Above, Monica Riga
Monica Riga
Broker/Co-Owner
Weichert, REALTORS® – Southern Coast
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
https://www.weichertcarolina.com
Region served: Coastline of North and South Carolina
Years in real estate: 25
Number of offices: 3
Number of agents: 92
Favorite part of your job: Seeing my agents succeed.
In what ways do you see the industry and market evolving through the remainder of 2025?
We’re seeing the same thing as most other markets, which is buyers sitting on the fence waiting for interest rates to drop. What I’m coaching my agents on currently is the fact that all the indicators are telling us rates will be coming down—might be another three months, might be another six months, but it’s coming. When they do come down, the market is going to be flooded with buyers. Buyers will be competing again, and they’ll find themselves in those multiple-offer scenarios where they’ll have to be in a position to outbid the other offers that are coming in.
How does your company make its agents’ jobs easier?
We have a full-time transaction department that helps with our agents’ files. When they have a ratified contract, our transaction department will get inspections ordered, send the paperwork to the attorney’s offices and the mortgage lenders, order the termite inspection and so on. They also coordinate retrieving the commission. This frees the agent up to do more business.
Another beneficial asset is the training we provide. We’re very hands-on when it comes to our training, and once you’re up and running, we have a fantastic support staff to assist with whatever an agent may need. From me to my team leaders to our transaction department, everybody’s here to help. We’re a very team-oriented company.
What is your best piece of advice for agents looking to succeed in any market?
It’s all about the follow up and follow through. If you aren’t following up with your prospecting, it’s not going to lead you anywhere. You have to be mindful to ensure you’re setting yourself up for success by having systems in place or blocking your time out to follow up on leads.
You work a lot with new agents. What advice do you give them to help them start out strong when building their business?
I always say that you have to come to the table with two things: You have to be a people-person, and you have to be self-driven. Agents can often become overwhelmed because they aren’t prepared to be their own bosses, and while there’s a lot of flexibility in being your own boss, no one is going to hold you accountable. This is one of the conversations I have with my people when they’re first getting started in their real estate career. I can teach you everything you need to know about real estate, but when you walk out that door, if you don’t follow through with what I’m teaching you in this room, none of it’s going to matter because you’re not going to succeed. You have to do the work.
What ultimately attracted you to Weichert?
When I was interviewing with new brokerages after I had moved with my family four years into my real estate career, Weichert was offering free, hands-on training for its agents—which is something I hadn’t seen or heard of before. Since I’ve joined and grown with the brand, they’ve only expanded upon their offerings over the years. This has allowed us to expand upon what we do and provide at Weichert, REALTORS® – Southern Coast as well as how we encourage and engage our team members to succeed.
For more information, visit https://www.weichert.com.
