Corcoran congratulates Hamptons real estate broker Tim Davis for being his region’s #1 Broker. Davis has devoted his entire career to his profession with glowing results.
With over $5 Billion in sales, Tim Davis has developed a worldwide network and reputation as The Hamptons Luxury Market Leader. As one of the most elite and sought-after brokers in the Hamptons on Long Island’s East End, Davis consistently ranks among Top Agents for Volume in the U.S. The Wall Street Journal named him the Number One producer in the Hamptons for back-to-back years in 2021 and 2022, for which he closed $700 Million+ in sales.
On a late December day when many people had ducked out of the office to shop for last-minute gifts and parties, Davis sat at his desk handwriting 400 holiday cards. Anyone who has worked with the East End’s top-ranked real estate broker throughout his 43-year, one-and-only career would expect nothing less. Hand cramps should come with the territory at this level of the industry, yet it’s often not the case.
“Most brokers have gotten away from hand-written notes and cards, but I believe and specialize in the hands-on approach to service,” said Davis, who thinks of his client relationships in terms of partnering in a business. “When I take on a client, I’m extremely accessible and engaged in every aspect of the sale process. Each listing is customized with a detailed strategy, oftentimes exclusively unique.”
Davis achieved $379 million in sales last year. Of the nation’s 1,580,971 realtors in 2022, including New York state’s 63,283 realtors (source: The National Association of Realtors) and broker listing system East End LI’s 2,482 members (source: State Listings, Inc.), RealTrends ranked him #1 in the Hamptons, #2 in New York, and #39 in the U.S. His rare, longtime dedication to his profession and locale became especially pronounced during the pandemic when a record number of real estate licenses were issued between January 2021 and January 2022 according to the N.A.R. The organization’s data also shows that 2021 saw the most real estate agents in the nation’s history as 156,000 people entered the industry in 2020 and 2021, nearly a 60-percent increase from the previous couple of years. The Hamptons has seen its share of overnight agents and side hustlers—the fishermen and surfers who sell the occasional house when they aren’t doing what they really love on the water, or a homeowner’s newly licensed relative who’s never done a deal in their lives but is handling what is usually someone’s most important asset.
“I didn’t transition from a career in another field or get tired of the city life and move to the country. I’ve been a resident here my whole life,” said Davis, who grew up in a working-class family in Eastern Suffolk County before settling in Southampton at the age of 19 and joining his future mother-in-law’s real estate firm in 1980. “After a couple of years at a junior college, I knew school wasn’t for me. I preferred learning on the job and started earning my own money with odd jobs that often included a sales element starting at the age of 10. The long and short of the story is that I’ve always been sales-oriented.”
Beyond building vast professional and social networks and knowing every street and often the parcel and property’s provenance and status in his region, Davis excels in marketing. He compares crafting a listing’s campaign to branding, a skill set that he picked up from his Allan M. Schneider Associates partners who had come from the advertising world. NRT/Corcoran acquired their firm in 2006, and he’s been with The Corcoran Group ever since.
“They taught me how to promote properties in a way that’s more akin to advertising luxury goods with elements of creativity and surprise,” he said, of his well-regarded marketing blitzes that incorporate traditional and 21st-century media, community outreach and old-fashioned word of mouth by traveling in his clients’ circles, from sitting on boards with them to frequenting the same places around town and on vacation. “You have to know your audience and embed stories. It’s lifestyle-driven.”
Like a creative director, Davis is on set for photo shoots. He pores over every detail and makes sure the property is captured at its peak allure. Even if a property is listed in January, winter scenes are a no-no come June; buyers want the beautiful summer imagery that makes the Hamptons so iconic. He presents his portfolio of “brands” at initial meetings with new clients, so they understand the difference when selecting the best broker who will get them what they deserve: the highest price. Believing in quality over quantity, he takes on an average of 35 to 40 exclusive listings for sales and rentals per year.
In going the extra mile, literally—Davis doesn’t mind driving and won’t limit his territory to specific enclaves as many Hamptons agents tend to do—he sees a lot of repeat business. A couple whom he helped purchase their starter home decades ago will reach out when they’re ready for their forever dream home, and he’s legendary for selling Southampton’s 15,000-square-foot, Georgian-Revival estate “Westerly” twice in 1991 and 2010. The sellers of Linden Estate, a storybook, iconic property with one of the finest inland locations in the East End, trusted Davis to find a buyer who would fall in love with it as they had; Davis got them the highest price ever paid for a non-waterfront Hamptons home ($70M, 2022). More landmark sales include Ocean Castle ($70M, 2021) and Wooldon Manor ($75M, 2013 and $83M, 2014).
“My career has been built on selling these exceptional, wonderfully expensive homes, but it’s also about the gratitude in finding what my clients need at a time in their lives,” he said, remaining grounded after all these years. “In 10 days, the sales volume goes back to zero, and we start a new year with exciting new challenges, especially outperforming our previous year.”
Davis is his toughest critic, too, who lives and breathes his business 24/7. He’s never considered it merely a job.
“I am hard on myself, but this business still excites me and keeps me engaged at the highest level,” said Davis with a smile. “At this level of the market, I’m not just selling a house but a lifestyle, an important investment and a dream.”
