After starting on a new career path with the prominent and established Hasson Real Estate Company in Portland, OR, Jenelle Isaacson recognized she was a bit of a punk rock black sheep within her team. Coming from a background in music and having been a part of the quintessential Portland culture of embracing weirdness, her network and client base of colorful folks around town put her on a sort of social pedestal as an agent. She found there was a niche market base of clients and peers that had yet to be represented in the big, adult, financial commitments in home-owning.
Listen to the entire Behind the Yard Sign episode with Jenelle here.
Founder Jenelle Isaacson started Living Room Realty in Portland, OR because she looked around and didn’t see anyone in real estate that reflected her or her people. Fast forward a decade and this woman-owned company is rocking it!
Jenelle decided to jump on it. She was migrating from her rock n roll past into motherhood and decided to open Living Room Realty in 2009 (while very pregnant and eventually nursing her first child). Location is what set the company off with a strong start. If it weren't for the gut feeling of her very loyal colleagues, Jenelle would never have made the move to open her first office in one of the most visible blocks of Portland.
The chance to have immediate presence came as huge luck to Living Room Realty. They were positioned right next door to one of the best known and most recognized breakfast & brunch spots in the popular Alberta District, The Tin Shed. The location -- which had long, lingering lines of [hungry] folks -- resulted in a quickly growing clientele base. Their in-your-face presence to on-lookers with listings in the windows launched them to be known as a true local business in a time when Portland as a city (and people's desire to be a part of it) was booming.
Living Room Realty was founded by Jenelle in the last Great Recession.
Jenelle was real to herself through the entire process and embraced being human. Rather than letting the collapsing market get her and the business down, she chose to not let it add to her very inundated line-up of tasks and company growth. Her drive and commitment to represent real people made her business extremely relatable and approachable in the community.
Most local businesses in Portland that are built from the ground up have almost naturally found ways to cater to the community and listen to people they serve. Jenelle and her team took requests and inquiries to heart and developed services around them which eventually led to more growth and more chances for success. The need for rental housing placement for example — no one was doing that! And with that perfect location of visitors flocking to brunch and falling in love with the City of Roses, they had a slew of interest desiring their attention.
We love a good "flopportunity," and Jenelle shared one of the biggest of her career with us during our podcast chat. As Living Room Realty quickly grew, she was also facing a trial of a time with the recent recession. To be starting a real estate company in a recession is shear madness, but her knack for staying positive and trusting that it would all work out got her through. When recruiting for agents, she couldn't look at their numbers based on the market conditions of the time. She cared more about the people she brought on and their character during the hard times as she knew that their ability to connect with their community and their partners and neighbors would come back to serve them long-term.
"I had to look for other cues, and we still recruit like this today. It's been such an opportunity to hold true to our values because we aren't obsessed with the producing." Jenelle continued, asking rhetorically, "How are you invested? ...because I know that when the market returns, your community will come back and return that support to you."
Jenelle and the people that make up Living Room Realty have essentially developed huge levels of loyalty with their fellow citizens and business partners in Portland, OR and beyond. Her ability to really see and hear her clients and also the team she surrounds herself with has created something bigger than just a real estate company. They have a hub for connectivity in a city that prides itself on community and local integrity. We're thrilled to be a friend of Living Room Realty for home staging and cater each other's needs as businesses, because we, just like Jenelle, see the bigger picture and recognize that there's more to life than just selling homes and making them look pretty. It's about our connections and the impacts we can make to do and feel better.