SELLING THE COAST
HOW THIS COHASSET COUPLE BECAME THE GO-TO FOR HIGH-END WATERFRONT REAL ESTATE THROUGHOUT THE REGION.
Sitting in the conference room of their Newbury Street marketing office and answering questions about their rise to the top of the region’s brokerage world, Brian Dougherty admits, “it’s a bit of a blur.” A Managing Director at Compass real estate in Boston and co-head of The Private Brokerage team with Nick Robert, his partner of 17 years, Brian continues, “I think it just comes down to reputation, hard work, and some lucky breaks along the way.”
Listening to Brian and Nick tell their story and suggest that their success ‘just happened’ seems to be the relaxed vibe they want to convey, but this writer quickly realizes that everything this couple has done together has been intentional, and strategic. Like when they moved from NYC in 2009 to buy an old hospitality property on Cape Cod, restore it, and build it into a top rated boutique inn. Or how they parlayed the upside from the sale of that business to invest in a stake of a notable real estate firm and help expand it before selling their position seven years later and affiliating with Compass. All the while, Brian and Nick were busy brokering hundreds of millions of dollars in residential properties throughout Greater Boston, building strong relationships with key real estate professionals and crafting their service-centric business model.
“I THINK IT JUST COMES DOWN TO REPUTATION, HARD WORK, AND SOME LUCKY BREAKS ALONG THE WAY.” - BRIAN DOUGHERTY
“It’s no surprise these guys have been able to build on their success in Boston and bring the same sophisticated marketing and business discipline to accomplish results for buyers and sellers along the coast,” says Chris Thoman, who manages all of Compass sales operations between Boston and Cape Cod.
“They recognized great overlap with the client base and have set themselves up as the trusted resource”, Thoman continued. And indeed they have. Within a year of listing and selling a waterfront estate in Chatham for $15 million, they were back in Boston on Louisburg Square selling a coveted townhouse for the same price.
And while they are currently representing one of the most expensive oceanfront homes in New England, they’re quick to point out that the big numbers could scare some off. “We work with all price points, and all people...so long as they’re nice.”