Team Spotlight: Q&A with Justin Havre

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Justin Havre got into real estate in late 2004 after a career installing satellite TV and internet convinced him he needed a different path. Licensed in February 2005, he closed his first deal within weeks and quickly learned that a solo agent needs leads to survive. Drawing on his background in internet installation, he built one of the earliest hourly-refreshing real estate websites in Calgary — well ahead of MLS’s 24-hour refresh cycle — and reinvested heavily in SEO to build his online presence.

That lead-generation engine grew into a small group of agents, then a formal team in 2010, and eventually one of Canada’s most decorated real estate organizations. Since 2015, the Justin Havre Real Estate Team has been ranked the number 1 team in Canada nine times across two brokerages — first with Remax, and since 2023 with eXp Realty.

 

Brokerage: Justin Havre Real Estate Team, eXp Realty 

Agents: 85 agents (as of March 2026) Staff: 15 staff members 

Markets served: Calgary, Alta., and surrounding areas 

Staff-to-agent ratio: One staff member for every six agents

2024 production: 984 closings, $536.9 million 2025 production: 1,024 closings, $579.6 million

 

REM: How did you first get into real estate?

JH: I got into real estate in late 2004. At the time, I was installing satellite TV and internet, climbing onto snow-covered roofs in the middle of Alberta winters. After a few close calls, I realized it probably wasn’t the long-term career I wanted.

I took the real estate course, got licensed in February of 2005, and within weeks closed my first deal.

As a solo agent, I quickly realized it’s hard to go forward alone in this business, and I was fortunate that my previous real estate agent, Mike Hannah, took me under his wing. To this day I still get to work alongside him. Early on I realized one thing: if I didn’t have leads, I wouldn’t survive in this business.

Because I had installed high-speed internet for years, I understood the power of the web. I built my first website, JustListedCalgary.ca (no longer in use), and even advertised it in the back of a newspaper. At that time, MLS listings refreshed every 24 hours. My website refreshed every hour.

In Calgary’s hot 2006 seller’s market, that mattered. Consumers wanted listings first. The site began generating serious leads. I reinvested at least 25 per cent of my income into SEO, obsessing over Google rankings and online visibility. Eventually, I had so many inquiries that I began handing the leads to other agents in the brokerage and collecting referrals.

That grew into a small group of four agents and me, still with no admin support. By 2009, I was recognized as the number 1 agent in an independent brokerage of more than 700 agents.

Ironically, the moment I remember most was sitting alone in an empty house in the middle of a divorce. I had achieved what looked like success on paper, but I had no one to share it with. That moment shaped how I lead today.

The first appointment in your calendar should always be your spouse, your family and your kids. You can move client appointments, but you can’t move the people who matter most.

Real estate is an incredible vehicle for success, but success only matters if you have people to share it with.

 

REM: When did you decide to build a team or start a brokerage — and why?

JH: In 2009, my brokerage told me I could no longer operate by handing out leads and collecting referrals unless I formally built a team. So, on January 1, 2010, the team was born.

I admit I wasn’t thrilled about it, but it turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened.

Over the past two decades, I’ve worked inside independent brokerages, franchise systems and now eXp Realty. What motivates me today isn’t just personal production. It’s impact. Success now is measured by how many people we help grow, develop skills and build a meaningful life through this industry.

Since 2015, our team has consistently been recognized as one of the top performers in Canada — nine years ranked number 1 in Canada across two brokerages.

 

REM: What roles do each of you play today (vision, operations, finance, recruiting, brand, etc.)?

JH: My primary role today is serving as the visionary for the team — setting the direction of the business across marketing strategy, brand positioning and the systems that power the organization.

Just as important, I spend a significant amount of time coaching and leading the team, bringing people together around that vision, keeping everyone focused on the target, and helping them succeed within it.

I remain closely involved with marketing because lead generation has always been the engine of our business. I also enjoy building the systems, reporting tools and operational structures that support our sales, operations, marketing and team training.

 

REM: What were the first three key hires you made that changed your business?

JH: Administrative assistant, sales manager, lead coordinator.

 

REM: What advice would you give a team leader making their very first hire?

JH: Hire an administrative assistant first. Their job should be documenting the agent’s processes, building playbooks and creating training materials. When the systems are documented, scaling becomes much easier.

 

REM: What are your top three sources of leads today?

JH: Our websites are the backbone of our lead generation strategy. Some of our primary domains include:

JustinHavre.com, Calgary.com, CalgaryHomes.ca, CalgaryLuxuryHomes.ca, Chestermere.com, Okotoks.com, AirdrieRealEstate.ca, CochraneRealEstate.ca, ComingSoon.ca and Homesforsale.ca.

We also own EdmontonRealEstate.ca and EdmontonHomes.ca, along with hundreds of additional domains.

Our approximate marketing budget by channel: SEO, 30 per cent; PPC, 15 per cent; outdoor, radio and TV, 40 per cent.

 

REM: If you had to cut one channel tomorrow, which would hurt the most — and why?

JH: Websites, without question. Ranking at the top of search results — supported by more than 3,000 Google reviews — is the foundation of our business. Leads fuel the sales in all market conditions.

 

REM: How does a new lead get handled in your system?

JH: Speed to lead is everything. Every new inquiry receives a double-tap call immediately, followed by text and email.

From there, leads enter a 21-touch follow-up sequence over the first 14 days. Buyer leads also receive an automated saved search. On average, we attempt 20-plus contact attempts per lead within the first two weeks.

 

REM: Do you use inside sales agents (ISAs)? Licensed or unlicensed?

JH: We’ve recently integrated AI into this function. It’s not perfect yet, but it’s improving rapidly and helping with early-stage engagement.

 

REM: On average, how many touches to appointment, and touches to contract?

JH: Last year, we generated 18,583 leads and closed and firmed 1,173 sales, which is about six per cent lead-to-sale conversion. But the real insight is this: once someone engages with us, our conversion jumps to about 31 per cent. That tells you the business isn’t just about leads — it’s about consistent follow-up, conversations and appointments. Behind those sales were more than 247,000 calls and nearly 300,000 texts. Scale plus skill equals results.

 

REM: What’s your typical response time goal (SLA)?

JH: Five minutes or less during business hours. The ideal goal is seconds.

 

REM: What’s in your tech stack?

JH: CRM: Follow Up Boss and HubSpot. Website/IDX: Real Estate Webmasters, Sierra Interactive and Ruuster. Dialer/text automation: Follow Up Boss and custom integrations. Conversation AI or call coaching: AgentDevelopment.com and Shilo.ai. Finance/forecasting: Custom reporting systems and Fathom. Other tools we can’t live without: Data, reporting dashboards and systems that provide real-time visibility into lead attribution and performance.

 

REM: Approximate per cent of revenue reinvested into marketing and staff?

JH: Marketing: 34.5 per cent. Staff: 28.4 per cent.

 

REM: Do you track cost per lead, cost per appointment, cost per deal? Which number matters most?

JH: We constantly measure lead attribution and cost per closing. At scale, cost per closing is the number that matters most.

 

REM: At your scale, what’s a healthy return on ad spend (ROAS)?

JH: Roughly 3:1.

 

Team members

 

REM: What kind of agents thrive on your team?

JH: Agents who produce about 10 deals or fewer per year on their own tend to thrive when they plug into our systems.

Many capable agents hit that ceiling working solo. When they join our team, they gain access to our marketing engine, systems and support structure, which allows them to dramatically expand their business and production.

Our goal is to help agents scale. We’ve taken agents from single-digit production to many times their previous business, and it’s not uncommon for newer agents on our team to produce 30, 40, even 50 transactions in their first year.

A core driver of that growth is our internal training platform, AgentDevelopment.com, developed by our chief learning officer Carmen Morin and executed daily by our sales leadership team, led by Neil Stopher. The platform is designed to accelerate skill development, strengthen fundamentals and compress the learning curve so agents can grow faster than they could on their own.

 

REM: How long does it typically take for a new agent to get their first deal?

JH: Our target is within the first month of joining the team. Some agents close their first deal in days. Others take longer, but our goal is always early momentum.

 

REM: What does a $500,000–$750,000 take-home producer do differently in your brokerage?

JH: They run their business with discipline, but just as importantly, they’re highly coachable. The real estate landscape changes quickly, and the agents who grow the fastest are the ones who stay open to learning, trying new strategies and continuously sharpening their skills.

They commit to the fundamentals: a non-negotiable daily prospecting routine, consistent script practice and role-play, and treating their business with the mindset and habits of true professionals.

 

REM: What behaviours do you reward? What gets you benched?

JH: We reward the activities that consistently drive results: active skill development, strong CRM management, fast response times and disciplined follow-up. Speed to lead and relationship-building are critical.

Agents who neglect follow-up or fail to engage with opportunities limit not only their own success, but the team’s as well. In real estate, the fundamentals still matter.

When it comes to skill-building and training, we emphasize going deeper rather than chasing the latest script or shiny object. Our agents are challenged to continually refine their skills and get more out of the tools and strategies they already have.

 

REM: When you moved into a new market, what worked and what needed to be adapted?

JH: Expansion only works if you have a strong operator on the ground. I’ve run expansion teams in markets like Edmonton, Kelowna and Los Angeles. Some were extremely successful; others weren’t.

My view is that your best business usually happens where you already have market share and brand presence. Expansion should only happen when the right leadership is in place.

 

REM: Which roles are non-negotiable when opening in a new city?

JH: A strong local leader. Without that, expansion becomes very difficult to sustain.

 

REM: If someone has one admin, should their next hire be an ISA or a transaction coordinator and why?

JH: If they have enough leads, I’d recommend hiring a showing agent — someone they trust to show homes and attend inspections, while the lead agent focuses on writing offers and negotiating deals.

 

REM: If a team leader has $5,000 a month to invest, where should it go for the next six to 12 months?

JH: It depends on what the team already has in place. If they don’t yet have an IDX website and CRM, that should be the first investment. After that, focus on lead generation.

One principle I’ve followed since day one: reinvest at least 25 per cent of revenue back into marketing.

 

REM: What’s the minimum viable follow-up cadence you’d recommend?

JH: We aim to connect with a new lead through phone, text, video and email, delivering 20-plus touches within the first 14 days. From there, we segment the follow-up and nurture cadence based on the lead’s readiness and timeline as they move through the sales funnel.

 

Lightning round

 

Favourite Canadian market insight people don’t believe (but your data proves): Inventory matters more than almost anything. The biggest predictor of price movement isn’t interest rates, inflation or headlines — it’s months of supply. When supply drops below about two months, prices tend to rise. When it climbs above four to five months, prices soften. Most Canadian markets have been operating in tight supply for years, which is why prices remain resilient.

 

One tech you’d fight to keep: Follow Up Boss, AI, and our agent development training portal.

 

One marketing hill you’ll die on: Great marketing can amplify a great listing. But no amount of video, drone footage, staging or social media can fix a home that’s priced wrong.

 

Agents fail because… Agents fail because they lack either skill or will. Skills can be developed — dialogue, negotiation, marketing, pricing strategy, lead conversion. Will shows up in the daily work: making calls, following up when no one answers, hosting open houses, practicing scripts, and staying consistent when deals fall apart. Most agents don’t fail because the market is bad. They fail because they never fully build the skills required to succeed. When someone has both skill and will, it becomes very difficult for them not to win.

 

Teams win because… Teams win because real estate today requires multiple skill sets: lead generation, marketing, conversion, negotiation, client care and operations. One person trying to do everything eventually hits a ceiling. Teams succeed because they specialize. The right people focus on the right roles, which creates better systems, better service and better results. The business stops operating like a solo hustle and starts running like a real company. And that’s why the highest-producing organizations in this industry are almost always teams.

 

An edited version of this Q&A originally appeared in REM’s print magazine, spring 2026 edition.

The post Team Spotlight: Q&A with Justin Havre appeared first on REM.