Until 1978, real estate was historically dominated by men. It has since become a doorway into the workforce for women. Today the majority of members of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) are women — 62 percent of all REALTORS® are female. Excellent multitasking skills, empathy toward the personal and emotional needs of home buying and strong relationship-building skills make women particularly successful at real estate sales and purchases.
Brooke Wynings has these skills and much more. As a strong leader, coaching agents and developing businesses is Wynings’ particular passion. Born and raised in Newport News, Wynings started in the real estate business at the age of 11, manning the receptionist desk for her family’s business. Receiving a media arts/design and print journalism degree from James Madison University, she was in the mortgage end of real estate briefly before moving to Outer Banks (OBX) and waiting tables.
After spending a year in the OBX, Wynings moved to Charlotte, working at a camera shop while pursing journalism. Initially determined to chase her own dreams outside real estate, she was eventually drawn back to her family’s business. Joining the organization in 2010, part of the broader Abbitt family real estate enterprise — her father Al Abbitt initially formed Re/Max Peninsula in 1991, the first Re/Max in the Hampton Roads-Peninsula area — Wynings and her brother Brant Abbitt both work for the business, now known as Re/Max Elevate.
Prior to rebranding Re/Max Peninsula, Wynings spoke with her father sensitive to the impact this would have on his legacy and the business in general. Wynings’ focus would become “elevating the client experience, elevating the business and raising the bar by providing elevated support and teaching opportunities for her agents and employees.” Al Abbitt was immediately on board and subsequently, prior to the opening of the Virginia Beach office, Wynings changed the name from Re/Max Peninsula to Re/Max Elevate. “Our new name matches our energy,” Wynings proudly points out.
Wynings energy led her to implement the Re/Max Momentum System within the company, including agent education, broker and recruiter training, boosting daily productivity and up-to-date tech and resources. Her devotion to her agents and the family business are well known throughout the Re/Max network.
Wynings wider, all-encompassing experience within the real estate business is a rarity. She has taken on roles from reception, marketing, tech support, property management and administrator to principal broker and sales agent support. As she likes to say, “I am very calm in a storm, the calm in the chaos of the home business.”
With listings from Richmond to Virginia Beach, Re/Max Elevate has offices in Gloucester, Newport News, Williamsburg and Virginia Beach. In addition, Wynings’ husband Justin, a serial entrepreneur, is a licensed real estate agent.
Prior to COVID, Wynings was determined to up her running game and ran 12 5Ks in just one year. She has since decided that running may not be quite her forté, and while physically active in addition to her real estate responsibilities, she ferries her three children, ages 14, 11 and 6, from sport to sport as they participate in various activities including volleyball, baseball and basketball.
Wynings is the ultimate caring employer and parent, a delicate balancing act that has seen her successful in both arenas, an example for women throughout the industry. Her community activities have included Habitat for Humanity, Women’s Council of Realtors and the United Way. Even though calm in a storm, she is a whirlwind. Still young and not of retirement age, when asked about perhaps retiring or taking on a lesser role within real estate — an extremely demanding business — she replies, “realtors never retire, they just become list-less!”
TO THE POINT:
Re/Max Elevate
Address: 744 Thimble Shoals Blvd., Newport News, VA 23606
Contact: Brooke Wynings, Principal broker/owner
Phone: 757-873-3636
Website: ReMax.com/real-estate-offices/remax-elevate-newport-news-va/100428612
Facebook: FaceBook.com/brookeascutt
