A Fourth-Generation Business Reborn and a Conversation Worth Having

Matt Brady's Behind the Closing Table podcast returned for episode two with a guest who brings something genuinely rare to the real estate conversation. Trey White of White Realty in Myrtle Beach is not just an experienced agent. He is the fourth generation of a real estate family with roots going back to 1964 in North Myrtle Beach. His great-grandfather started White Realty. His grandfather ran it. His father evolved it into property management before closing the doors in 2019. And now Trey has reopened it as a full sales brokerage with his cousin Dylan alongside him making it a family business once again.

How White Realty Got Here

The path from a family property management company to a modern sales brokerage was not a straight line. The original White Realty handled short-term rentals, long-term rentals, and property management for 27 high-rise oceanfront condo homeowners associations at its peak. When his father closed the doors in 2019 Trey was just transitioning into sales through a team at Remax.

Four and a half years on that team. A short independent stint with his own team. A broker's license he had been sitting on for three years waiting for the right moment. And then everything aligned at the end of last year and White Realty reopened as a residential sales operation with the contacts, reputation, and market knowledge that six decades of family business had built.

The name still carries weight. People call weekly asking about short-term rentals they loved years ago not realizing White Realty has been closed for seven years. That name recognition is an asset that most newly launched brokerages would take decades to build.

What Trey Hopes Clients Say About Working With Him

The answer is revealing and worth paying attention to. Trey describes the transaction itself as the smallest part of his job. Not because it is unimportant but because what he actually does extends so far beyond it.

He has driven hours to handle closings. Hopped on a plane when needed. Project managed a 3,400 square foot renovation for clients who moved from out of state and did not know a single contractor in Myrtle Beach. Coordinated paint colors, flooring selections, and subcontractors so his clients could move into a finished home rather than a project.

Some clients take two or three years to buy. He answers questions during vacation visits, grabs lunch, shows a property or two, and stays in the relationship without any guarantee of a transaction. When they eventually buy he has been working with them for years. That is the version of real estate Trey believes in and his clients experience it.

The Biggest Mistakes Buyers Make in Myrtle Beach

Most markets have their cliche buyer mistakes and Trey acknowledges them. Not getting pre-approved. Looking in too high a price point. But in the Myrtle Beach market specifically there are layers of local knowledge that can cost buyers significant money if they do not have an agent who knows the area deeply.

A buyer who falls in love with a house on a navigable channel in Cherry Grove because it is beautiful may not realize they are taking on flood insurance and a dredging assessment simultaneously. Compared to a similarly priced property not in a flood zone and not on a maintained channel that decision could cost $12,000 to $15,000 annually in additional carrying costs. If the rental income is comparable the channel house is not a better deal. It is a more expensive one.

Matt Brady can personally attest to this. Before he knew Trey he purchased an investment property in the area without an agent who knew the market. He found out Cherry Grove floods during his first visit when he saw a car floating down the road in the rain.

The lesson is not unique to Myrtle Beach but it illustrates why local expertise matters in markets with highly specific micro-variables that out-of-area agents simply do not know.

The Biggest Mistake Sellers Make

Trey's answer on the seller side is refreshingly direct. The biggest mistake sellers make is trying to time the market rather than listing when they are ready.

He had a seller who wanted to wait until summer because she thought activity would be higher. Her neighbor listed during the period she was waiting, went under contract immediately, and closed before she ever put her own home on the market. Now her home is listed and they have not had a showing yet.

Nobody has the crystal ball. You do not know when your buyer is out there. The best time to list is when the home is ready and when the seller is ready. Not when someone's guess about seasonality or market conditions says conditions should theoretically be more favorable.

As Matt Brady noted this is directly parallel to waiting for interest rates to drop. The moment you wait for a specific event in a market driven by unpredictable forces something else happens and the moment is gone.

Negotiation Strategy in a Buyer's Market

Myrtle Beach is currently in what Trey describes as a buyer's market. Days on market are up. Inventory is higher than it has been. Buyers have more options and more leverage than in recent years.

His approach to negotiation starts before the offer is written. He reaches out to the listing side to understand what matters to the seller beyond price. Is the seller buying locally? Have they found their next home? Do they need a fast close or more time? Do they have concerns about what an inspection might reveal? Understanding those needs before submitting the offer allows the offer to address them directly and demonstrate that the buyer's side is genuinely trying to make the transaction work for everyone.

Going under contract is only the first of many negotiations. The inspection period, repair requests, and any issues that arise along the way are all negotiating points. Starting the relationship on an adversarial note by submitting an aggressive lowball offer makes every subsequent conversation harder. Starting collaboratively and demonstrating good faith creates a working relationship that can survive the inevitable friction that appears in most transactions.

He shared a specific example of a buyer who planned to completely gut and renovate the home they were purchasing. Because all the cosmetic work was being replaced anyway Trey included an addendum stating the buyer would not request repairs or credits based on inspection findings. That single concession gave the seller confidence about what would happen after the inspection and may have been what made a below-asking offer acceptable when it otherwise might not have been.

What Sellers Spend Money on That Does Not Come Back

This is one of the most useful insights in the conversation for anyone preparing to list. Trey's philosophy is that sellers should price accordingly rather than spending money on renovations or updates they assume will increase the offer price.

Every buyer has different taste. Painting the entire house a trendy neutral color might appeal to some buyers and not to others. New luxury vinyl plank flooring in bedrooms might be exactly what the next buyer wanted to remove for carpet. New countertops that reflect the seller's preference might not be what the buyer would have chosen.

The money spent on these updates often does not come back and in some cases actively works against the sale by creating a finished product that does not match the buyer's vision.

What Trey does recommend is anything that improves the first impression without requiring significant expenditure. Pressure washing the exterior. Minor landscaping cleanup. Fixing obvious items like wall scratches or peeling paint. Getting the carpets cleaned. These are high-visibility low-cost improvements that make buyers feel good about the home without trying to predict what specific updates they would have chosen.

What to Ask When Interviewing an Agent

On the buyer side Trey emphasizes finding someone who genuinely knows the area rather than focusing too heavily on license tenure. In a market like Myrtle Beach where transactions involve flood zones, dredging assessments, HOA regulations in high-rise buildings, and the specific nuances of short-term rental income potential the local knowledge matters more than how long someone has been licensed somewhere else.

He is direct about what he values in an agent. Someone who will talk a client out of a bad decision as quickly as they will talk them into a good one. The agents who are closing-hungry and say yes to everything are not the ones who protect clients from expensive mistakes. The ones who will tell you not to do something when it is not in your interest earn the trust that produces referrals for the next decade.

On the listing side he recommends interviewing multiple agents. Every agent is going to put the home on the MLS. The differentiator is whether the agent can clearly articulate and defend the pricing recommendation with actual market data and whether they have the network, the investor relationships, and the area expertise to market effectively to the right buyer pool for that specific property.

Advice for New Agents

Trey started on a team and gives that decision significant credit for his trajectory. Surrounding yourself with people who are actively doing business accelerates the learning in a way that classroom training and solo practice simply cannot replicate.

Real estate licensing teaches you the law. What to do with a buyer who walks through the door is not something the school prepares you for. Being on a team or in a brokerage with experienced agents who share deal stories, contract situations, and negotiation experiences is where that practical knowledge comes from.

His other advice is to do it full-time. The sense of urgency that comes from having no fallback is what drives the consistent activity that builds a real estate business in the early years. Treating it as part-time from the start produces part-time results and usually a transition out of the industry within the first year.

Trey White Off the Clock

Trey is a die-hard Coastal Carolina fan from a family with deep roots in the program. His father was assistant athletic director in charge of media relations at Coastal for 14 years and his mother came from Indiana to play basketball there which is how his parents met. He travels for Chanticleers baseball and football and supports most home sports.

He has been married for six years and has two daughters aged four and one. He golfs occasionally but primarily to clear his head which he acknowledges works about as well as you would expect golf to work for clearing someone's head.

How to Reach Trey White

Contact information for White Realty and Trey White is included in the caption of the episode for anyone looking to buy, sell, or invest in the Myrtle Beach market. He takes calls on his personal number which is the most direct path to him.

Matt Brady at Success Lending is the mortgage partner behind every deal. Behind the Closing Table continues with more conversations from the people who make real estate transactions happen at every level across the country. Thanks for watching and have a great day.

Sources

MyrtleBeachAreaRealtors.com
NAR.realtor
MortgageNewsDaily.com
SouthCarolinaRealtors.com
Realtor.com