Lesson Learned: Dale Carlton Named 2015 CRS President

His reputation is sterling. His experience is total. And his sales history is nothing short of fantastic. While his name and face might not appear on billboards or in slick media ads, a select few know who he is.

His name is Dale Carlton, a self-made lawyer, educator and real estate broker who emerged from the pack to establish his firm, Carlton Realty Inc., at the center of Fayetteville’s micro-market in historic homes. Indeed, from Mount Nord to Mount Sequoyah, his name is writ large.

But he’s much bigger than his surroundings. Carlton, 42, was recently named the 2015 president of the Chicago-based Council of Residential Specialists, the finishing school for the top 3 percent of the nation’s residential Realtors.

“It’s a very humbling experience that they would find need in someone like me,” said Carlton, who is the agency’s first Arkansas-based president.

In addition to his new post, Carlton, who has been a CRS-certified instructor since 2005, also teaches courses on business planning and marketing, creating wealth through residential real estate investments, and financing and tax advantages for agents and clients.

As an instructor, he has over a decade of experience, beginning in 2002 with the Arkansas Institute of Real Estate. Whether he’s teaching a class with 30 students, or speaking at a conference in front of 2,000, Carlton is at ease. In high demand across the country, he flies out of Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport twice a month for teaching engagements.

“I enjoy it,” he said. “One of my greatest rewards is not selling a home, but from someone telling me, ‘Because of what I learned from you, I’m in a good situation.’”

 

His Own Man

Though in some ways Carlton is a typical broker — sellers, buyers, contracts, and closings — there’s much to suggest he’s his own man.

A graduate of Ouachita Baptist University with a bachelor’s in Biblical studies, he knows about Thomas Aquinas, the 13th Century Dominican theologian, and has actually read Dante’s epic, “The Divine Comedy.” A talented photographer and collector of art, he proudly displays something not normally seen in a real estate office — a wall-sized portrait of country music icon Johnny Cash.

When it comes to his work, Carlton is all business. He’ll turn down a listing if a seller won’t relent on unrealistic expectations. And when it comes time to put in an offer on a hot property, Carlton will stick his nose into the middle of the fight.

Carlton’s primary turf is downtown, Wilson Park and the Washington-Willow Historic District, but he also has listings in north Fayetteville near Township Street. With five licensed agents, Carlton Realty is a boutique firm crafted in its owner’s image.

“We don’t market ourselves to gain new clients,” he said. “Our business is generated from past clients. When you get a referral, the client is predisposed to already trust you.”

 

‘Dale is My Guy’

Carlton originally used real estate as a means to an end.

After working for three years as a youth minister in Flippin, El Dorado, and Searcy, he moved to Fayetteville. In 1998 he started law school at the University of Arkansas. To pay for it, he worked as a handyman preparing houses for the market. He did the basics: painting, repairing toilets, laying tile and changing locks. During this period in his life, he recognized the huge opportunity in real estate. 

“It didn’t take long to figure out it was a good investment,” he said.

He obtained his real estate license in 1998 and joined one of the largest firms in the region, Lindsey & Associates Inc. A full-time law student, he took classes in the morning and sold real estate in the afternoon. That made for long days, but Carlton didn’t mind. He notched as much as $70,000 in gross commissions his first year.

It was during law school that he forged his work ethic. His days began around 5 a.m. and didn’t end until deep in the evening. In that regard, not much has changed in Carlton’s life. He is still an early riser and a late stayer.

“I like to get here before the phone starts ringing,” he said.

While Carlton joined the Canova Law Firm after graduation, his heart, and his earning potential, was in real estate. By the time he earned his degree, he averaged $10 million a year in sales.

“I was already in real estate full time,” he said. “No law firm could pay me what I was making at the time.”

For the next few years he remained with Lindsey, where he rose to the position of senior vice president-executive broker. At Lindsey, Carlton did it all — residential, commercial, management, marketing, subdivisions and bookkeeping. In a three-year span, sales exceeded $50 million.

When high-end home designer Mark Zweig, owner of Mark Zweig Inc., was looking to relocate to Northwest Arkansas from Boston in 2003, he emailed Lindsey and asked for the firm’s best agent. Lindsey referred him to Carlton.

The two have been close associates ever since, and by Zweig’s estimation, they have collaborated on more than 100 real estate transactions in the last 12 years. Among the latest are two prized properties in the heart of downtown Fayetteville — 208 N. Church Ave., and 120 W. Spring St.

Not only did Carlton negotiate the purchase of the properties, but now that Zweig has renovated both of them, Carlton has the Church Avenue house listed at $899,000, and the Spring Street house listed at $819,900. 

“Dale brought both of those to me,” Zweig said. “Dale is my guy.”