One of the nation’s top real estate agents and his team of associates are preparing to take Troop Real Estate by storm. Stephen Christie has been running his own real estate business in the Valley region for more than a decade. Now he’s returning to Troop, the Westlake Village-based real estate firm where he launched his career in 1990. And he’s bringing eight agents along with him. Christie was recognized as the “Top 4 Realtor” nationwide when working with Century 21 franchises in 2001. “He brings value to our organization,” said Brian Troop, president of Troop Real Estate. “He can help me coach and train some of my agents and make them more successful.” Founded in 1987, with its headquarters in Simi Valley, Troop is Ventura County’s largest independent brokerage with 15 offices and about 650 agents. Christie left Troop to open The Christie Real Estate Group in 1995. A year later, he was picked up by Century 21 to work with their franchise. In 2002, Christie purchased four Coldwell Banker offices and an escrow company. A few years later, he sold off those companies. And in 2006, he joined Coldwell Banker’s corporate offices. Later, he partnered with a technology company to develop a product designed to help real estate agents generate more business leads. Christie says going back to Troop is a good move, and he turned down other opportunities to pursue it. “Brian has a good feel for the San Fernando Valley market, and how I do my business,” Christie said. Plus, he said, “I can still run my team and own my office.” Christie, who is no stranger to the public stage, will be a featured speaker at the monthly seminars the company holds for its agents, Troop said. He also will be providing one-on-one coaching to agents who are interested in learning directly from him. In addition to sharing his sales secrets, Christie will help Troop best leverage the software he developed. The goal: to convert more client leads into sales. “He has developed software that will basically allow consumers to do research on various properties, and at the same time, get a response back immediately from realtors to be able to give the consumers what they want,” Troop said. Christie says most agents don’t know how to convert leads. “We use systems and lots of training to know how to convert leads by email or communications by voice or follow-up system,” he said. Christie’s relationships with clients such as Bill and Lisa Edwards of Thousand Oaks also will be valuable to Troop. The Edwards have purchased five different homes from Christie since 1992, and they say they would choose him again, if the need arises. “I wouldn’t call anyone else to do a real estate transaction,” B. Edwards said. Christie is knowledgeable and always provides helpful ideas, he said.
