LYNNFIELD — COVID-19 may have slowed the pace of business in many industries, but there is no slowing down Lynnfield realtor Nikki Martin and her team at Compass Real Estate.
Martin joined Compass in the middle of the pandemic in April of 2020. Since then, she has been doing everything she can to keep up with a frenetic residential real market, which has buyers, sellers and brokers clamoring to navigate their way through a market now defined by high demand, low inventories and sales prices well above asking — in some cases, Martin said, up to 15-20 percent above list price.
Toss in a new Lynnfield office off Main Street (between Faith Spa and the Center Street Market) that is scheduled to open Oct. 15, and it’s a wonder that Martin has any time to catch a breath.
“I made the move to Compass during COVID because I needed to change just about everything about the way I conduct business,” Martin said. “People are just afraid, and I needed to go with a tech-based company to expand my growth. Compass has enabled me to do this through the web with live-streaming of open houses through restaurant-like scanners on their devices that allows them to literally be walking through actual homes through their phones.”
It’s mission accomplished for Martin.
Since joining Compass on April 24, she has grossed $38 million in five months, which she says projects to be about $84 million over a 12-month span.”
“I’m up about 30 percent, which is just incredible and it’s all due to the technology,” Martin said. “I had to learn to think like a buyer. They want to feel like they are in the house, and this technology I now have allows them to do that and I’m saving so much time as now we are seeing real buyers and are able to focus on pre-approved buyers we know are serious.”
Born and raised in Lynnfield, Martin is a graduate of Lynnfield High School. She went on to attend Northeastern University, where she graduated at the top of her class, receiving a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a concentration in marketing.
Martin has been a realtor for 37 years, settling in Lynnfield primarily, but is also active in Peabody, Middleton, North Reading, Melrose and Wakefield. She said the move to Compass has allowed her to expand to other new communities, including Somerville.
A top producing real estate agent for Compass, Martin is a perennial winner of prestigious awards, such as Boston Magazine’s Top Producing Agent in Lynnfield in 2020, She has also been named to the Presidents Club, reserved for the top one percent of all realtors for 20 consecutive years.
In 2019, Martin’s team closed more than $64 million in sales, selling 84 units across the North Shore.
She made the move to Compass as a senior vice-president after spending a little more than six months at Wiliam Raveis,19 years at Coldwell Banker and nearly 18 years at Robert Stone.
At Compass, Martin leads a team of six people, four of whom are Lynnfield mothers. She says she always strives to provide a fun, flexible atmosphere for her team at all times.
“I am the oldest on the team, but they all have that technology swag, so thanks to them, technology has changed my life in such a positive way,” Martin said.
As far as the location goes, it’s all about having that small-town feel.
“I wanted to be in a place that gives the warm feeling of Lynnfield, right in the center of town. I guess I’m just old school,” she said. “It was important to be in the community as opposed to some ordinary office on Route 1. I really wanted to show all of my team members that I care especially because the world has changed since the virus. I think it’s going to be part of our lives and impact how we do business. I don’t think we will ever do our business the pre-pandemic way ever again, especially now with the technology that is just over the top.”
The grand opening for Martin’s new office was originally scheduled for Oct. 3, but she said she will likely wait until Christmas to have a formal opening.
