Pleasanton, CA — December 3, 2019 — NextHome is proud to announce the expansion of NextHome Real Estate Professionals in Louisiana. The new office in Covington will build on the phenomenal success that owner Mitch Crayton began at his office in Hammond.
The new Covington branch will serve clients across Abita Springs, Madisonville, Covington, New Orleans, and the remainder of St. Tammany Parish.
The brokerage represents the 7th office location opened in Louisiana for the NextHome franchise. Mitch will be leading the office alongside his wife of 23 years, and 14-year real estate veteran, Jeannie.
The NextHome Real Estate Professionals Covington office is prepared to help clients with any residential or commercial needs.
“We have people in place who are trained and knowledgeable, especially in commercial real estate,” Mitch said.
Over the past three years as a NextHome franchisee, Mitch has built NextHome Realty Professionals into a local powerhouse. The brokerage began by selling $20 million in its first year, doubling that to $40 million in the second year, and is set to top $70 million in sales in 2019.
The achievements are especially noteworthy in a market where the average home sales price hovers around $168,000.
Mitch’s career in real estate was born in 1997 in the midst of trying circumstances. The local steel mill that Mitch worked for downsized, creating the opportunity for him to pursue his interest in real estate.
With Jeannie’s urging and support, Mitch obtained his real estate license in 1997 and started with a nationally franchised brokerage. Over the next two years, Mitch sold numerous properties and quickly became someone to watch in his area.
In 1999, Mitch was invited to join a new local real estate brokerage. Latter & Blum Real Estate opened that year with seven agents. After two years of selling real estate at the brokerage, Mitch was promoted to Sales Manager.
Under his management, the small brokerage grew from seven agents to over 80 talented real estate professionals throughout the next 10 years. In addition, these agents closed over 900 transactions annually and represented over $150 million in yearly sales.
After nearly a decade of management, Mitch made the decision to return to the sales side of the business in 2011. Partnering with his wife, they created Team 1 REALTORS® – a high producing real estate team at Latter & Blum Real Estate.
In 2015, the couple sold over $12.5 million in real estate and closed 73 transactions.
In early 2016, the Craytons took a step back and realized they could own their own brokerage and create the office of their dreams.
“We wanted to create a company that really focused on great technology for our customers,” said Crayton. “I researched dozens of franchises and none of them were what I was looking for – until I found NextHome.”
“I went back to NextHome.com four or five times before reaching out,” Mitch remembered. “I was drawn to the company. After speaking with Charis Moreno (NextHome’s Vice President of Sales), I knew NextHome was the right choice for us.”
Three years later, the Craytons are reaping the benefits of their hard work. The original Hammond-based brokerage will continue to provide residential real estate services to the residents of Hammond, Ponchatoula, Albany, Robert, Amite City, and the surrounding Tangipahoa Parish.
Outside of selling real estate, The Craytons spend time with their two sons, Collin (20) and Ethan (16). Collin is the owner of screen printing and signs business, Varsity Graphix. Ethan is a dedicated baseball player and the family spends a lot of at the ballpark together.
Please join us in congratulating Mitch, Jeannie, and the rest of the team at NextHome Real Estate Professionals on their continued growth and success!
Interested in being a part of the NextHome Real Estate Franchise? Contact VP of Sales Charis Moreno at Charis@NextHome.com.
Each office is an independently owned and operated business.