When Ronni Fingold decided to return to real estate after leaving her role as an agent, she found that the best way to combine her love of the industry with business acumen and people skills was through the launch a boutique brokerage.
Having honed her entrepreneurial spirit, she decided to found the luxury brokerage real estate firm Forest Hill Real Estate Inc.
“It all began with two or three women, all with backgrounds in real estate, sitting around a kitchen table in my home,” said Ronni Fingold, founder, Forest Hill Real Estate Inc.
Ronni Fingold’s decision to open a boutique serving the upscale buyer may have been instinctive, but it was still guided by significant foresight as that market was indeed underserved.
Forest Hill Real Estate now boasts 18 offices throughout the GTA and Ontario’s cottage country, as well as 700 independent registered real estate agents. Outside of such major players such Re/Max and Royal LePage, the brokerage is the fastest growing in Ontario.
Ronni Fingold credits this both to the brokerage’s reputation, as well as its distinctive business model.
“I think what fuels our success is the image of our company, and the very attractive opportunities that we can offer to entrepreneurs who want to open their own office,” Fingold said.
Candidates approach her with an idea for a new branch office, and explain why they picked that location and market, as well as how they plan to attract new agents. After evaluating their proposals, she consults with her executive team to decide whether they wish to move forward or not.
“We don’t have any limit or expectation about what we should have – how many or when or where – it’s all done based on merit,” said David Fingold, Ronni’s husband and company president.
David Fingold is optimistic for the brokerage, and believes that Toronto will remain a robust market driven by international marketing. In addition to opening new offices, he also hopes to expand a new development division added to the brokerage in 2015.
“That division, headed by our daughter Catherine Himelfarb Borden, has developer clients who want to partner with us to sell new condo units,” David Fingold said. “We’ve represented Camrost, and we’ve just been appointed to represent new condo developments at 200 Russell Hill Road.”
