Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1292368
NORTHSHOREMAG.COM 38 OCTOBER 2020 F A C E S + P L A C E S Syndi Zaiger of Nest Real Estate When Syndi Zaiger moved to the North Shore from New York 20 years ago, she noticed the natural beauty of the region, with its "hidden gem" quality. She also noticed a hole that needed to be filled. "I saw a hole in the marketplace for real estate companies that were highly skilled in both marketing and real estate strategies," says Zaiger. "So I created this boutique firm, Nest Real Estate." Zaiger started her career in graphic design and brand development in the advertising agency sphere right out of college. "I was really hungry for living by the sea and the arts, music, and culture of Boston," she says. "So I packed up and moved to the North Shore." Eventually, she decided to put her marketing background, real estate knowledge, and entrepreneurial spirit all into one brokerage, Nest. "I was setting out to create something unique in the real estate industry on the North Shore." This summer, after the initial scare during the height of COVID-19 in Massachusetts in April and May, the real estate market began booming. "People were reevaluating their lives and saying 'I don't need to work in my office [so much]. I want to live where I love,'" explains Zaiger, "and the market just shot up." Nest, which Zaiger describes as a team of agents working together to combine their resources and provide their clients with a full-service experience, has seen a 200 percent increase in sales this year. Her team can offer much more than a single real estate agent can, because of their combined assets. If a client needs staging work done, they have a stylist on their team. If a client needs help moving, they can bring in packers. Syndi Zaiger, founder of the Manchester-by-the-Sea– based real estate company Nest, talks housing on the North Shore. BY NATALIE GALE STATE OF THE MARKET PHOTOGRAPH BY JESIKA THEOS "This is our biggest difference: We're out there marketing properties," says Zaiger. She notes that with some real estate companies, houses just sit on the market, sometimes for 200 or 300 days. "But we dig," she says. "We try to figure out why something isn't selling. We don't just lower the price. We say, 'What aren't we doing? How can we get more buyers?'" But selling hasn't been the issue lately, with bidding wars a regular occurrence, says Zaiger. Between high demand for comfortable housing and historically low interest rates, "[ for] anyone thinking of selling, there's really no better time to capitalize on it than right now," she says. Nest recently partnered with Compass, broadening the scope of their resources even more. They were already providing advertising agency–level marketing to their clients—now, Zaiger says, they're "superpowered." "It's a great fit," says Zaiger. "We're this boutique, on-the-ground firm, now with this really upper-level marketing platform." Nest has even more tools at their fingertips now that they're Nest powered by Compass. For example, Compass has a concierge program that provides financing to clients who might want to paint their living room, or stage their property, before they go on the market. Compass itself was founded by technology wizards, and calls itself a real estate technology company. "While [Compass] offers these beautiful, big programs," says Zaiger, "[Nest] is on the ground, providing that one-on-one service to the clients." Zaiger has been passionate about making sure that potential buyers are looking toward the North Shore as a second home option, and now the region sells itself as a first or second home location. Folks are flocking to the area as of late because of its natural beauty and prices relatively lower than places like Cape Cod. Plus, proximity to Boston is key for those still needing to commute. "I feel very strongly that the North Shore is an undervalued and undiscovered place," she says. Along with folks increasingly wanting more room to breathe, Zaiger has noticed other trends, like buyers looking to be within an hour and a half of a major city. A major city like Boston, with its flourishing biomedical industry, has even more pull now. Amidst the tragedy and chaos of the last several months, certain truths are emerging. "I think that there's been a shift in how people want to live their lives," says Zaiger. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT nestrealestate.com; compass.com