Realtor Mario Felicella has been listing, marketing, and selling real estate for over 25 years, specializing in markets in East Vancouver, Downtown Vancouver, and Vancouver’s Westside.
A top agent of Sutton Group West Coast Realty’s flagship office on Broadway, he has consistently ranked in the Top 1% of Realtors in Vancouver.
A born and raised Vancouverite, Felicella began his work in the industry in the mid-1990s — remembered as one of the tougher real estate periods on record. The challenging market gave him a prime opportunity to demonstrate the dedicated and unwavering work ethic passed down to him from his proud and successful Italian immigrant family , who’ve taught him to “work hard and work smart, be good, and be straight and honest with people, so that good things will come."
Another key family philosophy that he put into practice in his work is to always offer added value to people’s lives, or in the context of his real estate business, to provide more service than you get paid for doing.
“My approach has always been to add value to people,” says Felicella. “People want to be associated with success and positive supportive energy, and from there, you start building relationships.”
Today, that strategy of added value has proven to be a success, as seen through Felicella’s generational clientele and the recurring clients that has afforded him.
“As a Realtor, you grow with your clients,” shares Felicella. “From the grandparents and the parents, to their kids and grandchildren, business partners and associates, you work to be there to guide them through all their real estate endeavours. It’s an honour and a privilege to be invited into someone's family or inner circle and to be trusted.”
Cultivating these quality relationships with his clients is of utmost importance to the Realtor. Beyond getting in the deal and selling the property for a better price or negotiating the best purchase, it’s about working to enhance the experience with personalization and care.
“I've always prided myself on giving my clients what I call the Five Star Boutique approach,” says Felicella. “Like concierge service, I strive to negotiate the best deal and to deliver my clients the best expectation. They know if they need something to call me and get what they need straight away."
While technology has transformed the real estate industry, especially with the emphasis on virtual showings during the COVID-19 pandemic, Felicella sees the person-to-person aspect as top of mind.
“I still maintain that real estate is a very human interaction,” states Felicella. “At the end of the day, you have to walk through the property to really touch, feel, see, and assess everything where it's a condo, house or building.”
Looking forward to the years ahead, Felicella’s goal as a Realtor is to continually do better than the previous year.
“It is important to be aggressive, innovative, and creative in marketing real estate,” says Felicella. In 2008, he sold a project and was giving cars away through a “buy a condo and get a car” promotion.
“No one was doing that. We got tons of media,” says Felicella. “Now during COVID-19, we are doing drone videos when marketing apartments and buildings. It has been a huge success.”
"I hope to continue to increase my residential and commercial portfolios while always looking out to expand to other endeavors within the real estate market. I love what I do.”
Feeling lucky and blessed to be living and selling in Vancouver, this proud Vancouverite has high hopes for the city’s real estate market.
“Vancouver is what I call the city that has it all, ” he says. “It’s vibrant, clean, and beautiful. We are in one of the best places in the world, and that is why people keep coming and the city keeps growing. It’s a great place to live and have a good quality of life.”
Mario Felicella is featured in the 2021 Excellence in Real Estate Magazine.
