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| THE HIGH LIFE: Edith Personette counts the W Victory Residences among her high-profile Dallas-area clients. photography by Kris Hundt |
COMPANY:
Personette & Associates
TITLE:
Founder and president
DETAILS:
Based in Houston; $7.5 billion in closed residential condo sales in 20 years; DFW-area inventory has grown from $100 million in 2003 to $400 million in 2006
WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW HER:
When Dallas condo developers want units sold, they call Edith Personette. Though her firm, Personette & Associates, is based in Houston, her growing Dallas office has snagged some of the biggest prizes in town—the W Victory Residences, the Residences at Hotel Palomar, and the Omni Residences in Fort Worth among them.
And, who better? Back when “condo” was a dirty word, Personette sold them. In the 1980s, she turned condos into status symbols with provocative ads that proclaimed, “High-rise owners live above it all, while others mow their grass.” She hosted society dinners in empty penthouses. Soon, people were shaking the condo stigma and signing on the dotted line.
Though Personette and her agents—50 throughout Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio—are all Realtors, each associate is devoted to a single site. For developers, this means having a dedicated sales staff that knows their product inside and out. Personette even consults with some developers on projects from inception, defining sales strategies and price points.
Personette & Associates’ sales have quadrupled since 2003. And with more aging baby boomers embracing the vertical lifestyle, it seems her business has nowhere to go but up.
