Experience On Your Side

Real Estate Agent Jim Smith

The summer is traditionally a slower time in the housing market, but Jim Smith won’t be taking any time off this season. Smith, senior sales representative at London’s Sutton Group Select Realty, finds the advantage in any kind of market for his clients. “Summer is really the best time to buy a house. I work every summer. Others take holidays but I keep working,” he says. 

Smith’s Guinness World Record attempt with a block-long plate of spaghettii

A lifelong Londoner, Smith obtained his licence in the 1980s, but also worked at other endeavours, including at The Ceeps and Stonebridge Farms, and he’s proud of the attempts to make it into the Guinness World Records in the 1990s. Smith had fun organizing and then executing the largest plate of spaghetti (spanning a Dundas St. city block, from Clarence to Wellington) and longest pizza (longer than three football fields, from Dufferin and Clarence Streets to Clarence and Central Ave.). Smith joined Sutton Group in the early ’90s and later sat on the board of LSTAR (London St. Thomas Association of Realtors), becoming its president in 2017 when the housing market boomed. 

Smith advises prospective buyers to first contact a realtor. “They will guide you through the process and negotiate on your behalf. Also talk to a mortgage broker and get pre-authorized. Draw up your wish list. Do you need a garage? Can you live without a backyard? How many bedrooms do you want?” 

Smith says the market is cyclical and right now it has slowed, but there are still people looking to buy no matter the market. “There is some uncertainty because people don’t know what (U.S. President Donald) Trump is going to say from day to day. The tariffs mean people are unsure. That being said, there are always sales in real estate.” 

Another Jim Smith SOLD sign

During his career, Smith has sold everything from high-end luxury homes to smaller properties. “I’ve also put together land deals, such as the deal for the auto mall at Dundas Street and Veterans Memorial Parkway.” 

He says the best part of his job is that each day is different. “It’s been a great career. I enjoy the people that I work with and every day you wake up unemployed,” he says, with a laugh.
“But then the phones start ringing.” •

For more information
Jim Smith, Sales Representative
Sutton Group Select Realty Inc.
519-868-2095
jsmith@sutton.com