Editorial
Front Page - Friday, July 3, 2009
Realtor carrying on family tradition in Chattanooga
David Laprad
From the roof of Remax Renaissance on Cherokee Boulevard, Tony St. Charles can see most of his world. He points to One North Shore and Bridgeview, attractive downtown living accommodations across the street from where he works, noting how the former is nestled alongside Renaissance Park. Across the river, between the Market and Walnut Street Bridges is Museum Bluffs. Behind him, high on Stringer’s Ridge, is The Pinnacle, a condominium complex where he currently has listings. He can also see Signal Mountain, where he lives.
St. Charles deals primary with residential real estate, with added focus on the downtown condominium market. Even though he’s sweating from the June heat, his market isn’t the hottest around. But he’s not discouraged.
“The downtown market is still active. Sales have slowed down, and we have an oversupply, especially in the upper price ranges, but that will eventually take care of itself,” he says. “There aren’t any new developments going on because everyone is holding back until the market absorbs what’s out there.”
When talking real estate, St. Charles radiates the kind of confidence that comes with experience. He’s been in the business since 1979, when he was a sales agent with Tom Cannon Realtors. In 1984, he took over his family’s appraisal businesses, which he managed for the next 20 years. St. Charles returned to real estate sales in 2004. “I’d earned all of the designations, been president of the state chapter and gone as far as I could in that area, so I decided to take the skills I’d acquired and get back into sales,” he says.
St. Charles was working as an agent at Realty Center GMAC on Signal Mountain when Jason Farmer, the manager at the office, decided to purchase a Remax franchise. He told Farmer he’d join him as an agent, but Farmer had bigger and better plans for the newly resurrected Realtor. Today, St. Charles is both a broker and an owner at Remax Renaissance. In that position, he helps grow the company and provides the support the firm’s 25 agents need.
Of all the hats St. Charles has worn in the real estate industry, his current one is among his favorites, in spite of the down market. “I love this business because it allows you to operate with a great deal of independence. Plus, it’s always changing, which from my perspective is a good thing. I’ve been through the ups and down and I’m still ticking,” he says.
St. Charles says career agents need to understand the real estate business will always go through highs and lows, but a professional Realtor who works hard will always do well. When he first became a Realtor, he saw interest rates go as high as 15 percent, and he survived; agents can live through the current downturn, too.
“We recently came out of a cycle in which we had high prices but a hot market, and you didn’t have to work hard to sell real estate,” St. Charles says. “Now, agents should be putting the tools they should have been learning when things were going well to use because we’re coming into a market in which it’s going to be much harder to make a
living.
“The market we’re entering isn’t going to spike the way it did before 2006,” he says. “We’re going to see slow growth over the course of a generation. The future of the business is going to be for those who train themselves to be professionals.
“As a result, you’re going to see a smaller agent population but also a more professional one. There will be fewer companies going forward, too.”
St. Charles says this will be healthy for the industry and that Remax Renaissance is well positioned to provide career-minded agents with a home for their business. “If someone is looking for a long-term, stable environment in which to work, we can provide it. We don’t want someone who’s just jumping in to meet immediate financial needs.”
Although Remax Renaissance is a small company, St. Charles says it operates on a wealth of experience. Both Farmer and managing broker Steve Champion have been president of the CAR, while St. Charles comes from a family with a long history in the real estate business in Chattanooga.
St. Charles isn’t as comfortable answering questions not related to real estate, but they’re hard to avoid, as most people around town know his family. His brothers are all professionals, for example, with each one working in a different field. One is a lawyer, another is associated with Citizen Savings & Loan and a third is an ear, nose and throat surgeon.
What’s more, many older Chattanoogans likely remember his father, Pat, a charismatic character who launched the family business around 60 years ago and “belonged to every possible club.” Through the Pat St. Charles Company, the elder St. Charles and his son sold real estate insurance, did appraisals and dabbled in sales. Eventually, the industry split and companies specialized, but the company never ceased to exist. Today, a nephew of St. Charles manages the operation.
St. Charles charted his own path, though, and it’s served him well. “I’m one of those old dogs that’s been around a while. I’ve never been a super producer but I’ve always been involved in the business in one form or another,” he says.
He’s also been busy at home. St. Charles and his wife, Nancy, have three boys, all of whom are continuing the family tradition of pursuing professional careers. One is earning a PhD in computer science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, Penn.; another is studying to be a physician’s assistant; and the third is planning to pursue a master’s degree in vocal music. “He loves to sing, especially opera. Believe me, that didn’t come from me,” says St. Charles, laughing.
While you won’t be seeing St. Charles at any karaoke clubs, you might run across his name if you look into buying living space downtown. If you do, ask about the view from the roof of Remax Renaissance. You might be treated to a glimpse of the city through the eyes of one of its sons.
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