Skylar Topper (30 Under 30 Class of 2024)

Title: 
Team Leader
Company: 
Compass
Location: 
Atlanta, Ga.

thinktoth.com

2023 Individual Sales Volume: $21.26 million
2023 Individual Transaction Sides: 29
2023 Team Sales Volume: $45.6 million
2023 Team Transaction Sides: 64

A People-Centered Business

For a self-proclaimed “people person,” a career in real estate was a natural fit, even if Skylar Topper, 28, denied it at first.

“I’d always been my mom’s assistant in the business, and I thought I’d get my license just so I could help her out with the parts of the business that required a license.” That wasn’t enough, though. “I was a licensed assistant for maybe a month, but I wanted to sell.”

What she realized was that even though she’d been around real estate her whole life, she’d never done much with the “people” side of the business. It made an impact on her to walk people through what is typically their most important investment. Then her mother got sick, and Topper experienced the other side of real estate: community.

“My mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and it was sudden and traumatic. A couple of her friends in the industry wanted to set up a GoFundMe for her. Thousands and thousands of donations came in from other agents and partners and her clients. People that had been her clients years ago asked how they could help. Her colleagues reached out to help.”

The experience helped mold Topper’s perspective. “I realized that we make a difference. That every day, we’re dealing with people who have complex lives, and we need to treat them as such.” Topper says that she strives to make sure her clients know that they are important and supported, not only during the transaction but after as well.