Haute Residence continued its "Chat with Haute Residence Leaders" series with a conversation featuring Darin Marques of the Darin Marques Group at Huntington & Ellis. Marques is the exclusive agent representing the Henderson, Las Vegas real estate market as a member of the Haute Residence Real Estate Network.
Darin Marques was hosted by Haute Media Group Cofounder Seth Semilof. Watch their conversation below.
The topics included Marques’ illustrious career from working in sales for a top subcontractor, his work in the Henderson community, and his eventual ascendancy in luxury real estate as a home specialist and founder of the Darin Marques Group at Huntington & Ellis.
After graduating from Bonanza High School, Marques pursued sales with the top fireplace and window subcontractor in the city. Within six months, he was the leading salesperson specializing in custom homes. This kicked off years as a successful executive in sales and development. Most recently, Marques was a luxury home specialist for 11 years with Ivan Sher Group, an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nevada Properties, where he held the role of sales manager for ASCAYA, a premier luxury home community in Henderson with 313 estate sites projected to be the greatest collection of Desert Contemporary architecture in the country upon its completion. As a thirty-year resident of Las Vegas with a deep knowledge of the valley, Marques has an eye for elevated living and a skill set that results in clients achieving the most value when purchasing and selling their homes.
Here are some of the questions and answers from the exclusive interview with Marques.
Seth Semilof: How was the movement [to creating your own company]? You moved around at the beginning of COVID.
Darin Marques: I left [Ivan Sher Group] in December of 2019 and moved over here to start my team. Then, we rolled around to March, and everything shuts down. I am thinking, “What did I do?” but everything worked out. There was this incredible rebound that started late August, early September of last year. We more than made up for it in the fourth quarter of last year. We grossed almost 22 million in sales just in the fourth quarter and this year we have been off to an incredible start. We are currently sitting at 54 million in sales and on track to break 100 million this year.
SS: How did you get into real estate? Was that your first profession? Tell us a little about your first moves in your career.
DM: Believe it or not, I started working when I was 14. I was into bodybuilding at the time, and I started working for a local health food store here. I worked for them for about five years until I was 19 and one of our customers offered me my first sales opportunity, which was outside sales for a construction company here in town. This is what led me into luxury. I worked for him for a few months as a project manager, then he moved me into sales. I was selling high-end materials for custom home construction: fireplaces, windows, mirrors, shower doors, and all that stuff. The one area that he did not have anybody to focus on was custom homes.
SS: How long did it take you to get your first deal whether it be a listing or a sale?
DM: In my first month, I landed two one and a half-million-dollar deals, which, at that time, would be the equivalent of three or four million now. Both of those were prior customers of mine from when I sold construction materials, and they ended up listing their homes with me. My first 90 days were incredible, but nine months afterward was nothing. The first five years in real estate from 2009 to 2014 was tough. I was going to quit and every year, thankfully, I had two great people who believed in me. The turning point was when I went and met with Ivan. I said, “I am at rock bottom. I am broke. I cannot afford to pay my dues.” He said, “This is the best thing. Everything from here is up.” I move forward and about 90 days later, ASCAYA came to me ready to reopen and start selling luxury home lots again.
SS: What advice would you give to people starting out?
DM: I think anybody who is successful knows that you cannot do it all on your own and to surround yourself with the right people. The other thing I tell all new agents now, I say, "Keep a job for at least a year. Take all the money that you are making from real estate and put that away because that is what is going to finance your business." You are starting a business and any business owner knows that you cannot walk into any business without having money for a startup. It really comes down to time blocking and being organized with your time.
SS: 18 months ago, you went to launch your own business. What made you decide to do that?
DM: I was managing ASCAYA and overseeing 32 agents plus admin at our main office. It was like drinking water from a fire hose for about a year, but it gave me a great opportunity to learn a lot really quickly about managing agents and running a team. It gave me an opportunity, and it gave me confidence. When my contract was up at ASCAYA after five years, I went back and tried to be an agent on the team, and I realized that was not me. I did not want to just be in sales; I wanted to build something. As an entrepreneur, I had all these ideas, and I knew it was not my business. It was scary, to say the least, but it was the best thing that I could have ever done.
For more information, please contact Darin Marques at (702) 485-7755 or darin@dmgluxury.com
To watch more real estate webinars curated by Haute Residence, visit http://dev.hauteresidence.com.
