The truth is that real estate isn’t about property. It’s about people.
It’s fair to say that Gina Stockwell has had as much of an impact on the Sunshine Coast as it’s had on her. She grew up on the Coast, started her own family here and ran three successful local businesses, all before becoming the region’s number one realtor.
We get to know Gina in Season One of RealTours, as she guides Stephen Tadgh through the slice of paradise that is BC’s Sunshine Coast.
Growing up in paradise.
Gina has her grandmother to thank for first catching the Sunshine Coast bug. In the 1960s, she built a cabin on a plot of land on the waterfront near Sechelt. Every summer, Gina’s parents would come visit.
“They fell in love with it and packed up and moved our whole family over,” she says. “Then their friends came, and that was the start of it all."
It’s hard to imagine ever wanting to leave the Coast, but after an idyllic childhood, the big city called and Gina moved away to further her education.
"Most Coast kids, when you grow up here, it tends to pull you back,” she says. “It's really a wonderful place, and that's what happened to me. I was away for about ten years, came back and got married. Two kids and three businesses later, and then real estate happened."
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I talk people out of buying homes all day. It has to work for them.
A head for business.
Before launching her real estate career, Gina built three successful businesses on the Sunshine Coast with her husband, all while raising their two children. Those 25 years of business experience played a huge role in preparing Gina for the challenges of real estate.
“When you own your own businesses, you need to be able to think on your feet, have the ability to solve complex problems, have sharp negotiation skills, and be a great communicator,” she writes on her website. “You need to be passionate about your work, your client’s needs, and your community.”
That passion to meet her clients’ needs also includes telling them when a property isn’t right for them.
“You want people to love where they live and have a great experience,” she says. “That's how your business grows. If you sell somebody a miserable house, they're leaving, they're never coming back and they're telling 20 people that this is an awful place. So it's all about finding the right home, the right neighbourhood, for those people."
