Coldwell Banker Canada Maritime Realty – Powered by Chris & Joelle Perkins, Their Team and Dwayne the Dachshund – Opens in Halifax

June 13, 2023

 

Chris Perkins, the Broker/Owner of the new Coldwell Banker Maritime Realty brokerage in Halifax, N.S., is good with listings.

And, so, on the evening in June when he officially opened his new, rebranded office, it was a list—a list of people to thank—that he shared with his audience gathered at The Penthouses at the Roy (which, yes, is his listing).

Above all, he thanked wife Joelle Perkins. He paid tribute to his Coldwell Banker Canada mentor, too.

“Joelle and I moved to Halifax in 2018 and had a crazy idea to start a real estate brokerage,” Perkins said.

“We had worked at a Coldwell Banker office in Fort McMurray in Alberta. The culture in that office was different. It was led by my good friend and mentor, Colin Hartigan. We started our brokerage to create that same culture of collaboration, innovation and high customer service standards.”

Perkins told the story of his brokerage’s journey back to the Coldwell Banker brand by sharing the spotlight with the people who have been with him along the way.

 

Koree Burt

“Koree took a leap of faith with us five years ago before we even started our brokerage, working with Joelle and me as we established ourselves. She has tons of real estate knowledge and always takes excellent care of her clients.”

 

Adam Scott

“We met in coffee shops before we had an office. Adam has a background in radio and video production, the star of a podcast and our social media channels.”

 

Adam Wigmore

“Adam Wigmore was next. I convinced him to take the plunge, to leave the restaurant industry and to apply those same customer service traits to his real estate clients.”

 

 

Zack Dawson

“Two years ago, Zack joined the team and brought his tenacity and drive to the brokerage. He would run through walls to look after his clients.”

 

Ian Henteleff

“Another restauranteur! Ian is someone who will go above and beyond for you, and you don’t even have to ask for it to happen.”

 

Sean Nykolyshyn

“Most recently, Sean joined the team and brings 15 years of experience to the brokerage, having sold in multiple markets.”

 

Alyssa Lynch

“I remember wondering how was I going to make Alyssa busy as office manager. Now, I don’t know what I would do without her, which I’m going to have to do because she’s expecting a baby. Congratulations, Alyssa!”

 

Stevie Perkins

“Stevie Perkins turns three years old in July. She’s already the boss of the household and will definitely take over the family business one day in the future. They are the brightest lights in my life and I see so much of my wife in my daughter. I am a very lucky man!”

 

Halifax via Fort McMurray via LEGO

Chris Perkins was born in Hastings, England. His family moved to Canada when he was 11 years of age.

“We landed in Edmonton and went to Fort McMurray on our way to Calgary, which, you’ll note, is the wrong direction,” he said. “My dad was offered a job within a day of being in Fort McMurray and we ended up staying for 17 years.”

He got into the business at age 18. His self-described “lowest point in my first year” came when he was showing a house to a young couple and their six-year-old son.

“The little boy looked up at me and said, ‘Do you even own a house?’ I didn’t. Even at six years old that little boy knew I was too young to own a house and too young to be selling real estate.”

The “you-look-too-young” perception started to stick. He’d be asked if his parents were home when he answered his front door. He was told he didn’t look old enough to sell LEGO. He decided to lean into it.

“I wrote a radio ad inspired by the LEGO comment,” Perkins said. “From then on, people knew me as the LEGO guy, and I developed my advertising from that base. Once I owned my perceived weakness, it, ironically, became something that set me apart.”

 

Love story

Perkins called his time in Fort McMurray “a fantastic decade.” He built his network and his learning at various conferences. He was recognized with the Coldwell Banker Canada Top 30 Under 30 Award. He spoke about the LEGO story on stage at Coldwell Banker’s Gen Blue conference in Las Vegas.

“Lots of great memories,” he said.

In 2016, Joelle and Chris got married on a trip to Halifax, making their vows at the historic downtown Prince George Hotel in the city they had fallen in love with. In 2018, they moved to Halifax for good and opened their brokerage.

 

Welcome, Dwayne!

 

And they welcomed Dwayne to the family.

“Joelle always dreamed of having a dachshund named Dwayne, so I had to make sure that dream came true,” said Perkins, who found Dwayne at the Long Long Ranch in Hantsport, N.S.

The couple was optimistic that Dwayne would be an office dog, but he’s a little intense. “We still love him, though,” said Perkins. “He has a personality that is disproportionate to the size of his legs.”

 

Back to Coldwell Banker Canada

Perkins said he and Joelle have spent the last five years honing their processes, refining their marketing strategies and building a tailored, boutique real estate service for their clients.

“We’ve become experts in our market, providing valuable information to people so they can make informed real estate decisions,” he said. “I’m happy to say that none of that is changing. However, Halifax and Nova Scotia are changing.

Last year, Halifax grew by 4.4%, with 20,713 more people. Only Moncton, N.B., at 5.3%, grew faster.

“Our province has been thrust onto the global stage and is developing at a rapid rate,” said Perkins. “We need to change with it.”

In this case, change meant a return to Coldwell Banker Canada.

 

 

“Joelle and I worked with Coldwell Banker for 10 years before moving to Nova Scotia—we bleed blue,” he said.

Maritime Realty joins Mariana Cowan’s Supercity Realty as Coldwell Banker brokerages serving Halifax and area.

Of importance to Perkins was being back with a real estate company with more than a century of history and with offices around the world.

“Locally owned and operated brokerages with local expert knowledge with access to a global network,” he said.

Locally, Perkins’s goal is to have experts across the province.

“This means I’m not driving to a place that I’ve never heard of to sell a house,” he said. “It means we will have local experts that fully understand the market in their area.”

Nationally, customers moving to or from another province can use Maritime Realty to plug into Coldwell Banker Canada expertise across the country.

Internationally, listed homes get the widest exposure to maximize value.

 

Welcome home

 

Colin Hartigan, Broker/Owner of Coldwell Banker Fort McMurray, welcomed Chris and Joelle back to the network.

“This is where it all started, so, welcome back home,” said Hartigan. “Chris and Joelle deliver an exceptional customer experience. With Coldwell Banker love and support, we look forward to being on this journey with you.”

Kim Carmichael, who is a VP-Franchise Development for Coldwell Banker Canada, underlined Perkins’s commitment to those around him.

“Maritime Realty is dedicated to building a strong team sustained by a culture of support, learning and growth,” Carmichael said. “The team of expert agents is dedicated to a personalized service and an individualized experience.”

 

 

 

 

A measure of thanks

A brokerage is only as good as the culture of the group, Perkins said.

“I’ve worked in a handful of different brokerages and the leadership makes a massive difference to the experience of everyone on the team. Collaboration and positivity create an environment where you want to come to work, while celebrating one another’s success. When individuals succeed, the brokerage will, as well.”

 

Editor’s note: the pic at the top of the post shows Chris Perkins, Broker/Owner, and Joelle Perkins, Compliance Manager, in front of Coldwell Banker Maritime Realty in Halifax.

 

 

 

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