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REAL ESTATE, THE MAYNE WAY

Written By: Amber Craig
Published By: Calgary Real Estate News
Article Used with permission of the Calgary Real Estate Board. © Copyright Calgary Real Estate News, 2007
2008-01-30

Real estate, the Mayne way

For 35 years now, Graham Mayne has been among REALTORS® leading the way in the industry, since he became a Calgary Real Estate Board member in 1973.

Mayne kicked off his career in real estate with Block Brothers Realty, and he says in those days, all you had to do to become a REALTOR® was to take a quick provincial exam.

“I actually started in the business in December, and by June 1 was the assistant manager (of Block Brothers Realty),” says Mayne.

He was later promoted to vice president of the Southern Alberta region of the company, a position he held for 10 years.

“When I became vice president of Block Brothers Realty, I was only about 29 or 30, and I was the youngest sales manager they had ever had and certainly the youngest vice president. I thought that was a real achievement on my part,” says Mayne.

He considers being named vice president of a large organization before he reached the age of 30, a defining moment in his career.

At the time of his promotion, Block Brothers Realty had seven offices and 14 managers in Calgary alone.

After leaving Block Brothers Realty, Mayne purchased a franchised real estate company, and soon combined three companies into one and thus the formation of NRS Touchstone Realty; which he later sold.

Mayne established Discover Real Estate in 1995, in Inglewood and Ramsay. He is the sole owner and broker of the company.

“I didn’t really start hiring REALTORS® until 1999,” says Mayne. “I now have over 250 agents and two offices. The REALTORS® are happy working there and they are getting the support that they want.”

He says the immediate success of Discover Real Estate has been one of his proudest achievements to date.

“I brought my company to be in the top five in the city, as far as number of REALTORS® go,” says Mayne. “It kind of happened overnight.”

For someone who has been an active member of the real estate industry for so long, Mayne can attest to the differences in the business from 35 years ago until now.

“Well certainly the concept of buying and selling homes hasn’t changed, except that there’s a lot more forms we have to fill out now,” says Mayne.

“The technology has really taken over though. The advent of the computer has really changed real estate and made it more user-friendly.”

He also says that the board has grown exponentially, and now with over 5,700 serving in Calgary, it’s a lot harder to get to know everyone.

“You used to be able to go to a board functions and know everyone in the room, now with so many more agents, I know most people in the south, but haven’t really worked in the north so not many people from there,” says Mayne.

After taking on several outlets of real estate, Mayne continues his success as broker of Discover Real Estate, and plans to be in the industry for several more years.

“Real estate has always seemed to be good to me, and I’ve done so many different things in it,” says Mayne.

This article was written for Calgary Real Estate News, a division of the Calgary Real Estate Board, for the series “Legends of Real Estate” showcasing important members of the Calgary Real Estate Board. Please visit the Calgary Real Estate Board online.This article is part of the collection of the Calgary Real Estate News. Please visit them online.

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