Opposites attract

Business Partners Neil Grant And Patrick Murray Share How Their Complementary Skills Have Paved The Way For Great Success

The saying goes that two heads are better than one, and real estate partners Neil Grant and Patrick Murray certainly embody that sentiment.

Grant got his brokerage license in 2003 and began working for Townsend Real Estate. After a couple of years there, he broke off and started his own company, Neil Grant Real Estate. Murray got his real estate license in 2005 and then worked with his wife’s grandmother’s company for several years.

Further down the road around 2009 or 2010, Grant was involved in a deal as the buyer’s agent with Patrick as the seller’s agent. Grant was impressed by Murray’s talents, and began to entertain the idea of collaborating with him. At this time, Murray was also operating by himself, and the two decided to try their hand at working as a team. They operated together for about a year to test things out before forming Grant-Murray Real Estate in 2011.

“...He and I’s sort of total opposite approach and different personality seemed to fare well,” remarked Grant. There are actually three businesses under the Grant-Murray umbrella. Grant-Murray Real Estate is the commercial company that Murray and Grant run. There’s also Grant-Murray Homes run by their partner, Gary Futch. The third branch of the company is Grant-Murray Property Management run by their partner, James Sherrill.

Grant-Murray Real Estate specializes in buyers and sellers of commercial property and they represent landlords and tenants.

“We range anywhere from doing small leases in office and strip centers to large, long term leases in large retail and office and industrial environments,” shared Grant.

Murray is the broker in charge and Grant is the sales manager at their office located in Fayetteville. Though they started out with two small offices, the commercial brokerage office on W Russell St. and the property management office on Robeson St., they moved into their current location on McPherson Church Road in 2016.

“It was certainly a milestone event for the firm with the merging of the two offices and the growth that occurred from that relocation. While I loved and do miss being downtown, our current location is very centrally located and easier to access for clients. This office has allowed us to continue expanding with the opening of Grant-Murray Homes in 2018 and continued growth of both our commercial brokerage and property management companies,” shared Murray.

The small four person shop grew into a company with close to 40 people across its various divisions. Murray attributes that growth to the team’s business model and perspective on operations.

“One of the reasons Neil and I joined forces, and kind of our philosophy of running the company and marketing, was just openly sharing our listing information and marketing to other brokers and cooperating with other brokers. At the time, there wasn’t a lot of – at least didn’t appear to be a lot of – kind of cross sales between companies and a lot of the marketing was held very close to the chest between brokers. So our philosophy was the opposite. We’d rather try to market to everybody and cooperate with outside brokers, split commissions and do more transactions with others,” shared Murray.

“So one of the bigger changes we’ve seen over the years is just that openness between companies…and the way that marketing has transitioned to just a lot more transparency and cooperation between firms. We’ve got great relationships with all the other competing brokers in our market, and do a lot of business with each other, and I’m glad to see that kind of spirit of cooperation between companies that has changed,” added Murray.

Murray shared that at any given time they typically have around 200 listings, and depending on the cycle of the year, it can be 20 to 40 closing and lease signings per month.

“Patrick and I have been busy since the day we started,” stated Grant.

Though sales fluctuate from year to year, Grant offered an estimate of the business’s numbers: “We probably are responsible for, between sales and leasing, probably $50 million a year in the local community.”

Murray is proud to drive around the city and pass by shops and restaurants that he was able to play a role in bringing to town.

“[It’s exciting] seeing that we’re having a positive impact by helping job creators secure real estate and property owners build wealth and different ways like that, that we’re actually having an impact on growing the city in a positive way,” remarked Murray.

While recognizing the progress they’ve made and taking pride in the work they’ve accomplished thus far, Murray remains focused on evolving further to better serve clients.

“There’s always room for improvement. So I’m always looking at different ways to improve our services and improve our marketing ability,” shared Murray. Murray also said he would like to add more brokers to their office.

Grant shared that he is proud of the impact their business has had on the community and on the people who work for their company.

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