Flying Home

Whispers is sure you’ve heard about the Fayetteville Flyer, the region’s pioneer in hyper-local online journalism. Dustin Bartholomew and Todd Gill were upstarts back in 2007, when they founded the popular website FayettevilleFlyer.com as a basecamp on what was going on along Dickson Street and the square.

Out of humble beginnings arose a website stacked with premium advertisements, a loyal pool of readers and a distinct brand of news.

Now that the website is on a sturdy foundation of Ozark limestone, the boys are ready to launch into a new industry: real estate.

Called Flyer Homes Real Estate Co., the full-service boutique firm will immediately have what every agent covets, a top-tier assortment of ad placements, photographs, web design and social media to support its listings.

Bartholomew and Gill will stick to what they do best — churning out the website — while agent-broker Jay Downing, a 10-year real estate veteran and NWA native, will focus on single-family homes in Fayetteville.

Bartholomew told Whispers he understands there are no guarantees and he knows the real estate world can be a cruel place. But he also knows he and Gill have been in the market for nearly a decade now and they know the lay of the land, perhaps better than anyone.

Having read the Flyer for years now, Whispers is aware of the talents of Bartholomew and Gill.

If anyone can build a real estate firm from scratch and make it work, it’s those guys.