Matt Johnson is that easy going powerhouse real estate agent, Dressage competitor, devoted friend and model son who makes everything he does look so easy. After riding shotgun recently for a week I saw first-hand that Matt is a genius juggler. You try keeping an ever growing, multi-million dollar business, a riding/training schedule with a 6 year old stallion who shows signs everyday of being a child prodigy and a life that includes his friends, family, colleagues... try imagining juggling all that and you start to get the picture.
Matt and I have been friends since the days when I came religiously year after year with my horse to train for the season. Matt was my Realtor before becoming one of my closest friends. Year after year he found wonderful places for me to nest, making my escapes painless from harsh NYC winters to this wonderland called Wellington. Over these many years, Matt has become a master of his universe. In the past 3 years alone he's sold close to 100 million dollars in properties. It’s his quiet confidence, that "Zen" quality, which impressed me during my visit with this past Christmas. The first thing you notice spending time with Matt is that his phone NEVER STOPS RINGING. From his morning coffee at about 7am he's already receiving calls, reading emails and sending and answering text messages. His office sets the day’s schedule but due to the many calls that continue to come in, it can alter as late as midnight; about the time Matt calls it a day.
While I'm busy trying to remember what day it is, Matt's studying the details of the multiple listings he'll show that day, going over business with his assistant Jessica Perez and coordinating with his coach and the barn for his morning lesson on Qasanova, his 7-year old Danish bred stallion. Matt is brilliant with details answering just about every question posed as he takes clients through bespoke homes and state of the art farms that defy description. That attention to detail has everything to do with his success in business and in his chosen discipline: Dressage.
By 9 am we're at the barn pulling on boots and checking Qasanova over as he’s prepped for Matt's lesson with past Olympian and coach, Debbie McDonald. From the moment he enters the barn, Matt turns off the noise of his pressured life and focuses on the work at hand. For the next 2 hours he will be listening to and processing myriad information coming from Debbie (I call her his Guru) and communicating it to Qasanova. The patience and discipline necessary to succeed at this sport is never more evident than during these training sessions. Nothing is rushed and nothing is half done. Matt's attention to his riding is second only to his attention to his horse's needs. Qasanova’s care is paramount with nothing left to others to decide. More than once I asked him how he has the energy to do everything before his workday technically begins. By the time he's finished at the barn I'm exhausted.
After a quick shower and change, Matt has traded one uniform for another. From breeches, boots and the pick-up truck, he switches to a smart urban look and his sleek Mercedes. He's the picture of cool. For the next several hours he traverses. Wellington and its neighboring communities showing properties to interested clients. On this particular day he has 5 scheduled showings that will take him from Wellington to Lake Worth, Loxahatchee and back again to Wellington. With rolling stops for food, coffee and time to take more calls and text messages, Matt schedules listing appointments, appraisals and more showings. I check my watch and it's only 12:30 pm.
The first showing of the day is a listing in the Homeland section of Lake Worth. Before the clients arrive, Matt goes through the house turning on lights, securing the wildlife (rampaging lap dogs) and getting it set for its close-up. Nothing escapes his notice. A 4 bedroom home on 1 acre with a pool will get the same attention as will Aspen Glen, a 15 acre horse farm with its magnificent barn, multiple arenas, 6 paddocks, separate Groom's building and main house. With multiple bedrooms, a chef's kitchen, endless grounds and an elevator this bespoke Equestrian estate is the last word in luxe. What stands out most is Matt's quiet approach to selling properties, which range from the most extraordinary to the relatively modest. His belief that every home finds its owner is never truer than when I watch him introduce these properties to their prospective buyers. It's a delicate dance not unlike Dressage. Matt doesn't impose his will on his clients but instead allows them to find what feels right for them. Integrity and honesty are his watch words. On this particular day there are 2 sets of returning clients, people whose homes he's sold and again helping them find new properties.
Potential buyers pepper Matt with questions on the dimensions of the covered arena, the materials used, the composition of the footing, the locations of drainage and irrigation. They ask about the design of the kitchen, the make of the roof tiles, the efficacy of concrete blocks vs. wood. In addition, they ask if he can suggest an architect, a builder for covered arenas and landscape designers. The questions cover all the bases from the comfort of the horses to the comfort of the humans and everything in between. Matt answers all of them and makes suggestions of his own that address more questions even before they are asked.
I learn that much more of the work, Matt's magic touch, takes place after hours when many of us would be relaxing and calling it a day. At this late hour Matt is on his computer and conferring with his assistant, Jessica. So much of the minutiae that leads to the closing is coordinated seamlessly behind the scenes; i.e. contracts drawn up, drafts sent to lawyers, engineering reports analyzed, mortgage and closing documents reviewed, etc. Matt is that rare professional who takes responsibility for his work down to the finest detail making what is a very complex process clear and relatively painless. Matt Johnson is a master in the art of finesse. Ego, in a business rife with the outsized and the easily bruised, is conspicuously absent in just about all of his dealings. The values he was taught by his parents in rural Vermont, worlds away from the phenomenon of Wellington have never deserted him. I can honestly say that his humility has grown just as steadily as has his success.
Matt Johnson is not only a real estate agent and passionate Dressage competitor; he's also a therapist, confessor, best friend and a steady voice of reason. Matt is called upon to serve his clients in countless ways and all in the service of the ultimate goal: finding the right match of buyer and property. He's deft at this as he's a born listener and a man with a deep well of empathy. Having built his business and his riding from the ground up, he is a realist in a business built on aspiration and dream fulfillment. I can't think of a real estate agent I'd trust more with such a delicate operation. It is this combination of trust, satisfaction and joy that keep his clients, both old and new, coming back.
By Eric Gaskins - Photos © Sue Stickle - private
For real estate enquiries, contact Matt at +1 561.313.4367, email Matt@Mattsells.com or visit www.MattSells.com
Related Links
Matt Johnson Merging the Best of Both Worlds: Dressage and Real Estate
Johnson Acquires Petersborg Qasanova