RE/MAX in Golden has a long history that began even before it donned the franchise name.
Back in 1989, Garry Oddy decided it was time to do something different with his life and became licenced as a realtor. Four years later, he became licensed as a managing broker and purchased Golden Realty. The independent office was run by his in-laws at the time, who were thinking of retiring. Oddy took on the business opportunity and bought the Century 21 franchise.
The realty company operated as Century 21 until 2012, when they bought out the RE/MAX office and amalgamated the businesses into one, and continued running as RE/MAX.
Golden Realty operated for about 30 years prior to Oddy taking over.
“They wanted to retire, so that’s why I bought the office,” he said.
Oddy, originally from England, emigrated to Canada in 1982. He was 15 years old and moved to Salmon Arm before moving to Barrier, north of Kamloops. In 1986, he moved to Golden and worked for his father drilling and blasting, building forestry roads.
RE/MAX employs six realtors, plus Oddy, a property manager, and an office administrator. A large part of the job Oddy enjoys is working with everyone and meeting all sorts of people in the community.
“It’s interesting. It’s a good business,” he said. “It’s a great business to be able to meet people.”
The housing market in Golden has remained relatively level over Oddy’s years as a realtor, and the demand for housing continues as people come to Golden in search of purchasing homes and living in the community.
“There have been a couple of peaks and valleys over the years, but for the most part, it is a pretty steady market,” he said.
RE/MAX of Golden is located at 420D 9th Avenue N., and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. To view houses for sale and rent, visit www.remaxgolden.com.
