Ryan Levenson is the new president of the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors. It’s a big job, but Levenson has had training, pretty much since birth.
His parents, Rich and Patti Levenson, founded the Re/Max Preferred Properties franchise in Knoxville. From an early age, Ryan went on listing appointments with his mom, and he maybe went up in the hot air balloon with his dad. Ryan took over the agency as owner/principal broker, but he sold it last October to become what he calls “just a regular ol’ agent.”
Rich, now retired, heads government affairs for the Tennessee Association of Realtors. Patti has been off work with health issues, Ryan said, but she is back. “So watch out!”
The Levenson kids (from Facebook)
Ryan is a high producer in listings and sales, but he’s also a husband and dad. Family time is important and he restricts calls to 7-7. Calls after 7 are answered the next morning.
With all this going on, why did he take on the job of president of an association with 6,500 members?
It’s about community service and leadership. Justin Bailey, CEO of Realty Executives Associates, is the president-elect. A full list of officers is here.
“It’s a really nice deal for me to work with so many great people like Lyle and Justin,” Ryan said. Lyle Irish is chief executive officer of KAAR. In that role, he oversees the staff and works fulltime as a paid professional. The officers are voluntary positions.
So what is Ryan’s big idea for 2023?
He thinks principal brokers are often neglected in the real estate industry. He aims to fix that with personal visits by himself and Irish to “as many of our principal brokers as will see us” in the 12-county region served by KAAR. “We’re planning to spend two days per county to listen and learn from them.”
He also wants to beef up educational opportunities for agents as well as educating the general population about the role of Realtors.
Meanwhile, he’s hard at work, listing and selling property. His website is here. Give a call – just not after 7.