Rêve Realtors: Celebrating Our 4th Anniversary
Since I founded Rêve Realtors in October 2018 alongside Joey Walker, Clint LaCour, and Ryan Wentworth, the company has quickly and steadily grown beyond our wildest dreams. To our delight, Rêve Realtors hit #1 in market share in Orleans Parish in 2020 – and that’s a spot we still hold today, on our 4th anniversary. With 128 agents on board to date, we work together tirelessly to help clients realize their dreams, develop deep relationships in the community we’re so fortunate to serve, and foster a culture of real collaboration and respect. My Role as a Partner As one of the four founders, I’m the sponsoring broker, help manage the company, and recruit new agents. In addition, I work with all of my own clients to help them make smart decisions when it comes to buying, selling and investing in real estate. My schedule is hectic, but I wouldn’t have it any other way – and I thrive on the fast pace of it all. I’m grateful to have three amazing partners who’ve helped the company flourish, and I’m looking forward to many more celebratory anniversaries to come. Building Our Community A huge part of our commitment to New Orleans and our local community involves giving back, and we’re always looking for ways to support the people and non-profits that make a difference in this city. Whether it’s through donations, volunteering, or taking leadership roles, our agents are showing up -- and several have either founded or play a significant role in organizations that do tremendous good in the Greater New Orleans area. The Amazing Non-Profits We Support Here are a just a few of the worthy organizations that we’ve supported so far in 2022 – through donations, volunteering, events, and leadership: Coalition To Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL) has a mission that’s near and dear to our hearts, and that’s to preserve and restore our Louisiana wetlands. Through innovation and community, CRCL has reduced shoreline erosion by 50%. YEP (Youth Empowerment Project) engages young people through community-based education, mentoring, employment readiness, and enrichment programming to help them develop skills and strengthen ties to family and community. Annually, they serve 800 youth participants, pair 2300 youth with adult mentors, offer high school equivalency test preparation, and offer after-school programs. Launching in 2006, SBP was able to help St. Bernard Parish successfully rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. Since then, the organization has grown from a small three-person volunteer team into a nationwide disaster recovery corporation with over 130,000 volunteers. A leader in the industry, they’ve been able to help over 2000 families across the world. Belle Reve New Orleans is an affordable housing development for seniors 62 years old and older. Their mission is to provide affordable housing that’s consistent with the principles of diversity, respect, and dignity. The Belle Reve Center offers various multifunctional indoor and outdoor spaces for seniors and ensures the senior community has a place to call their own. The First 72+ organization assists formerly incarcerated persons in re-establishing themselves in society by helping to secure housing, employment, and community acceptance. Their mission is to stop the cycle of incarceration by fostering independence and self-sustainability through education, stable and secure housing & employment, health care, and community engagement. Culture Aid NOLA provides fresh foods twice per week to the New Orleans community. Their goal is to ensure that no one within the City of New Orleans experiences food insecurity. SOUL (Sustaining Our Urban Landscape) NOLA is an environmentally equitable organization focused on the reforestation of the city’s urban landscape. SOUL NOLA works to plant trees throughout the community of New Orleans and provides tree guards to protect against weed-eater damage.
Who’s Relentless and Scrappy? A Devoted Saints Fan and a Good Realtor
It’s sacrilege to say so, but I was a Cowboys fan when I was a kid. In the 70s, the Saints weren’t good enough to be televised. Desperate to see someone play (and win), I’d watch the Cowboys on TV with the sound off, while listening to the Saints game on the radio. Always On, Always Looking for the Next Opportunity As a high school athlete, I was the setter on our State Championship-winning volleyball team. Similar to a point guard in basketball or a quarterback in football, the setter always touches the ball and is always on -- thinking on their toes, looking for the next opportunity, collaborating, and being creative. Even then, people called me relentless and scrappy – the same qualities that make a good Saints fan and a good realtor ;-) Continuing to Show Dedication By the 1990s, while living in New York City, I’d show up at the Park Avenue Country Club sports bar and sweet talk my way into watching the Saints game on a tiny 13” black and white TV in the waitress station. Finally, in October 2000, I was able to sit at a real table in front of a real TV screen at Drougnen’s – a new bar on 3rd Avenue between 23rd and 24th Streets – to watch the Saints play the Cardinals. Two strangers and fellow Saints fans named Rankin and Christina joined me at that table, and we became lifelong friends. Here they are with me and our friend Brian Bain, at the 2009 NFC Championship game against the Vikings. Never Giving Up For years, I’ve been a proud season ticket holder of multiple seats high up in the 638 section of the Dome, where the crowd is rowdy and very much my speed. When the defense is on the field, I’ve even been known to yell at those around me if they’re not being as loud or as boisterous as I’d like ;-) For years, I’ve made sure that I’m wearing the same color as the team, along with my gold boots and my trusty Saints jacket. And I never miss a kick off. If you know me, you know I bring this same perseverance and tenacity to what I do for my clients. And if you don’t know me, why not join me at a Saints game and see for yourself. Looking to buy, sell or invest? Let’s talk.
Expecting Twins, Past Clients Come Back for A Bigger Home
In 2013, Lizzy arrived in New Orleans from Virginia to attend graduate school at Tulane, and Jhon joined her, quitting his job and finding a new one here. A couple of years later, they were hooked on the city -- and wanted to buy their first home. They had a specific price range, a desired location, and didn’t want to deal with a fixer-upper. After I showed them many houses, they were excited to finally land on the perfect condo in the Irish Channel. This past spring, they called to say they were expecting twins -- and they’d found a bigger, newly constructed home in Gentilly that they wanted to make an offer on. What They Thought Would Be Easy Got a Bit More Complicated Jhon laughs now as he notes, “I thought it’d be an easy layup, but it wasn’t.” There were some difficulties with the condo’s HOA, and Lizzy and Jhon weren’t sure how to go about selling the condo and buying the new home at the same time. We needed to make the offer on the new house contingent on the sale of the old one – meaning that if we weren’t able to sell the old house in time, they would be able to back out of the purchase. To get the best price for their condo, I brought in an interior designer to rearrange and stage it, a handyman to do maintenance work, and a photographer to create beautiful listing photos. The condo went under contract quickly with an all-cash, over-list price offer -- but then the buyer dropped out due to family reasons. So, what seemed easy at first had become a bit more complicated. Luckily, we secured a strong backup offer, which was key. And while there were a few issues with the new house, I negotiated with the builder, and took care of every last detail. And got it all done before the twins were due to arrive ;-) A New House for The Next Phase of Their Lives With a big yard for their dogs, space for a nursery, and extra bedrooms for visiting relatives, their new house on Paris Ave. also offers a driveway and a two-car garage – which Jhon notes will be a welcome addition for unloading babies and groceries. The icing on the cake? Their new home is within walking distance of Lake Ponchartrain. What My Clients Had to Say I’m honored that Jhon and Lizzy decided to work with me again, and that Jhon had this to say about me: "We used Tracey when she was with Wirth-Moore Realty seven years ago, when it came to buying our first home. Now that we are expecting and ready to move into a bigger home, we immediately thought about Tracey again for selling and buying our next home. After seeing her great success with Rêve Realtors over the years, we emailed her thinking we might (understandably) be forwarded to another realtor in her company to help us. What we got was the same Tracey from seven years ago - personable, straightforward, and informative. We knew she’d be hands-on and attentive, and she has been amazing to work with again. Even now, I still text her for vendor recommendations, and they’re always really good people. And as a gift, she even gave us paintings for the nursery that her partner Blainey Kern created!” And Lizzy had this to say: “I had a lot of questions, but Tracey made me feel like nothing was too silly to ask. She explained everything. She’s super down to earth and very straightforward, and that can be hard to find.” Photo credit: 1216 Studio
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