Today we’d like to introduce you to Codey Lowe.
Hi Codey, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
After finishing my academic and athletic (football) career at Duke University, I decided to move back to Texas (Houston). I had grown up in the Oil & Gas industry. Both my father and older brother were very well-established in the industry. It wasn’t an industry that I particularly had a passion or interest in initially, but at 22 years old, I figured, let’s try it out and see if it’s something I grow to love. Well, in the blink of an eye, 12+ years went by, and it was safe to say that I loved it. I often tell people that, “it must have been in my blood.”
Over the course of those 12+ years, I advanced from an Outside Sales Rep. to the VP/Director of Sales. I had the incredible opportunity to work for/with three amazing companies, lead 50+ direct reports, negotiate and implement multi-million/billion-dollar contracts with some of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, developed sales and marketing SOPs, travel the world, and meet, work with, and establish lifelong relationships with some of the most wonderful people. Those years spent in the energy sector also helped me hone my leadership, sales, and negotiating skills. This would later lend itself to my current/forever career.
In the summer of 2019, shortly after my 35th birthday, I began to really think about what else was out there for me from a career and professional standpoint. The last O&G company I was with had me travelling every week throughout the Rockies, Oklahoma, and Texas for about two years. As much as I loved it, I felt I was getting to that, “burn out” stage. I had recently met who would later become my first mentor in real estate. After several conversations and months of serious thought, I decided it was time to make a complete shift in my career. In September of 2019, I left the industry I grew up in, worked in, established myself in, and loved. I decided that I wanted to make real estate my new career.
That Fall (2019), I got my real estate license and began working in commercial real estate with, in my opinion, one of the smartest, driven, and creative people I have ever met. Lyndsey Johnson, took me under her wing and over the course of the next two years guided me through the complexity of commercial real estate. The wealth of knowledge that she bestowed upon me then and to this day is something I use every single day in both my commercial and residential real estate business.
By the Fall of 2021, I had successfully closed numerous commercial and residential deals but felt like I needed to do something more to market myself and expand my career, with a stronger focus on residential real estate, but also continuing to work with my commercial clients. I looked at a couple of other residential brokerages in DFW but felt something special with Monument Realty. I wanted to be with a brokerage that promoted positivity, culture, and somewhere I knew I could take my career to the next level. Needless to say, I found the perfect place. On October 15, 2021, I joined Monument Realty. I immediately found success in both my residential and commercial business. Over the next few months, I continued to make great strides in growing my own real estate business. I loved what I was doing, but felt like I wanted to be of service to other agents. I have always been drawn to and thrived in leadership and coaching roles prior to getting into real estate. I spoke to a couple of amazing women (Tricia Andrews & Deana Custer) on our leadership team, and they provided me an opportunity that would allow me to put those leadership/coaching skills to work.
In May of 2022, I was given a role at Monument as a recruiter/coach/mentor. This role allowed me to recruit newly licensed and tenured agents. Once these agents joined Monument, I would be there to help coach/mentor them.
When I got into real estate, I had always grounded and prided myself in my “why”. My “why” was helping my clients with one of the biggest financial decisions they would ever make. Whether that was buying their first home or opening up their first brick-and-mortar business. As excited as I was about this new role , I was equally hesitant. I was and still am in the process of building my own business/legacy in real estate. Those hesittions and concerns faded quickly when I realized that the leadership group at Monument saw something in me, and it was something I had always done in my life. I have the ability to lead, coach, and mentor. I had done that in all facets of my life. It stemmed from being a team captain through youth sports, my high school/college football career, and being a Manager, Director/VP in my O&G career. The moment I started meeting with agents about Monument Realty, I then found my second “why”. It’s being of service to others, and being a resource for their success. I find as much if not more joy in watching the success in others as I do in my own accomplishments.
I love my dual career/responsibility at Monument. It has blessed me with opportunities that I never knew were possible. I am successfully recruiting, coaching, and mentoring new and seasoned agents. My goal was to bring on 10 new agents prior to the end of 2022. I have surpassed that goal. I also wanted to be recognized as a top 10 agent at Monument based on sales volume. In November, I surpassed that goal as well. I was recognized in the top 5 of sales ($2.1M) for the month of November out of 850+ real estate agents.
I look back on what I have able to do in this industry in the short 3 years, and I am so grateful for my mentors, my brokerages, all of the agents I work with, etc. As much as I love and respect the oil and gas industry and everything it provided me, I found my passion. I found my calling. Real Estate is the last career and forever career for me. I am beyond excited for what is to come in 2023 and the years that follow.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There might be too many struggles to list. I have worked and am working in two of the most volatile industries there is.
I have watched the energy sector reach the highest of highs on two different occasions. There were times that the price of oil was over $100/barrel. When oil prices are high, business is good. I have also seen three different market crashes where the price of oil fell to under $20/barrel and at one point under $1/barrel. I had to battle through the potential of getting laid off, fired, etc. multiple times due to the market. Those times were so bad that I had a couple of friends/colleagues take their own life because they were no longer going to provide for their family.
During a 4-month period in O&G, I lost my father due to illness, had to lay off ten people due to market conditions, and had to take a significant pay cut just to keep a few of my direct reports employed. I was lucky enough to keep my job, and lucky that there was an uptick in the market 8 months later. There was a 12-18 month period where you didn’t know if you were going to have a job the next day.
In real estate, it’s very similar. It’s a cyclical business. I essentially started my career three months before Covid-19 happened. The devastation the pandemic caused for people around the world was horrible. I was lucky that my family, friends, etc had their health, but again, since real estate was not an essential business, I was unable to show properties, meet with clients, etc. for the better part of four months. That challenge was not just mine, that was everyone’s.
The day-to-day challenges in the housing market is a lot to handle at times. As of now, we are seeing hundreds, if not thousands of real estate industry employees either get laid off or quit. This industry is cutthroat, and if you are not willing to grind day in and day out, this will be tough to survive in. Real estate agents are contract/1099 employees. You can’t always plan on having a closing or collecting a commission check every month. You could work a commercial deal for 6-8 months and in a moment’s notice it doesn’t close, and you are left with nothing to show for it. Every agent deals with this at one or multiple points in their career. There are challenges and obstacles every day, but you keep going. That’s all you can do.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Monument Realty/Codey Lowe Realty Group?
I am licensed and professional real estate agent at Monument Realty and have my own real estate company, Codey Lowe Realty Group. I practice both residential and commercial real estate. I am also part of the leadership group at Monument Realty as a recruiter, coach, and mentor.
What sets me apart is my un-relenting work ethic and dedication to my clients. I also believe that I am a trusted professional in both commercial and residential real estate. Normally, you see agents specialize or focus on only one or the other. I am able to successfully navigate, negotiate, and close both commercial and residential real estate deals.
I am most proud of contributing and nurturing an amazing culture at Monument Realty. Due to our leadership group and all of our incredible agents, Monument has won the People’s Choice Award by the Dallas Morning News for best company to work for in DFW for three consecutive years (2020, 2021, and 2022). Monument has also won the People’s Choice Award by the Dallas Morning News for Best Real Estate Brokerage to work for in all of DFW, two years in a row (2021 & 2022).
Monument Realty is also the official partners of the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers, and Dak Prescott. There is no other brokerage that can claim that.
I am also very proud of starting my own real estate company that will continue to take shape and grow over the next few years. I will still be under the Monument Realty umbrella, but the Codey Lowe Realty Group will eventually have multiple team members.
What does success mean to you?
I define success a couple of different ways. – Am I helping someone else succeed? Am I elevating their performance? If so, then that is success.
– Am I making progress each and every day to acheive my personal/career goals? If so, then that is success.
– Am I operating my life and my business with honesty, integrity, and effort? If so, that is success.
Money, status, etc. are all great, but none of those are possible (to me) without the above.
Contact Info:
- Website: codey.monumenttexashomesearch.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/codeylowe_realestate
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/codeylowere
