Five Questions With: Emilio DiSpirito IV

International luxury real estate brand Engel & Völkers recently opened its first real estate shop in Rhode Island, located in East Greenwich and led by seasoned local professionals Joseph Fazio and Emilio DiSpirito IV. The two were joined last month by others from the local real estate industry and special guest R.I. House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi to celebrate a grand opening event held at the new Engel & Völkers office at 247 Main St. in East Greenwich.

The first-floor commercial unit at the property was vacated earlier this year by Peoples Home Loans Inc., which moved to 536 Main St. DiSpirito said the opening of the East Greenwich franchise office of Engel & Völkers, which is a privately owned German company with 800 locations on five continents, fills a void in the Rhode Island real estate scene. And DiSpirito said it will help take his company, formerly known as The DiSpirito Team, to the next level.

PBN: What’s the story of how you became a franchise owner of the first Engel & Völkers agency in Rhode Island last year and why was this the brand for you?

DISPIRITO: The timing of Engel & Völkers reaching out to me was a godsend. Roughly 12 months before, The DiSpirito Team started to expand our footprint in luxury space. Certain brands are equipped to handle luxury sales, and many are not. Needless to say, it was challenging to compete in that space, prior to Engel & Völkers.

- Advertisement -

Engel & Völkers has a recognizable presence all over the globe and has a certain charm that delighted me. In addition, the exclusiveness and collaboration on a local, national and worldwide level is unrivaled. Lastly, having run a team for so long, this allows me the opportunity to support other individuals and teams in the marketplace. I knew, in my heart, this was the opportunity that would only come around once and jumped on it. I’m all in.

PBN: You recently celebrated the grand opening of a new office at 247 Main St. in East Greenwich as you entered the Rhode Island scene. Is this the first office for your franchise and why did you choose this location?

DISPIRITO: My business partner Joe Fazio and I strategically chose East Greenwich as our first of five locations here in the Ocean State due to the centralized proximity to everything, our deeply rooted network, the aesthetics of Main Street complementing our brand, medium sales price and strong pool of professional talent. From East Greenwich, we can organically grow our presence and reach.

PBN: What was the grand opening celebration like?

DISPIRITO: Our grand opening will remain as one of my most prized memories. It was a perfect New England spring night full of warmth, clear skies without a cloud, a renowned violinist serenading the streets of East Greenwich and the shop lights aglow.

When I close my eyes, I see our lovely, cheery and spirited crowd dressed in white with champagne toasts, a ribbon cutting and I can still taste the delicious bites and cocktails served by La Massiera.

PBN: What’s your experience as a radio host been like on “The Round Table Real Estate Radio” show, and how do you bring your radio communications skills into your work as a real estate professional?

DISPIRITO: Three hundred sixty-eight radio shows in, I still get excited each time I hear the intro play and I’m fortunate enough to speak with my listeners and learn from my guests weekly on Newsradio 920, 104.7 and streaming on iHeartRadio app Sundays at 10 a.m.

When starting in real estate nearly a decade ago, I knew in order to confidently advise my clients, I best know the market and what I’m talking about. Teaching can only happen when you learn and know the content inside and out. Our advisers and my clients confidently know that they have someone on their side that lives, breathes and writes the news in real estate each week.

Recently I started a second podcast, “From 10,000 meters,” a leadership podcast focused on high-level thinking and conversation with well-known and successful individuals. I plan on documenting all of the correlations between their failures and success. A modern day “Think and Grow Rich,” if you may. Children are taught today that “failure is bad,” when, in fact, failure creates resilience, resolve, creativity and propels us humans to better pastures. It’s OK to fail and I want our leaders of tomorrow to learn this from our leaders of today.

PBN: How big is your Engel & Völkers franchise here in Rhode Island (how many agents), and how do you expect the business to grow moving forward in this very competitive real estate market?

DISPIRITO: Over the past 14 months, we have grown from seven real estate advisers to 25. We prefer not to take on just anyone, have a rigorous interview process and have already had to let go of an adviser who was not the right fit. We run a boutique-style brokerage and are here to provide a bespoke experience for consumers and advisers alike. You can’t do that by hiring everyone with a pulse.

By running lean and sticking to our core values of exclusivity, passion and competence, we have attracted, will continue to attract and grow the biggest names in Rhode Island luxury real estate. Our second of five locations is under construction and in addition to East Greenwich and Kent County, we will have a massive presence in the Barrington, East Bay market by July.

Marc Larocque is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter @LaRockPBN.