Sixteen-year real estate veteran Hagerty received the Re/Max Lifetime Achievement Award last year. This was quite an honour due to the relatively short time she has been in the business and her young age.

“Everyone I meet has such a fascinating  and inspirational story! Specializing in the loft and inner-city market, my clients have been amazing people and I have the opportunity to hear their dreams, ambitions, paths to success, and their travels every day. That’s what makes what I do so enjoyable. I love meeting new people,” says Hagerty.

“I love what I do, so giving what I do to every client and every sale is automatic. I expect that from the people around me.”

Born in Hong Kong, Hagerty’s family immigrated to Calgary when she was six. Hagerty is an only child, with an enormous and supportive extended family. “My parents have always believed in the value of real estate. They bought their first revenue property right after our first home in Canada and built up their investments that way,” says Hagerty. “Weekends always consisted of going to Dim Sum or Sunday brunch and then to open houses! Real Estate has been part of my entire life.”

For Hagerty, going into real estate came naturally. “Due to my parent’s limited English, I was responsible for communicating and negotiating terms with our tenants from a young age. I also helped repaint or refresh our houses for the next occupant. Being my parent’s only child—I had to be handy, almost like being both my Dad’s son and daughter,” recalls Hagerty.

After starting a computer software company with her partners and subsequently taking it public at 19, Hagerty worked with the established commercial real estate firm, Colliers Macaulay Nicolls. They recognized her skill in real estate and she was offered an assistant position to their top Investment Real Estate Broker. Working with more than 30 extremely demanding brokers and their time-sensitive requirements and international transactions taught Hagerty the importance of prioritizing on the go and to work quickly and efficiently.

While a tremendous opportunity, she left Colliers to start her family. When her daughter was old enough, she realized that residential real estate was where her heart belonged. “I was living in Mission in a condo at the time and loved the walk to work lifestyle!” Hagerty knew that the emerging loft market in other major centres would suit Calgary and set off to become the premiere “go to” realtor in this new field. “Lofts are such passionate and romantic spaces and were new to our city at the time. I loved them and knew I would find the niche market that would appreciate this lifestyle.”

A natural extension of her experience in the loft market was the growing inner-city condo market. As one of the earliest players in this intricate and often complicated field, Hagerty earned a unique and thorough understanding of it.  Experience her clients of today are still benefiting from. A few of Hagerty’s upcoming projects include the Sasso Penthouse and an Eau Claire condo.

As some of her earlier clients began moving from condos to the more traditional inner-city real estate of single and semi-detached homes, infills, townhouses and distinctive properties Hagerty was ready to assist them in finding their next “home.” As a result, Hagerty enjoys many repeat clients who return to her year after year. They depend on her to look after their specific real estate needs and are confident someone who understands them and their needs is looking after them.

Today, Hagerty’s lifestyle is uniquely suited to her inner-city clientele.  She lives and works in the same communities as her clients and she loves it.  One of the key lessons she learned from her days working in commercial real estate was the importance of specialization.  To properly serve her clients, she focus’s on her preferred area—the inner city—and the people who live and work there.

Hagerty balances her career while raising her daughter and two golden retrievers. To relax, she escapes to the mountains with her family, or travels to exotic locales around the globe with her daughter. “It’s my way of realigning my focus and intuition.  Not to mention the great ideas of spaces from my travels.”  Her unquenchable thirst for knowledge and “the new” means she routinely has a number of books on the go at any given time, in any given subject.

“It’s great to be busy, but there’s only so much time in the day. My associates do an incredible job for me and ensure seamless operations,” adds Hagerty, adding many nights, Hagerty and her team work late, often closing multiple transactions. Her motivation is always to make sure clients win each and every time. “I love listening to them and ensuring they get what they are looking for. I love it when I see the excitement in my client’s faces—when I hand them the keys on possession day.”

She has worked hard to develop a strong network. “I’ve surrounded myself with such wonderful people. My daughter is my biggest fan. My parents, assistants, friends, family, past clients,” adds Hagerty. My office at Re/Max Professionals is full of extremely supportive people, wonderful realtors at the top of their game.

“My goals for 2008 include focusing even more effort on fewer clients so that I can take my performance to the next level.  2008 will be a big year and it is important I be prepared. I love my job.  I can’t wait to get started each morning. Every day brings me in contact with interesting people, cool real estate and new situations. I’m very fortunate to be able to say that.  You have one opportunity in life —make it your best.”

For more information visit http://www.calgarylofts.com