Tom Gale Earns Luxury Specialist Certification

Tom Gale and Ken Keegan are First Two Agents at Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage to Earn Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Specialist Certification

Additional 45 Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage Agents Attend Global Luxury Specialist Training in Washington DC on April 25 as First Step Towards Certification

Wilmington, NC – Tom Gale and Ken Keegan, agents at Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage, have each earned the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury℠ Property Specialist designation in recognition of experience, knowledge and expertise in marketing and selling high-end residential properties. To date, only ten percent of the more than 88,000 sales associates affiliated with the Coldwell Banker® brand have been awarded this designation.

Gale lead the pack of more than 45 Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage agents to earn this Specialist designation, attending a required Specialist training course in October of 2017. The remaining Global Luxury Specialist candidates recently attended an April 25 training course in Washington, DC. According to Craig Hogan, Vice President of Luxury for Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage, the 45 who attended the DC class are the largest contingent to ever attend training from one brokerage firm.

The required certification course is taught by Coldwell Banker and The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing. The course covers topics such as how to develop detailed market analysis for sellers of luxury homes and how to make use of Coldwell Banker Global Luxury resources to implement specialized marketing plans that will expose these properties to affluent buyers worldwide.

“We are extremely proud of Tom and Ken and all of our Global Luxury agents,” said Tim Milam, president of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage. “The Global Luxury Specialist certification is only given to those agents who have the proven performance in the luxury market and will provide exceptional service to buyers and sellers in the luxury market.” 

Launched in April 2017, the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury℠ program legacy traces its roots to Coldwell Banker Previews International® and the Previews® program, a leader in luxury real estate since 1933. Coldwell Banker Global Luxury sells more than $148 million in million dollar plus homes every day in the US alone.

In order to receive a Global Luxury Specialist certification, participating agents must meet strict production guidelines — “some of the most rigorous standards in the industry today,” said Hogan.

Tom Gale has been affiliated with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage for 13 years. He is an award-winning sales associate who has earned many honors, most recently being named Cape Fear Realtors 2017 Salesperson of the Year. A native of Greensboro and a graduate of UNCW, Gale resides in Wilmington and is an active member of Cape Fear Realtors’ Community Affairs Committee, NCAR Forms Committee, and St. Therese Catholic Church. He holds GRI (Graduate of the Realtor Institute), CRS (Certified Residential Specialist) and CIAS (Certified Investment Agent Specialist) designations.

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage is the largest and best-selling real estate company in New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender and Onslow counties, with $1.628 billion in closed sales volume and 7,023 closed sales transactions in 2017. Sea Coast Advantage was founded in Wilmington, NC in 1988 and joined Coldwell Banker in 1993. Sea Coast Advantage is staffed by more than 500 real estate agents in 13 offices in Wilmington (Autumn Hall and Midtown), Leland, Jacksonville, Carolina Beach, Topsail Island, Hampstead, Southport, Sneads Ferry, South Brunswick, Oak Island, Holden Beach and Calabash.

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage also has an ownership interest in 18 Coldwell Banker Advantage offices in Raleigh, Fayetteville and Southern Pines and six Coldwell Banker Chicora Advantage offices in Myrtle Beach, SC. Together, these 36 offices and 1,045 agents closed $3.43 billion in sales and 15,933 in transactions in 2017.

In 2017, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage was the #1 Coldwell Banker company in NC, #2 in North America for closed transactions and #3 in North America in Gross Commission Income (GCI).