Realtor Dennis Gisi was passing through Hermiston back in 2018 when he stopped at Universal Realty to ask for directions. Before he left, he had agreed to buy the business from longtime realtor Charlotte Dack.
Today, his business, John L. Scott Hermiston, continues to grow with a new location, new agents and new technology to cover its expanding market.
Just last week, Gisi moved his business out of the former Universal Realty building and into the offices of the former American West Properties at 320 S. Highway 395. When he first opened up shop in Hermiston in 2018, he had three or four agents working for him. He now has 12 working out of the Hermiston office and five more in his Milton-Freewater office.
“Umatilla County has been very good to us,” Gisi said. “Today I believe we have the largest real estate brokerage company in Umatilla County.”
Gisi also has two offices in Washington, one in Pasco and another in Walla Walla. His local agents also serve the Pendleton market.
“We’re everywhere,” he said.
Gisi said he had a good feeling about the Umatilla County real estate market when he decided to buy Universal Realty in 2018.
“We could see this economic boom coming and it was something we wanted to be a part of,” Gisi said.
Gisi bought his first John L. Scott realty business in Pasco in 2010 and quickly began expanding. He opened his Milton-Freewater office in 2012, the Walla Walla office in 2013 before opening his Hermiston office five years ago. In 2019, he bought an office and Kennewick before merging it with his Pasco operation. In 2020, he opened a satellite office in Pullman, Wash.
“Locally, our agents live and work in the Milton-Freewater, Pendleton and Hermiston markets,” Gisi said. The aim, he said, is to connect buyers and sellers in more neighborhoods to give them a wide selection of properties from which to choose.
“Our team is growing and our technological capabilities are advancing,” he said. Gisi has implemented new software systems and tools to facilitate property searches, virtual tours, data analysis and communication between clients and agents.
For more information on John L. Scott Hermiston, visit the company website.
While I am sad to see that American West is no longer in Hermiston, I wish you all the best. That is a great location.