People who know Dee Dee Brix, a licensed associate real estate broker with Compass on Long Island, describe her as enthusiastic, genuine, ethical and caring, in addition to professional.
“Decisions about right and wrong are easy — no sale is worth my reputation,” says Brix, who brings more than 28 years of experience to every deal. She also has extensive past experience in marketing, sales and management, which has led to her success in real estate.
Based out of the Locust Valley office, she also works out of her home office five minutes away in Glen Cove. She sells homes from Kings Point to Lloyd Harbor, and even in Southampton, though the core of her business is “the Brookvilles,” and the communities in the North Shore School District, where her own children attended school.
Over the course of her real estate career, she has negotiated over 600 transactions, though that’s a word she shies away from. “I’m not selling copiers, I make my living selling people’s lives,” she remarks.
Though she graduated from George Washington University with a degree in sociology, she started off selling school supplies all over Long Island when she was 24 years old. She continued her sales career selling printing services for Xerox and then AT&T in Manhattan’s Financial District as one of their first female National Account Managers, where she sold large telephone systems and IT services.
After six years as a stay-at-home mother to her three children, Brix decided to get her real estate license. She had recently joined the Glen Head Business Association in 1993 and recalls how she was selling magnetic business cards to a local real estate firm, Richard B. Arnold Real Estate and Rick Arnold appreciated her follow-up and professionalism and suggested she get her real estate license with him as her sponsor.
He told her, “‘I know you have little ones at home so you can start slowly and work when they are in school.’ The rest is history. I loved the profession from the start,” she says.
Within the first year, she says she was “hooked,” embracing real estate with “passion, commitment and a thirst for learning.”
Calo, and, bottom row, Jackie Sullivan, Marti Real, Dee Dee Brix and Margaret Giannola.Peter M. Budraitis Photography
Brix has worked for three companies over the past three decades, spending long periods of time with each. “I’m a very loyal person and it was difficult to leave each time. I was drawn to Compass by their amazing recruiter who gradually explained their business model, mission, ethics, tech platform, and incredible support. I joined May, 1 2022, and am very happy — this is my last stop!”
Brix is credited with record-breaking sales in communities from Kings Point to Glen Head, Sea Cliff to Old Brookville. “I love breaking records. I’m grateful and pleased to say that two years ago I sold the most expensive one-acre home in Old Brookville for $3.6 million, much more than any other ever, until I broke that record this past April with another home on one acre in Old Brookville for $4 million,” she explains.
She also sold the most expensive one-acre lot in Nassau County for over $8.5 million in Kings Point. Though she is credited with breaking records Brix says it’s not just about getting the best price for her clients, it’s often about making the deal happen. “I love helping people move forward with their goals,
and their gratitude is deeply rewarding,” she adds. She takes pride that so many of her clients have repeatedly hired her, some even after 20 years. “I just got a call from a past client who reminded me, ‘Dee Dee, you broke the neighborhood record in 2003 when you sold my house, you are our go-to broker!’”
She also loves helping people beyond the real estate closing, as a source for the best painters, contractors and even nursery schools.
A good day at the office for Brix is putting a transaction together for a buyer’s dream house or helping sellers move forward to the next chapter of their lives, networking with colleagues and creating the perfect launch for a new listing.
Having been a graphic artist at an ad agency as one of her early jobs, Brix’s signature has always been “perfect presentation.” She believes in never listing a home without photos and certainly never with cellphone photos. Instead, she strives to enhance her listings with engaging, customized property descriptions and floor plans, lists of special features, beautiful videos and even dedicated property websites.
Her tagline is simple: “Delivering premium service at all levels for over 28 years.”
She enjoys researching a property and its features to help showcase the property. On tours, she is known to offer interesting facts, such as, “These are Schonbek chandeliers — Did you know that Schonbek chandeliers hang in the White House and Buckingham Palace?” Or, “This countertop is Vermont Danby marble — It’s the same marble our Washington, DC monuments are made out of!”
She leads the Dee Dee Brix Team, which she started growing 12 years ago, before teams really existed in Long Island real estate as they do now. She loves to mentor and educate team members, helping them grow their businesses.
“All have been hand-picked for their ethics, commitment and skills to provide the same high standards that have been my signature style for over 28 years,” she says.
They have become somewhat of a family. “While they have their own following, they are invaluable to me in helping me sustain the high level of service that is my signature and their support has contributed to my success.”
Even with a team, Brix admits she is a bit of “a control freak” — she directs all calls from agents and buyers to her cellphone so she can ensure the right buyers are coming to see a listing.
How does she find the time? “I prioritize my existing clients and either answer the phone or get back to them in a timely manner. I question every agent/ buyer to make sure they are a possible match for my listing and my listing is a possible match for them,” she explains. “My clients appreciate that I’m not wasting their time with a non-match and this helps me be more efficient as well.”
Brix says her full-time assistant, Melinda Toner, is licensed and great at follow-up, helping her immensely, as does her team, filling in when she has to be two places at once.
“At Compass, I find that I can work smarter because of the incredible support — marketing director, technology support, branch management and amazing coaching,” she adds.
She enjoys the company motto of “Collaborate without ego” and that Compass feels like one big family, where everyone helps each other. “I’m also part of a ‘Mastermind’ group of agents nationwide and we have Zoom calls and compare notes and this makes me better at what I do. The coaching Compass provides makes me a better broker for my clients as well.”
Brix is also grateful for the strong relationships she has with so many colleagues. “I am genuinely so fond of these caring and professional Realtors. And these relationships impact my business. Listing agents know they can count on me to bring strong, fully vetted offers.”
Having been in real estate for nearly 30 years, she says she has seen the ups and downs, but knows, “no matter what the interest rate is or the amount of inventory, people will always want to buy and sell houses.”
Speaking of the current state of the real estate market, she says, “When interest rates are up, banks offer alternative financing like variable rate mortgages. When interest rates were 17-18%, owner financing was popular. People always find a way. I find the current market still robust, with plenty of buyers and more inventory coming on the market every day.”
List price continues to be very important, she says. “In most areas, it’s best to go with the lower of the asking price range and let buyers bid the offers up, often over asking. That said, it’s a stressful and emotional time for buyers and sellers alike. It was much calmer in 1993 when the prices had been flat for four years and the market was predictable. Sometimes we agents are part therapist to help our clients through these times.”
Brix is someone who loves to keep busy and has plenty of energy.
Back when she was in college, she took a year off from college to teach exercise at a gym and that passion for fitness continues today with pilates classes four times a week.
“Of course”, she says, “my three children and three grandchildren are the light of my life. I live for the joy they bring and to help them in any way.”
“I have a close extended family as well, and we stay in touch. I have dear friends with whom I meet for dinner and events, and I also believe in giving back and paying forward. My favorite volunteer groups are the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor and the Nassau County Museum of Art,” she says. “I love music and the arts and I yearn to take up piano again in the coming years, and plan to go to Italy next year. Basically, I’m a high-energy person, never bored!
“In general, a job well done means to me that I am available, use my experience to prevent or at least resolve issues, and bring a transaction to a happy closing,” Brix says.
“This business is often crisis management and when I hear ‘no,’ I don’t give up. I love to problem-solve and ensure a smooth process. Clients’ gratitude has ranged from saving one from foreclosure to helping a client get their dream home despite a bidding war to driving a price higher than my sellers ever expected,” she says.
“I love hearing ‘Dee Dee, we could not have done this without you.’”
PARTNER CONTENT
This article appeared as the cover story for Behind The Hedges Powered By the Long Island Press in the August 2023 issue. Read the full digital edition here. For more on greater Long Island real estate click here.
