Oak Bay is a family-oriented community. And a desire to be close to family is what’s drawn Eli Mavrikos to set up shop in Oak Bay.
He opened his office on Cadboro Bay Road for the Eli Mavrikos Collective with Pemberton Holmes at the beginning of the year.
“We started renovating in September and October and then I moved in and started working out of it in January.”
Mavrikos had been working out of an office in his home, but when his wife Adia gave birth to the couple’s third child, he knew it was time to find a separate space for his office.
“We live here in Oak Bay and I wanted something as close to the kids as possible,” he said.
Mavrikos would regularly drive by the Cadboro Bay Road location on his way to and from work, when it struck him that it would make the perfect spot for his business.
“I’m driving by this location for about three or four months and then realized this would be such a great little spot. My daughter goes to school around the corner, my son goes to school up the street,” said Mavrikos, who also devotes a lot of time to coaching baseball and soccer teams in the community.
And with Mavrikos seeing more and more clients putting Oak Bay at the top of their wish list, he knew the location would be a perfect fit.
“More and more were buying in Oak Bay and looking in Oak Bay, and I know it so well and thought it would be the perfect spot. You can walk to the beach, you can walk to the market, and I love how it’s so home-grown,” he said.
While family is a major reason Mavrikos selected the Cadboro Bay Road location for the office, family also plays a large role within the office itself. His wife Adia and stepfather are also realtors in the office, while his sister works as an assistant and a cousin is a mortgage broker.
“So it’s kind of like a family-run, full-service office,” he said.
Oak Bay also has a connection with Pemberton Holmes, as the Pemberton family were one of the early pioneers of the area, owning a farm where the Victoria Golf Course sits today.
Mavrikos has been working as a realtor in Victoria for the past eight years, starting out just before the economic collapse, something that led to a “terrible” first year for his business.
“The second year started picking up slowly and we’ve been very blessed from the third year on, it just took off.”
That growth has placed Mavrikos in the top five per cent for his office for the past five years, the top 10 per cent in the city for sales volume and last year he was No. 1 with Pemberton Holmes for all of Vancouver Island.
That success shows no signs of subsiding, as Mavrikos said business has been brisk during his first few months in the new location.
“It’s been really good. I’ve had local businesses come by and drop stuff off, I’ve had people drop in from the local neighbourhood. There’s been very good feedback so far,” he said, adding there is a steady demand in the Oak Bay market.
“You see all the character and tradition through all the homes. It’s got a really nice family feel to it.”
editor@oakbaynews.com
