Susy Glasgall possesses a serene demeanor that’s rare in her line of work. But she wasn’t always a real estate agent. Before joining Houlihan Lawrence 25 years ago, she taught remedial reading and did adoption counseling. So patience is part of her DNA.
By Robin Jovanovich
Susy Glasgall possesses a serene demeanor that’s rare in her line of work. But she wasn’t always a real estate agent. Before joining Houlihan Lawrence 25 years ago, she taught remedial reading and did adoption counseling. So patience is part of her DNA.
So is perseverance. Glasgall is having one of her best years to date. She was the No. 1 agent in Westchester County (single-family home sales — dollar volume) in 2012 and for several years before that.
What’s her secret?
“My clients trust me,” she said thoughtfully in a recent interview at her home in Rye Brook. “And I try to make every transition — for buyers and sellers alike — as easy as possible.”
Glasgall comes prepared — with data. (She acknowledges having been a good student — magna cum laude graduate of Boston University, two Master’s degrees from University of Pennsylvania.)
“Buyers and sellers want to know everything they can about property values, recent sales, neighborhoods, and I make sure I provide it.”
One of the reasons she believes the local market has been so hot this year is pent-up demand. “Buyers were waiting for the right moment. Low mortgage rates brought them out. I can’t remember seeing this much activity this late in the year, but buyers are still out there, even as mortgage rates are starting to climb back up. In fact, most of my sales this year have happened within the last few months.”
She’s working with young clients looking in Purchase because they want a big home, older clients hoping to buy a home on the Westchester Country Club grounds, and empty nesters looking to downsize and stay in the area. “People our age are happily moving to places like Hidden Falls in Rye Brook,” she noted.
Like all the really successful brokers in town, Glasgall works 24/7. “It’s hard, but I love the work, especially being a resource for people.” She adds, “I’m lucky to have a great team behind me.”
Her “A Team” includes Neil, her husband of 32 years, plus Lisa Teich, Judy Smith, Kathy Murray, and “the rest of the great group I work with at Houlihan Lawrence.”
As an agency, Houlihan gets better and better, says Glasgall. “We opened a Greenwich office, and we’ve got a strong international presence because of our affiliation with Christie’s and Mayfair in London.” She adds, “From the time I went to work for Audrey Rapaport [then-manager of the Rye office] 25 years ago, I’ve had great working relationships.”
And then there are the friendly relationships. At their son’s wedding, recently, she realized that a fair number of the guests were people who’d started out as clients. “Selling homes leads to fast friendships,” she observes.
For every client, Glasgall offers any number of services — the names of restaurants that deliver to “Susy’s List” of architects, contractors. “She’s always adding to that list,” interjects Neil, “and finding ways to save clients money.”
Susy and Neil met on a blind date set up by one of his customers (he’s also a roofing and sheet metal contractor), and the rest is great real estate history.
Having sold 26 homes, with eight more sales pending, in the last 12 months, most of us might think about putting our feet up, but Susy has nine active listings and is happy to go the extra mile.
