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WRITTEN BY: MATILDA BRESS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY: ADAM GENTRY
THE EXPERT CHRISTA LEE CANADAY Real Estate Agent, Canaday Group
HGTV Favorite: “Property Brothers”
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hrista Lee Canaday, a Chapman University graduate, is taking the Orange County real estate market by storm. As the daughter of Lee Ann Canaday (one of Orange County’s leading agents for 30 years), Christa Lee has always known real estate is where she would thrive. “I was born and bred into real estate; in addition to my Mom being a top agent, my Dad is a homebuilder,” Christa Lee said. This inherent love for homes—building, buying and selling them— has given her “a leg up on the competition and so much experience.” The Canaday name, however, is not her defining quality. It is Christa Lee’s passion and determination that make her stand out in the crowd. Not many teenagers would have given up their weekends and summers like Christa Lee did. “The summer of my 13th birthday, I started working as an assistant in my mom’s office Monday through Friday from 8am to 5:30pm and did so every summer until after graduating from Chapman University.” When recalling her long summers spent in her present office, Christa Lee said, “I’m extremely appreciative of the ability to have done that and the opportunities it has provided.” Working for the Canaday Group, Christa Lee sells properties from Newport Beach to San Juan Capistrano. From her childhood rooted in real estate to her dazzling personality and education at one of the top schools in the state, Christa Lee is definitely a triple threat.
Q: I’ve not yet had the opportunity to hire a realtor. When choosing a realtor, what should new and inexperienced homebuyers look for? Christa Lee Canaday: Knowledge and experience in the Real Estate business is essential. You
have to be diligent in producing results to create long-term clients. That’s why my business is primarily based on referrals. In fact, all of the current escrows I have are from past clients’ referrals. The key is to not be lazy and do everything you can for the benefit of your clients - people recognize that. If you’re selling a home, you have to take marketing into account as well. Our team has sold over $1 Billion worth of real estate and is one of the top teams in California. We have over 50 different web partners, own the back cover of multiple magazines including Dream Homes, and are the only real estate team with our own TV show to showcase our listings, which is aired to 17.5 million viewers every Saturday on KDOC at 9am. Q: As one of the younger faces in the world of real estate, what are some things you are doing to “change the game?” CC: I’m always looking for creative new approaches to the business. Besides my
English bulldog Bernie (laughs), my clients are my most important resource, so it’s vital to always be a step ahead of the game. If you don’t put 110 percent of your efforts into each client, they’ll move onto another realtor. There’s too much competition to be lazy in real estate. For instance, if I have a client looking for a home in a certain area that hasn’t hit the market yet, I always take a more creative approach to finding them their dream home such as door knocking and searching for distressed properties in order to secure the home for them before someone else has the opportunity to do so. Also, social media is an incredible tool to utilize. It gets the property out to such a broad spectrum. FaceBook for example, is the number one website in the world; therefore, I post everything real estate related on there. Q: The Canaday Group sells properties all over Orange County. What is your favorite city to sell? CC: I sell and list homes all over Orange County and know all of the
areas like the back of my hand, having grown up here. I do, however, love the Newport Heights and Eastside Costa Mesa areas. In fact, I recently bought my first home on Broadway in Eastside Costa Mesa. It’s in the 180 |
| JANUARY 2014
“We
have over 50 different web partners, own the back cover of multiple magazines including Dream Homes, and are the only real estate team with our own TV show to showcase our listings, which is aired to 17.5 million viewers every Saturday on KDOC at 9am.”
- Christa Lee Canaday, Real Estate Agent, Canaday Group