In this month’s episode of Broker’s Corner, we sat down with Kevin Skipworth, the managing broker at Dexter Realty. We talked about how the housing market is feeling these days, the challenges of leading a team through unpredictable times, and what it actually takes to stay relevant in this industry for twenty years. It was a good, grounded conversation about staying the course.
Navigating the shift in today’s market
Key takeaways
- Market activity is starting to pick up, though the global climate keeps things uncertain.
- There is a lot of hidden demand from people who need to move for life changes like jobs or growing families.
- Being a reliable source of information for clients is more valuable than ever when there is so much noise coming from headlines.
It feels a bit like we are turning a corner, but maybe not quite ready to speed up yet. We have a lot of stuff happening at the provincial and federal levels that makes it hard to predict exactly where things are headed. Even with all that, people’s lives don’t stop. They still get promoted, they have kids, and circumstances change, which keeps movement happening regardless of interest rates.
Leading by example in real estate
Kevin recently received the Legend of Real Estate award from REW, which marks over twenty years in the industry. It is not just about time spent in the office, though. A big part of the recognition comes from community work and sitting on committees to help move the profession forward. Here are a few ways that leadership shows up in the day-to-day:
- Active mentoring of new brokers entering the field.
- Serving on housing and advocacy boards to improve industry standards.
- Encouraging agents to stay curious and keep learning.
For Kevin, the biggest lesson from his career is the importance of listening. He mentioned that back in 2005, he had some great mentors who taught him that you can never know too much. The job is really about gathering intel in real time and then making sure your clients understand what that actually means for their decision-making process.
Keeping up with the pace of change
If there is one thing we kept coming back to, it was how quickly everything moves now. Between geopolitics and the rise of AI tools, trying to stay on top of the latest resources is a full-time job. It can feel like a lot.
When asked what he would tell himself in 2005, Kevin’s advice was simple: stay curious. You don't have to have all the answers, but you do need to be the person who goes out and finds them. Whether it is a slow market or a booming one, the baseline stays the same—your job is to be the expert connection for your clients.
It was a great reminder that even when the market feels strange or frustrating, focusing on the basics and helping people navigate their own life changes is what really matters. We’ll see what next month brings.
