Engel & Völkers Okemo adds Woodstock advisor

LUDLOW

Engel & Völkers Okemo on Tuesday announced that it has hired advisor Rae Beaudette of South Woodstock, signaling the brokerage’s continued expansion across southern Vermont.

Located on Main Street in Ludlow Village, Engel & Völkers has quadrupled in size since 2019, when it transacted on nearly $11 million in home sales. Inspired by this pre-pandemic momentum, owner and principal broker Gail Beardmore hired an additional broker with roots in Chester, along with a fourth advisor and a digital marketing manager. She has since added three more advisors — based around Bellows Falls, Wallingford, and Woodstock — to further broaden the agency’s radius.

“When a client walks into my office, they deserve an expert in their area of interest, and this increasingly sends us way beyond Ludlow,” said Beardmore. “Having a regionally diverse team is crucial to maintaining that healthy ecosystem of buyers and sellers.”

Beaudette brings more than 20 years of experience across the real estate and green building industries, including a master’s degree in Environmental Policy from Vermont Law School. She first held her real estate license in Chicago, where she ignited her passion for reworking interiors while staging homes for brokerages. She went on to work as an agent for Coldwell Banker, before she was recruited to the Netherlands to work as a relocation design specialist for C-Suite executives.

“Real estate immerses you in a variety of sectors that, at their best, are useful, beautiful and symbiotic,” said Beaudette. “Creating a cohesive home from a property’s many disparate parts requires imagination, pragmatism, and methodology, and I love that.”

Most recently, Beaudette developed continuing education for sustainable design professionals and worked as a liaison for related industry trades. She also operated a home staging and gardening business that served much of New England.

According to Beardmore, “Rae’s holistic, sustainable approach helps us better connect the Upper and Lower Valleys with the quality of service that makes Engel & Völkers so successful.”

The return on this strategic investment in staff is tangible. Less than halfway through 2022, the agency eclipsed its total 2019 sales volume by more than a million dollars. Its average home sale price is now $593,658 — a 150 percentjump since three years ago. Engel & Völkers Okemo now ranks 2nd among 23 regional competitors for average closing price.

“Did I anticipate this market? Of course not,” said Beardmore. “While it’s great for business, especially for sellers, drastic price increases do make me a bit uneasy. But I’ve lived in Vermont long enough to know that, as the economy ebbs and flows, our way of life never goes out of style. We’ll be here when you’re ready.”