Business person of the year

Renee Lossia-Acho will be honored at Chamber’s awards dinner

By Ashourina Slewo

While she is a real estate powerhouse today, Renee Lossia-Acho has not always been involved in this industry. In fact, Lossia-Acho’s first career was in education. The lifelong Michigan resident graduated from Mercy High School and earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. It was from there that Lossia-Acho started her career in the Farmington School District, all the while working on her Master’s degree in education.

During her time in the Farmington School District, she made an impact that spanned several districts throughout the nation. She was instrumental in the development of the Block Schedule program and has received the Distinguished Service award from Farmington Public Schools.

After only eight years in education, Lossia-Acho left the Farmington School District to raise her family. In her transition from education to raising her family, Lossia-Acho rediscovered her natural skill in the real estate, architecture, and design industries and dove right in, despite the tumultuous economy.

“It was an accidental transition for me,” explained Lossia-Acho. “I started teaching and anticipated being a teacher forever. While I was teaching, early in my career, I met a fellow teacher who was also new to the school and we were getting married at the same time, having children at the same time and looking for homes at the same time. So, while we were helping each other do that, I started designing for her and drawing out kitchen sketches and so forth.”

Much of Lossia-Acho’s prior knowledge of real estate and design can be attributed to her uncle, Ron Jona, who she worked for every summer through high school and college.

“I learned the trade, sort of by accident,” said Lossia-Acho. “He taught me how to read plans and draw to scale. And my family of course is in building and design so just being around the industry, I found a talent or a skill set that I didn’t realize I had.”

It did not take long for Lossia-Acho to come out as an industry leader. Taking a different and creative approach to marketing and sales, she continually surpasses annual records. Remaining a top producer for 10 years, Lossia-Lossia-Acho has generated in excess of $500 million in area sales since 2007 and is frequently ranked in the top one percent of realtors nationally.

“She’s unbelievably knowledgeable about the market and that’s kind of a prerequisite for any successful real estate agent,” explained Joey Jonna of Jonna Luxury Homes. “But I think what truly sets her apart is the ability to read people, to understand what they want, to make a deal, to salvage a deal, to find a deal and it is so effective. I’ve seen it firsthand and it is what sets her apart.”

Further pushing forward in the industry, Lossia-Acho used her plentiful knowledge of real estate, emphasizing her expert skill in architecture and design to consult with area builders. This eventually progressed into the development of her own multi-million-dollar residential projects. 

Lossia-Acho has also guided the creation of Keller Williams luxury brand to Birmingham and opened KW domain. In a little more than 18 months, the real estate brokerage has expanded to more than 120 agents, becoming one of the largest and fastest growing brokerages in the area.

It is for these successes that Lossia-Acho has been chosen to be honored as the business person of the year by the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce’s annual awards dinner.

In addition to her many successes, Lossia-Acho has been chosen for her close work with members of the community. It is Lossia-Acho’s engagement within her community and industry that has earned her much recognition. Regularly acknowledged by The Wall Street Journal and Crain’s Detroit Business, she has received honors such as 2013 Entrepreneur of the Year. 

Additionally, Keller William Realty is the first ever real estate company to ever hold the number one position in the top three categories; Total Agent Count, Total Units Sold, Total Sales Volume. 

“Renee is always giving without realizing that she’s giving,” said Alex Jona of BrandBarr. “A lot of her success, to me has come from giving her time, her attention, her resources to her network, her friends and family, her associates. She is just a natural giver, which I think makes her a natural leader. From teaching, all the way to real estate she is, without knowing it, always, always, always giving her undivided attention to the people that need it.”

With an industry as fluid as real estate, Lossia-Acho prides herself on being able to stay on top of trends in an effort to provide her absolute best to clients. 

“I think that for me especially, I recognize that complacency in any industry is really where you as a business person lose your traction,” said Lossia-Acho. “Real estate is a constantly moving target and you never know which direction it’s going to go or how quickly it’s going to turn. I really challenge myself to constantly think about innovative ways to market, innovative ways to make sure that what I am doing for my clients is always on the forefront of what is coming. Both technologically and in terms of laws.”

Many of Lossia-Acho’s clients can attest to her expertise.

“Renee is smart, honest and extremely knowledgeable about buying, selling, designing and building homes,” said homeowners, Wendy and Jim Zabriskie. “She is passionate about her profession and has a great reputation in the real estate community.”