To be taken seriously in Vero Beach, you have to stand for something. Here are my most important values.
You will always know where things stand, because you’ll hear back from me the same day.
Lack of communication is one of the biggest complaints we hear from clients who find us after getting frustrated with their previous agent.
We make sure you always know where things stand because we make it a point to “over communicate” what is happening at all times.
I’d rather lose a sale than push you into the wrong one.
I’m not going to rush you, steer you toward a listing that pays me more, or talk you into a house because I want the deal closed by month end.
If the right answer is ‘keep renting another year’ or ‘this isn’t the one,’ that’s what I’ll tell you. My business has always run on referrals and repeat clients, which means your outcome matters to me a lot more than any single commission.
You get big-league experience and someone who actually made the move you’re making.
I’ve sold real estate on three continents, led brokerages, and built a marketing company, and I chose to plant my family here in Vero Beach.
If you’re moving down from up north, I’ve made that exact kind of move myself. You get someone who markets your home like the business it is, knows the Vero market street by street, and treats an out-of-state buyer like the most important client of the year, because that’s how it should have felt the first time you tried this.
My story is a little odd…
I sold real estate on three different continents before my family and I settled in Vero Beach. I have hired and trained hundreds of agents, sold billions of dollars in real estate (yes, billions with a B), and managed offices on both sides of the Atlantic.
However, moving to a new city every year or so is a young man’s game, and I am no longer considered a young man by most standards. Now I more closely resemble the adjective “seasoned” instead of “young.”
These days I get to do the part of this business I love the most, which is helping people buy and sell homes here in Vero Beach. A lot of them are making the same move I once made: packing up a life somewhere colder and starting over with more sunshine, golfing, fishing and room to breathe.
Here’s how I got here.
The long way to Vero Beach
I’ve been a licensed real estate broker since 2002. I started my own brokerage in Chicago, grew it, and eventually merged it with Keller Williams. From there I built and led teams in a number of markets around the country. I learned the business from every seat. First and foremost I was a real estate agent, then a team leader, then broker and owner.
In 2014 I moved to London to launch Keller Williams in the United Kingdom. That was my real introduction to international real estate, which runs differently than it does in the States, sometimes in ways that catch even experienced people off guard. In 2017 I launched an international real estate portal (think Zillow, but for international properties) and leaned further into working with buyers and sellers moving between countries.
When I came back to the US, I took on the role of Area Director for Keller Williams in South Florida. During my time there we were 35 offices and roughly 7,000 agents, who sold $12.9 billion in real estate. After that chapter, I joined The Real Brokerage Inc.
Foxtown Marketing
I am also one of the owners of Foxtown Marketing, a marketing agency based right here in Vero Beach.
People sometimes ask why a real estate broker runs a marketing company. How can you do both?
The honest answer is that for me the two have always been the same job. Selling a home is a marketing problem first and a paperwork problem second. Foxtown is where I put that thinking to work for small and medium sized businesses that want to grow, and it’s a big reason my clients’ listings get found, get attention, and get sold.
Also, it helps to have an amazing team so I’m never overwhelmed with work.
A few other things worth knowing
I’ve written several books, including one that became a bestseller. I advise a handful of early-stage startups that I find genuinely interesting, and I run a 501(c)(3) that provides fresh eggs to those who are in need of food. You can learn about Egg Posse here.
What all of this means for you
Here is why any of my story matters when you’re choosing who to work with.
If you’re relocating to Vero Beach from up north, I’ve made a big move like that move myself, more than once and across bigger distances than most. I know what it feels like to buy a home in a place you don’t know yet, and I know the questions you should be asking that nobody tells you about until it’s too late.
If you’re selling, you get an agent who has marketed real estate at every level there is, from a single listing to billions in volume across thousands of agents. I know how to price a home, position it, and put it in front of the right buyers, including the ones still living somewhere cold and dreaming about Florida.
And whatever you’re doing, you get someone who has seen this business from the inside out in markets all over the world, then chose Vero Beach as the place to plant his family and his flag. I’m not going anywhere.
Let’s talk
If you’re buying or selling in Vero Beach, or thinking about making the move here, I’d like to hear what you’re trying to do. Reach out here and we’ll start with a conversation, not a sales pitch. You can also call or text me anytime at (772) 999-4457.
Jon Sterling
Vero Beach Realtor
I lived all over the world before I moved across the bridge to Vero Beach. So when I say I get the whole ‘starting over somewhere sunnier’ thing, I mean it pretty literally.