Above, Cathleen Pritchard, left and her daughter Melanie Pritchard
Living in a four-seasons destination area, with a real estate agent aunt who set an example, it was no surprise that Cathleen Pritchard chose real estate as her career. Licensed in 1981, she went to work for a small Century 21 company in Ellicottville, New York, the home of public and private ski areas and a host of year-round sports and festivals.
“I loved selling real estate from the go,” Pritchard said, “and in the mid-90s, I opened my own agency. “But I quickly found out I had no patience for people who weren’t willing to work as hard as I did.”
In 2000, Pritchard merged her firm with her previous company under the Century 21 banner. Four years later, they became part of ERA.
Enter Pritchard’s daughter, Melanie, who after a 20-year career in radio and TV news was ready to make a change.
“I had a real estate license so I could help my mom out when she needed me,” Melanie said. “Especially during the busy COVID years. In 2008, I joined full time, and Team Pritchard was born.”
Barbara Pronin: So, you two have been working together for many years. Does the fact that you are mother and daughter enter into your team dynamic?
Cathleen Pritchard: I don’t think so. What matters most is our similar work ethic. We are the top team in Ellicottville real estate, and we work hard to maintain that.
Melanie Pritchard: We promise our clients 24/7 service, and we mean it, even if it means working seven days a week, which we often do.
BP: How would you describe the Ellicottville market?
CP: We are an hour south of Buffalo and six hours from New York City, although many of our clients come from elsewhere—Cleveland, Pittsburgh, even Toronto. They call us the Aspen of the East, and like any destination area, the market is mostly in second and vacation homes. We have both Holiday Valley, which is a public ski resort, and Holimont, a privately owned ski resort. Melanie and I have a financial interest in Holimont, and in ski season it’s so busy that we have an auxiliary office there.
BP: Is winter your busiest time of year?
MP: Not really, because many people want to come in and buy in the spring and summer so they can get their places ready before ski season—and also, there is so much to do here in the summer time—hiking, biking, swimming, golf. Plus, Ellicottville has a charming downtown—lots of little restaurants and shops and hotels and we have festivals all year long…a fall festival, a winter music jam, dance and theater festivals. There is always something fun to do.
BP: What kind of properties do you work with? Is there an average sale price?
MP: You can buy a townhome for as little as $300,000, or a chalet or a family home with acreage for up to $2 million.
BP: What are your production numbers typically like?
CP: In 2021, during the height of the pandemic, we did 148 transactions and well over $41 million in volume. Last year, we did 57 transactions valued at over $23 million, which is pretty much average.
BP: Do you ever need to bring on extra help?
CP: We have a photographer who does all our visuals, drone photos, Matterport, and social media. Melanie does most of the admin and tech, and we have a lot of support, so we manage quite well being just the two of us.
MP: We incorporated a while back, mostly for legal protection. So, all our income goes into one place, the corporation pays our bills, and we each take a salary.
BP: What do you do in the rare times when you’re not at work?
MP: My second passion is rescuing animals, especially cats, even feral cats. It takes a lot of time and patience. And I serve on the board of directors of Holimont.
CP: I’ve done a lot of board service here over the years, and I’m currently secretary of the Chamber of Commerce. We have a year-round population of only about 1,300 here in Ellicottville, but you’d never know it because we almost always have crowds.
BP: But not everyone comes to buy property.
CP: Doesn’t matter. We’re very old school. We get lots of walk-ins. We encourage people to just drop in and say hi.
Pritchard Team Listing
Listing price: $1,495,000
To see the full listing, click here.
For more information about Team Pritchard, click here.
