San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
NorCal’s own Rainy Hake Austin on running global, boutique real estate brokerage The Agency
“I love my job every day because I’m in the moment, all the time. It’s about being intentional.” So began Rainy Hake Austin, who sat down with The Agency’s global team on International Women’s Day for a live Q&A session.
As President of the international, boutique real estate brokerage, Austin leads a team of nearly 1,000 real estate professionals around the globe, spearheading the firm’s growth and its ongoing expansion here in the Bay Area. Before joining The Agency in 2020, Austin was head of operations west at Compass and former executive vice president of Bay Area-based Alain Pinel Realtors.
On International Women’s Day, she fielded questions during an hour-long panel lending her expertise, both personally and professionally, to the company’s agents and staff. During the discussion, she opened up about her career journey, juggling work-life balance, what it means to be a leader and the future of real estate.
When asked about her career path, Austin shared her unique story, “I fell into real estate and never fell out. At age 15, I started in a front desk position at a real estate company. I attended UC Berkeley for my undergraduate degree while also working and growing within the company; I became an office coordinator, office manager, vice president and managing director. From there, I took a role at a boutique luxury firm, starting in marketing and then rising through the ranks to become a COO and EVP there and then Head of Operations West of a national brokerage.”
When she was offered the position of president at The Agency by founder/CEO Mauricio Umansky and founder/vice chairman Billy Rose, she jumped at the opportunity.
You could say it was a match made in real estate heaven.
Now, Austin is strategically fueling The Agency’s expansion and evolution with her signature calm presence, creative perspective and humble demeanor.
“We’ve had so many amazing accomplishments over the last 18 months; big foundational changes. I’m appreciative the team has stayed so open to ideas,” she said. “I’m always asking, how do we take what they’ve created to the next level?”
When it comes to the future of real estate, Austin shared her thoughts: “It will be different and the same. We’ve been riding a 12-year high with the market. Price corrections will happen, but the luxury market is going to be quite active over the next few years.” She noted that while the future of the industry will revolve around tech, it will always be a people business. “It’s a lifestyle experience, and we need to assist clients through every stage,” she said.
Among her top priorities at The Agency is elevating the agent service experience to save agents time to do what they do best — advise clients and help them drive the most value in their decisions, both financially and emotionally. “Our primary focus is constantly evolving the luxury, boutique service experience to create efficiencies so our agents are freed up to better guide and serve their clients.”
Supporting her team is Austin’s passion. As a leader, she focuses on making her colleagues feel significant, certain, proud and empowered. Her people-forward approach is apparent; she strives to give people the tools they need to thrive and sets a culture built around transparency, where everyone has a voice.
“My staff members are my clients, and I want to provide them with exceptional experiences so they can provide
the same to our agents,” she said.
And her job doesn’t stop come evening time. Austin is a mother to two young daughters.
“Mom guilt is a real thing! You never feel like you’re doing enough,” she said. “Acknowledge it and know that you are doing your best.”
An optimist at heart, Rainy finds balance in the imbalance, nimbly and gracefully shifting from attentive mother to business guru come Monday morning.
Her favorite part of working at The Agency? That answer was easy: “The people, by far. It’s so amazing to be part of a group of incredible, passionate individuals who make it fun to come to work every day.”
Explore The Agency and NorCal real estate at www.TheAgencyRE.com.