SPONSORED CONTENT
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
SPONSORED CONTENT
REALTY ONE’S
BEN JOHNSTON
From Online Marketing
to Door Knocking,
Johnston Sells
B
en Johnston’s a people person. So when he decided to go into
the real estate industry from human resources, he found a
natural fit for his innate talents.
“I like people and I’m a helper by nature,” Johnston said. “I
like connecting with them and helping them find what they’re
looking for in a home.”
As a Realtor with Realty One, Johnston handles properties
ranging from his hometown territory of Washington County, to
Beaver, Fayette, Green, Westmoreland and neighboring Allegheny.
“I was born and raised here. I’m a Chartiers-Houston graduate
and I’ve lived here most of my life,” he said. “I’m married with four
children. I’m a member of the Washington-Greene Realtors Young
Professionals Network, and coach youth football for Chartiers-
Houston, so I love being in the community and seeing this area
grow.”
Johnston, who started his career in real estate with a national
chain brokerage, said he came to Realty One because it is so
much more in tune with the grassroots nature of
the business.
“Being here is an unbelievable opportunity,”
he explained. “They believe in their agents at the
local level and they offer tremendous support and
tools to their agents to better equip us to help our
clients.”
Why that matters for homebuyers or sellers is
because the market is constantly changing and
Realtors have to stop on a dime to keep up with
the latest trends. Right now, according to Johnston,
2018 is shaping up to be a sellers’ market, so
homeowners have the upper hand if they’re looking
to sell at a time when they can maximize their returns and take
advantage of the low housing inventory.
At the same time, Johnston said that buyers need to be aware
that interest rates are forecasted to go up to 5 percent by the
beginning of next year, so they should lock down an interest rate
sooner rather than later.
And, on top of all that, he notes that Washington County is still
booming with buyers looking to escape high taxes closer to the
city.
“Canon-Mac is absolutely blowing up from people moving out
of Allegheny County looking for cheaper taxes,” he said. “So I get
a lot of savvy people looking to move here for that aspect, but
I also enjoy the first-time homebuyers, who come to the table
with a lot of excitement. I love educating them and watching
them grow during the process and getting to their end goal of
homeownership.
While many Realtors market their homes online only,
Johnston’s people-person personality takes him throughout the
neighborhoods to door-knock for every home he has on the
market.
“My job is to get clients the most exposure possible. Everyone
is online, and I list online, but I will also door-knock the
neighborhood to get the most eyeballs on the property possible,”
he said. “I collaborate with the neighborhood and people love
having a role in picking their new neighbors.”
For more information on Ben Johnston, go to
realtyonegroup.com. His office is at 2857 Washington Road in
McMurray, 15317, or you can call him directly at 724.554.9896,
or email ben@goldstandardpittsburgh.com.
CANON-MAC
❘
SUMMER 2018
39