Getting Started in Real Estate With Peggy Zabakolas
By Willow
Illustrated by Felix Whitlock
“When people think I can’t do it, it gives me that much more
motivation to prove them wrong.”
Peggy Zabakolas is one of six young realtors on the new TV show
Selling the Hamptons, available on Discovery+. Peggy and her
colleagues from Nest Seekers International take us inside some
of the poshest real estate—multimillion dollar homes with high
ceilings, wraparound decks, built-in spas, and tennis courts that
convert into skating rinks.
To swim in these seas, brokers have to have the perfect blend of
financial savvy and salesmanship, traits that Peggy embodies.
But unlike her fellow realtors who grew up on the tony banks of
Southampton, she grew up in Long Island, the daughter of Greek
immigrants. Her journey to high-end real estate hasn’t come
easy, but through hard work and enterprise, she’s breaking down
barriers and building a career that, like the houses she shows,
will leave a legacy.
Peggy would be the first person to tell you that her success has
nothing to do with luck. It’s taken hard-won moxie and relentless
perseverance to get to where she is now—selling some of the
highest-end real estate from Tribeca to the Hamptons.
She emphasizes that real estate is not the industry for folks
seeking instant gratification—but if you put in the work, you’ll be
rewarded later.
“Honestly? It’s a tough industry. You’re going to get a lot of
doors closed in your face. You’re going to get a lot of no’s. But at
the end of the day, you have to have faith in yourself and
confidence in yourself. Know your worth.”
Although she attended law school and passed the New York State
Bar, Peggy was always drawn to real estate. She remembers
being mesmerized by the beautiful houses she would pass in car
rides as a child.
She’ll never forget her first $7 million sale early in her career. It
wasn’t easy—it took a year to close and “everything that could
have gone wrong happened,” but once it was done, she wouldn’t
accept anything less. “I thought, ‘Why can’t all my listings be
that?’” After that, she never looked back.
One of the reasons Peggy loves real estate is that unlike
something like stocks, it’s a tangible asset. “It’s actually there. If
something happens, you can sell it. You don’t have to worry
about the stock market.”
Peggy sees a bright future for those investing in commercial real
estate, specifically. “I think that’s where the big money really is.”
But, she cautions, “You don’t need to purchase a whole shopping
center right off the bat. You get a little building here and then
you build equity.” New investors should start small and not put
pressure on themselves to make a big splash early.
“You don’t need the big, shiny building right away. If your home
or property is smaller than your friends’, that’s OK. They don’t
know what your bank account looks like, only you do. So worry
about yourself and how you could build your own portfolio.”
Another tip for newcomers? Focus on the figures. “I am very
numbers focused—I take all emotions out of it. In the commercial
world, you can't have any emotion in it at all.”
“I’ve always been financially cautious, and I think that’s because
I came from a family where both my parents were blue-collar
workers,” says Peggy, who used to help her parents with
contracts. “I always just wanted to make sure things were OK on
the business side of things, that I was spot on.”
Peggy’s meticulous and professional demeanor is evident on
Selling the Hamptons. She knows her stuff, and is a stickler for
formalities. Having a solid base for success is important. “You
need to know the foundation of any industry that you’re in to
really succeed and get to the top. If you don't know how to do the
bare minimum—like the bottom of the pyramid—then you’re not
going to be great or successful at what you do.”
Besides building her own career, Peggy wants to leave the door
open for others to follow. Like many industries, high-end real
estate can be seen as a boys’ club, where it’s difficult for women
to break through. One theme of Selling the Hamptons is how
Peggy, along with her Nest Seekers colleagues Bianca and Mia,
are looking to change that. “I was raised where I could do
anything a boy could do. And I could do it in five-inch heels.”
(You can find some of Peggy’s online work under the hashtag
#dealsonheels.)
Peggy says she’s bombarded with private messages from women
who are inspired after seeing her on the show. She wants to
encourage them to see their worth and take the plunge into
whatever is holding them back—whether it’s in real estate or
another path. “I just want them to know their worth, have
confidence, and know that they can do it. And if they can see me
do it, and they see someone else that resembles them do it—
they’re golden.”
Getting started in real estate can be intimidating. But Peggy is
proof that success is possible, even when your beginnings are
humble. Start small and set reasonable expectations, but most
importantly, believe in yourself. “If you don’t believe in yourself,
why should someone else believe in investing, or trusting their
home, or trusting any sort of investment with you? If you don’t
have faith in yourself, no one else is going to.”