Matt Hogan and Tina Friar have opened a new real estate firm in Vinton—Keller Williams Vinton. They celebrated their grand opening with the Vinton Area Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Brad Grose, and Miss Virginia Tatum Sheppard in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 12.
Mayor Grose presented Hogan and Friar with a plaque welcoming them to the Town of Vinton.
Their new office is located on Washington Avenue near downtown Vinton in the residence which housed Hayden Insurance for many years.
KW Vinton is a franchise, independently owned and operated–and a joint venture for Hogan and Friar.
Hogan, a real estate agent, has worked for Keller Williams Realty Roanoke (located on Electric Road) for most of his five years in the real estate business. He brought the idea for the Vinton office to Friar, a real estate broker for KW. She has been a realtor for over 25 years—mainly in Lynchburg, Central, and Southwest Virginia.
Hogan will be the day-to-day presence and “face of the business” in the Vinton office. Friar plans to be in Vinton on a weekly basis to support Hogan and help the business grow. She also works with Keller Williams offices in Roanoke, Christiansburg, and Lynchburg. The company has plans for a Hollins office as well.
Friar describes Keller Williams as the “number one real estate company in the world, which has now come to Vinton.”
Hogan says that with the opening of the new location, they plan to bring the benefits of an international company like Keller Williams to the town, “a hometown-feel with international opportunities. KW Vinton will be able to buy and sell anywhere in the world.”
Hogan is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School and Liberty University. He serves on the board of directors of the Miss Virginia organization. Friar is a Virginia Tech graduate and avid “Hokie.”
As for why they decided to open the new office in Vinton, the two wanted to “expand from the other side of the valley. Vinton is an ‘up and coming town with a quality of purpose’ they “found appealing in addition to the draw of a great traffic count passing through the town and plentiful parking in the area.”
Hogan was acquainted with Mayor Grose as they “go to church together,” and with Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Angie Chewning and her mother, Bootie, who also serves on the Miss Virginia board of directors.
Friar says that the current real estate market remains strong. “All real estate is hyper-local and embedded in the community,” and they plan to serve the Vinton community.
They chose the location at 324 East Washington Avenue when they saw the “For Sale” sign on the residence-turned-office-space on the highly traveled corridor.
Hogan says they are looking for more real estate agents to join and expand the new business.
The Keller Williams website states that the company was founded over 37 years ago and now has offices in more than 50 regions, including in the United States and Canada with 10,000 agents outside of North America, and still growing, “fostering a global network as the largest, fastest-growing real estate franchise in the world, at the forefront of technology, training, and culture.”
The festive grand opening featured not just the ribbon-cutting, but a visit from Miss Virginia, a live DJ, giveaways, gift certificates, cornhole, vendors, and refreshments throughout the two floors of the new offices.
