Joan Herlong

Joan began selling real estate in 1993, always full time. After several years as the top producing solo agent for a national brand, she started her own boutique agency in December 2011 – in the midst of the recession and housing slump. At the end of her first year on her own, she was the number one Realtor in the Greenville MLS, and repeated that feat for several years including in 2022. Indeed, she was the number one realtor by volume for the entire decade of 2012-2021 with sales of over [...]

Joan began selling real estate in 1993, always full time. After several years as the top producing solo agent for a national brand, she started her own boutique agency in December 2011 – in the midst of the recession and housing slump. At the end of her first year on her own, she was the number one Realtor in the Greenville MLS, and repeated that feat for several years including in 2022. Indeed, she was the number one realtor by volume for the entire decade of 2012-2021 with sales of over $388 million, twenty-five percent ($75 million) more than the next agent and even more than any team in the Greater Greenville Multiple Listing Service. (GGAR MLS Sales Volume, Jan. 2012-Dec. 2021..)

In 2017, Joan affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty and launched Joan Herlong & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty. The company has more than tripled in size since that time.

With a well-earned reputation for expertise, fairness, and advocacy, Joan has often been called upon for advice, and not infrequently by agents from other companies. She has served as an expert witness in real estate litigation and related hearings and has from 2017-22 served on the South Carolina Realtors Association “Forms” Committee, the committee responsible for all contracts forms and addenda used by SCR realtors.

Joan “speaks” fine older homes, new construction, and newly renovated homes fluently. She’s no “figurehead” -- she personally lists and sells all over the Greater Greenville and the Upstate. Moreover, her posted sales volume is her own. She doesn’t believe in taking credit for her associates’ sales. It’s not about her, it’s about developing each of her Associates to maximize their own potential, which in turn keeps the focus on Client Service, always.

Joan has negotiated more than 1,000 deals and advised on many more. She knows the difference between assertive and aggressive, between persistence and pestering, and while she’s tenacious, she’s not obsessed. She’s (almost literally) seen it all. What she hasn’t seen, no one else has seen either. She is the kind of advocate that any seller or buyer would on their side, whether directly or through her agents. She’s driven by a simple principle – the client comes first. For her, professionalism, transparency, candor, integrity, and advocacy are not just words.

Joan grew up in Winnetka, Illinois. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English Literature at the University of Virginia. Her first job after college was at CNN as a news writer. Then she worked at Leo Burnett Advertising in Chicago while her husband William attended law school at Northwestern. She continued in advertising at a small agency in Charlotte, N.C., during William’s clerkship for a federal judge. In 1986, they moved to Washington D.C., where William worked at Covington & Burling, and Joan turned to freelance writing. They became Greenvillians in 1989.

In her spare time, Joan enjoys hanging out with her grand kids, playing tennis, and writing. She is way better at writing. For about ten years she wrote had a bi-weekly “humor” column in the Greenville Journal called “Life in the Slow Lane.”  She still dreams of writing the next great American novel. If scribbling ideas on sticky notes counts for anything, she’s well on her way.

The way to her heart is through her funny bone -- she loves a good laugh, the kind inspired by the likes of Robin Williams or Ricky Gervais or a good practical joke.