Real estate is a tough calling. Any agent can deck themselves out, buy some vanity ads, build a website, and call themselves a Realtor.
But for Suzanne Warner, real estate is in her DNA. The natural networker — she makes new acquaintances literally every single day — knew she would sell luxury properties because it was something she always wanted to do. She brings much to the table, including a background in both luxury fashion and high-level marketing. Plus, she knows a ton of powerful people.
It’s no wonder, in less than two years in real estate, Suzanne topped $20 million in sales.
“I know that sellers want results above all else,” Suzanne said. “And everything I do, from the moment I take a listing, is focused on the results: how quickly can we sell this home for the maximum market price.”
That’s when her event-planning gene kicks into action, tailoring a specific, results-oriented platform for each unique property she represents. Yet all share a common goal: finding and alerting the right people, then getting them in the door. According to Suzanne, it’s about catering to your audience and offering the unexpected. Among her most creative endeavors: a 50’s themed martini party in her midcentury listing and private luxury helicopter rides for the 505 Ranch Club launch of Firebird Targets.
It’s that kind of out-of-the-box, coloring-outside-the-lines thinking that contributes to Suzanne’s impressive track record. Not only has she racked up sales in the multi-millions, she did it in some of the toughest real estate turfs in North Texas: the Park Cities, Preston Hollow, North Dallas, and the Uptown/downtown high rise community.
In fact, if Suzanne doesn’t have the ideal property for a client, her MO is to find one off-market.
Other specialties include investment, farm and ranch, and lake home properties. As the exclusive listing agent for the 505 Ranch Club — a development of 56 private homesites along the banks of Cedar Creek Lake — Suzanne recently closed the community’s $2 million spec home. Fast-forward to the property’s last phase, where she is currently consulting on the design/build of several homes under construction in the area. “We’re thrilled to have an impressive number of new clients, investors and builders championing the project,” she says.
Suzanne’s background prepared her well for luxury real estate sales. Indeed, some of Dallas’ leading agents were top producers in the world of high-end retail. She spent more than 24 years at Dallas’ iconic Stanley Korshak. As a buyer, she spearheaded the growth of high-end menswear collections including Kiton and Ermenegildo Zegna; as a personal shopper, her sales exceeded $1 million annually.
“We had beautiful merchandise,” says Suzanne, “but in retail, as with any service-oriented business, relationships are everything. It’s all about matching the right people with the right product.”
Along with taking excellent care of her clients, Suzanne was also lauded for her focus, expedient follow through, impeccable taste, and eye for design.
Suzanne became the store’s director of marketing and social media in 2015. “You need the whole package — merchandising, strategic planning, advertising, public relations, and event planning — to truly optimize sales and productivity.”
She applies that same proven philosophy to her real estate career. In October 2018, Suzanne was invited to join the high-level team at Compass Real Estate in Preston Center. Along with Compass’ forward-thinking tech and marketing prowess, it was the company’s “can-do, constantly evolving attitude” that ultimately sealed the deal.
“The positive energy is contagious. I immediately identified with the firm’s dynamic, solutions-driven spirit,” says Suzanne. “With Compass, there’s a national network at your fingertips. Being surrounded by such talent will only make my business stronger.”
As does giving to her community. Suzanne is founder and chair of Exposed, a bi-annual event benefiting the AIM at Melanoma Foundation. The goal for 2019 is to raise more than $200,000 for tissue bank research, a 50 percent increase over the 2017 inaugural event. Suzanne is also a supporter of TACA, The Arts Community Alliance, One Man’s Treasure, East-West Ministries, and St. Mark’s School of Texas.
A native Texan, Suzanne and her husband Mike have a daughter Grace, a Hockaday graduate now studying finance at Trinity University. Their son, Ryan, is a St. Mark’s senior currently exploring his college options. A shared passion for waterskiing and fishing makes their East Texas lake house an ideal retreat.
