Highest priced listings of the week
ARealtor since 1997, Vito Uva has a bachelor’s degree in finance and English. Prior to real estate, he worked in recruiting for about a year. In 1985, he opened Scirmshaw, a seafood and pasta eatery in Ridgefield, which he sold in the 1990s.
He began his real estate career with Shaker Real Estate and for the past 12 years has been with Real Living Scalzo Group.
In the restaurant industry and recruiting, Uva honed to ability to create a comfortable environment for diverse people of varying ages from all financial backgrounds.
“It doesn’t change when you go into real estate,” he said. “Again, it’s a service-oriented business, very much so. You’re trying to make your client — whether it’s a buyer or seller — very comfortable with your experience.”
Uva, who primarily serves Fairfield County, has a knack for understanding millennials, who he said are the most educated consumers in history because they do their research.
At Scalzo, the work setting has been re-engineered to suit millennials with an open environment and a large conference table where agents work and meet with clients.
“We try to approach them on their turf,” Uva said.
When working with buyers, Uva listens to learn “what really rocks their world,” he said. Rather than focusing on architecture, he asks what the house has to have. Are they looking for a main level family room, a second floor master and/or a level back-
yard? Are they thinking about kids yet or do they hold a lot of functions?
“You need to really identify what drives the train,” he said.
Having been through several market cycles, including the recession, Uva said now is a good time to buy, while interest rates are creeping up but prices are lower.
With sellers, he finds out why they are moving and if there is time for updating. Uva then does a market comparison and adjusts the number based on the home’s condition to determine an accurate price.
Uva has one grown daughter with his first wife. He works with underprivileged clients and volunteers with toy and food drives.