John Akers, second from the left, and Bill Holloway, right, celebrate with their families at the Exit Elite Realty building in Arnold.
John Akers, co-owner of Exit Elite Realty in Arnold, predicts an uptick in the residential real estate market.
Akers, who has worked 19 years in real estate, said he believes the inventory of homes for sale will improve in the second half of 2023, providing more choices for buyers.
He said his company has experience with the ups and downs of the market.
Akers said he started his company in 2006 during a recession. He said he believes Exit Elite is the only firm in the area that started during that era, a dark time in the real estate industry, and survived.
He said the business not only has survived, it has thrived. Now boasting 67 agents, Akers said he aims for his company to be the largest and most productive agency in Jefferson County.
He said they are one of the largest, with $115 million in sales in 2022.
Akers said he and Bill Holloway, who joined the firm in 2008 as co-owner, are making a $4 million investment in Jefferson County with a new 24,000-square-foot building at 630 Jeffco Blvd. in Arnold. When it’s completed by September, the firm will move from its current home, a 5,000-square-foot building at 1960 Richardson Road, Arnold.
Akers said while the main office will remain in Jefferson County, he plans to open satellite offices in Chesterfield, Wentzville, Maryland Heights and Columbia, Ill.
Still, Jefferson County remains important to Akers; he said 90 percent of the firm’s agents started and trained here.
Akers said he and Holloway couldn’t have grown the business without their families. Akers and his wife, Jennifer, have four children: Miranda, Jenna, Skylar and Grant. Holloway and his wife, Joanne, have two children: Devin and Roman.
Exit Elite’s telephone number is 636-464-3222.
