Ashley Wilson

Ashley Wilson might have found her way into real estate without Michael Sandman’s help, but the Raleigh real estate attorney not only pointed the way for the 23-year-old summer office temp, he handed Wilson $400 and told her to get herself a real estate license. “I had no thoughts that I was helping launch a rocket to the moon,” quipped Sandman, who had hired Wilson when she was in college to help him and his wife Lisa with their children. “We were struck with the immediate connection she was able to make with us, our boys and friends and family,” he explained. “Her personality is magnetic — though it’s hard to put your finger on any one personal quality that makes Ashley so easy to connect with.” But Sandman emphasized that the phenomenal success of the 29-year-old Concord native came as no surprise to him and Lisa. “Ashley was destined for success in every career she chose. Everything she accomplished she earned through smarts, determination, continuous self improvement, honest dealings and warm personality.” And those attributes have paid off. In her first job at Raleigh’s Athens Woods new-home community — where only 18 houses had been sold during the previous two years — Wilson sold 16 houses in four months. Then, during the next four years at Heritage, she sold around 270 new homes with a sales volume of about $92.6 million. So in 2008, it wasn’t surprising that the 27-year-old Realtor was selected out of 400 applicants nationally to be in “30 Under 30,” a group of the 30 Realtors under age 30 whose achievements were outstanding. But that was only the beginning. After a brief tenure at Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston, the young Realtor moved to Keller Williams Realty and started the Wilson Realty Group, a company comprising an assistant and two buyers’ agents in addition to Wilson, the broker-owner. Amy Anderson, Wilson’s assistant as well as client care specialist and closing coordinator, maintains her boss inspires her to be more productive and successful. “Every day she encourages me to realize my potential and to think outside of the box. You will not find anyone with more passion and drive than Ashley,” Anderson insists, adding, “I wish I had her energy.” But real estate was never considered when Wilson attended Meredith College on a full academic scholarship. “I always thought I would be a teacher,” explained the former high school cheerleader, yearbook editor and member of the National Honor Society who made the Dean’s L