Pleasanton, CA — December 28, 2020 — NextHome is pleased to announce the expansion of NextHome Innovative Realty into Hattiesburg, Mississippi. This second office will build on the success of NextHome Innovative Realty’s first location in Slidell, Louisiana. The brokerage represents the sixth office location opened in Mississippi for the NextHome franchise and the 534th NextHome office opened nationally.
Located just 70 miles from Slidell, Hattiesburg is home to the University of Southern Mississippi and attracts homebuyers with its diverse economy, strong neighborhoods, and its central location. NextHome associates are looking forward to better serving a growing number of Mississippi listing requests.
NextHome Innovative Realty is owned by the husband and wife team of Billy and Melissa Dekemel – dedicated real estate professionals with a passion for people-first service.
Since opening their first NextHome brokerage in early 2019, Billy and Melissa have seen their sales volume almost double. In their first year, they reached just over $4 million in sales volume. Through the dedication of deep-rooted and experienced agents, NextHome Innovative Realty has achieved an $8 million sales volume this year. The accomplishment is even more remarkable in an area where average home prices hover around $175,000.
Billy and Melissa credit their success to true client care.
“With this new location our clients can expect top-quality, top-service, 100 percent of the time,” Billy said. “We are dedicated to the concept of ‘Humans over Houses’ and that’s really what it’s going to be about in Hattiesburg.”
Billy found a love for real estate when he purchased and managed two of his own rental properties, and in 2008 he got his real estate license. Billy then launched a thriving career working for both boutique and national real estate firms in the Slidell area. It wasn’t always easy though.
“I think the toughest thing starting out was to get your name out there and letting people know this is your career, not just a hobby,” Billy said of those early years. “The biggest struggle other than getting a client base was getting people knowing that you are in real estate and you are in it to stay.”
Billy’s persistence and dedication to his clients paid off. In 2018, Billy found himself working with RE/MAX where he handled $4.2 million in transactions with 27 deals that year. However, he needed to take his commitment to his clients to the next level. That’s when Billy found NextHome.
“It had that same family atmosphere that makes Slidell such a great place,” Billy said of his initial attraction to what NextHome had to offer. “People know your name. I’ve worked for big national companies where you very much seem like just a face in an office. NextHome has a very different and family-like culture. It really is what attracted me to NextHome as well as being a franchise and having all of the processes in place.”
Today, Billy and Melissa are dedicated to spreading that family-like way of doing business across southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi.
“We operate our business based on what the client needs, not what we need,” Billy said. “We will do whatever we need to do to make things happen for them.”
Please join us in congratulating Billy and Melissa on their second NextHome office in Hattiesburg, Mississippi!
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.