEO of a company. And I said, Steve, you know, my name is Carrie. And I know this is an odd phone call, but I've got a buyer that needs, you know, a house just like yours. You know, they're a cash buyer, 7 million.

Are you looking to sell your house?

And he said, bring them over today. And I said, Oh, okay. So we really, I literally called the buyer's broker, got them in, wrote the deal. And, um, they ended up closing. So, that buyer ended up being so excited because of the hard work that I did to find them the right house, that they hired me to sell their other house.

So it ended up, I ended up getting that client who ended up, then it just, it kind of snowballed. But the lesson there was, and the exciting part was, again, when something's going wrong, don't ever give up. It's that drive, it's the determination, it's coming up with a solution to a problem, and it's thinking outside of the box.

So, I mean, that really kind of, it's just, to me, it was a nice success story. It's not just because of the number, I mean, it was a big number, but, you know, it was just a lesson of drive, determination, and again, coming up with a solution. I could have just quit and said, okay, well, the deal's not coming together and let that buyer go.

But. I was not about to let the buyer go.

Austin: Yeah, you had it right at the one-yard line and you took it the final mile, right? You found the gold, you kept going, you pushed through and you found it.

So you've been in the game. You've seen a lot. Talk to me about what's changed in the real estate game over the past decade.

Carrie: It's completely turned. It's totally changed. You know, I kind of wish that we could go back to the good old days. It would just seem a lot easier. More fun, you know, and, um, but I would say what's changed is, you know, I talked a little bit about how AI has changed, and chat GPT has changed the game.

Social media has changed quite a bit. And just, I would say consumer behavior has changed a lot. You know, of how they buy homes, what they're looking for, what their expectations are. You know, just being, when a buyer wants to see a home, it's, I have to answer the phone if they want to see it two o'clock today, I'm showing them a house at two o'clock today.

Nobody has patience anymore. You know, so it's, and it's always this on demand, you know, I, my phone rings until 11 o'clock at night. It starts at seven, seven o'clock in the morning, and it's just this constant need for response time. So, you know, I think 20 years ago, if someone called you and said, I'd call you back, you know, this afternoon, that was fine.

Or, you know, just call me tomorrow. No problem. But it's just that the market dynamic has changed so much. So, you know, we, as realtors, Yeah, I think that's 100 percent of the, the, the right answer. And I think if you don't adjust, you don't evolve, then, unfortunately, you make your ends meet. And so you've done an incredible job adapting to the change.

And to your point, being available 24/7, but pretty close, is what both buyers and sellers need. They're looking to enter and exit transactions. Right. And weeks when it used to take months, right? They're just looking to happen so much faster. And so as an agent, you have to essentially represent their needs and be there when they need it.

Yeah, expectations have changed. And I, I call like, you know, with Instagram and HGTV and all of this stuff, you know, again, there's this instant gratification or, you know, their expectations on what homes look like and how fast everything is, you know, like, they're like, Oh, I saw a show on HGTV that they remodeled this house in 30 days for $17,000.

And I'm like, you know, that's not real. Some of it's educating clients as well because their perception of really what happens in a real estate transaction is very different than what they see on TV.

Austin: So, uh, I know we're coming up on time. My favorite question that I always ask is the one piece of advice that you would give yourself when you were first starting out in real estate. Talk to me about what's that one piece of advice that you wish you would have when you were just starting out.

Carrie: So, and it's a very easy one and it's really network and relationships, you know, as our industry has evolved, there's a lot of things that have changed, but I'm a firm believer. The one thing that will never change is our relationships with our clients and people. Again, my first 10 years were in development and I kind of took it for granted, all the people that I, I met.

And I was. had deals with, et cetera, and I didn't keep in touch with them. You know, I just was, I think my mindset was just more transactional at that time of like, okay, deal's done, move on to the next person. And then I know it's pretty basic, but you know, I was young and just didn't know. And I just realized at some point in my career of, you know, these relationships are so golden and, you know, I wish I, you know, nurtured those relationships.

Push those relationships and just keep in better touch I do now without my clients, you know But if I had to go back in time or for anyone that's starting in real estate, you know, texting is great People DM me messaging. I'm like, but there's nothing like Meeting someone for a cup of coffee. There's nothing like, you know, having lunch with somebody.

It's just, it's such a different way of doing business. And again, some of my colleagues that they negotiate over text. And I'm like, I cannot, like, I don't meet people to negotiate, but I pick up the phone and call them, you know, so it's, it's. Relationships and just building a network, I think is, is critical.

Austin: Yeah, I think that's right. And I think the second or the other side of that coin is once you've built the network, that's a really hard thing to do, right? Like it's a snowball effect. You started these relationships and they compress over time. And I think some people view it as a transactional nature, as you mentioned.

Um, but the other side of that coin is if you burn that relationship, you will never get it back. And so it takes a really long time For you to build a relationship and a really long time for you to actually establish trust with both your buyers and your sellers, but also all of the agents in your network, and all it takes is one transaction to go wrong or something to go wrong and you don't make it right and the whole thing can be over and it ended before you even started.

Thank you so much for coming on the podcast Carrie and I hope you have a great day.

Carrie: Thank you.