by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Some people dream of slowing things down in their 50’s but not Mark Ryan, the broker of Sawgrass Group Realty.
He left his job in New York moved to Ponte Vedra Beach, took up surfing, ran the Boston Marathon and started his own real estate company, all within the last two years.
Ryan sold broadcast advertising for over 20 years. In 2005, he decided to move to Ponte Vedra Beach and combine his love of golf with his knowledge of selling and go into real estate.
He worked for St. Johns Communities in St. Augustine for one year prior to opening his own company in April: it’s Sawgrass Group Realty, right outside the opening to Sawgrass Country Club’s southern entrance.
“You know I am the only real estate company licensed with the name Sawgrass in this area?” he said. “I found that hard to believe. So, I started Sawgrass Group Realty and had Sawgrass Country Club sign off on it.”
Right now, there are only two people in the office, Ryan and office manager Susan Moseley.
Moseley is a licensed real estate agent so she can help out if needed.
“I had to hire someone with a license because you are so restricted if they don’t,” he said. “This way, she can show property.”
The company is currently recruiting agents.
Ryan said he chose the name because one day as they bring on more people, they will be the Sawgrass Group.
“I don’t want to get so big that we lose control, but my goal is to have the top dollar volume office in a couple years,” he said.
He would like to grow the office to around 12 to 15 agents.
“Everyone has a bad real estate story,” said Ryan. “I think most of the problem is lack of follow-up, lack of being totally honest and lack of being candid.”
Ryan says he has always had a reputation of being honest and telling it like it is, which is what he thinks people need in the market today.
“I thought that if I could just open a company whose premise is great customer service including good follow-up and honest dealings we will be successful,” he said. “My whole goal is to set up a niche market and concentrate on the Sawgrass area. With in a few years, I would like to migrate to the higher-end homes.”
Ryan says he uses his advertising and marketing background to help sell properties he lists.
“I think that gives me an advantage as I plan what we are going to do as a company and what I need to do to sell these houses,” he said.
Ryan offers a free home inspection at no charge to the customer, virtual tours on all listings and a marketing package with various options.
Though he may be relatively new to the area, he’s been here before. He was transferred to Jacksonville in 1984 by Katz Media, which is owned by Clear Channel to run the office here. While here, he bought a condominium in Sawgrass Country Club.
In May of 1986, he was transferred to New York. He worked on and off for Katz Media over the last 20 years before moving to Ponte Vedra Beach.
“I had it up to here with the corporate life and needed to do something else,” he said.
When he relocated to Jacksonville, he first started a media consulting company, Ryan Associates Consulting, which did sales and management training.
“I wanted to relocate to Jacksonville while I was in my 50’s because there are things you can do in your 50’s that you can’t do in your 60’s, like take up surfing which I did,” he said. “My plan was to go to real estate school and do real estate part-time. I’ve always been fascinated by it and I’ve sold a bunch of houses myself through real estate agents, but I wanted to do it myself. I started doing it full-time and found I was pretty good at it.”
Ryan has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Minnesota, in Minnesota where he grew up. He is single and enjoys playing golf and running.
The company’s Web Site is www.sawgrassgroup realty.com.