Lessons from Local Leaders:

Carly Seward

The Authentic Advocate: Carly Seward’s Journey to Real Estate

Carly Seward’s career path is anything but linear. It began with an aspiration to be a starving theater actress, leading her to conservatory training at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. To support her artistic dreams, she entered the hospitality sector, which led to a pivotal 15-year career in the luxury wine industry.

This diverse background laid the foundation for her current role at TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, where she is a third-generation real estate professional with the Seward Group. She honors her family’s legacy—rooted in her grandfather’s commercial/residential work, her father’s contracting expertise, and her mother’s 20+ year flawless reputation—while preparing to infuse the team with her own signature “out of the box thinking and creativity.”

Skills from the Stage and the Cellar

Carly’s past vocations equipped her with vital real estate skills:

• Theater: Acting requires authenticity and being a good listener. These skills allow Carly to “read the room” and intuitively understand a client’s or negotiator’s true motivations. Her stage experience makes her comfortable creating content and speaking in public, a unique advantage in the industry.
• Luxury Wine: Selling high-end wine required meticulous attention to detail and storytelling (knowing the vineyard’s history, the winemaker’s process, etc.). She applies this to real estate by knowing “every detail there is to know about that home” to effectively paint its unique picture for potential buyers.

Real Estate as an Instrument for Equity

Carly’s commitment to social change is central to her identity. In May 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, she co-founded The Verian Project, an initiative dedicated to making the wine industry more diverse and equitable.

She carries this mission into real estate, viewing homeownership as the key to generational wealth. Her vision for the DMV is to combat the “unsustainable path where only a few own a lot.” She actively advocates for policy and supports initiatives to get more people into homeownership, lamenting that first-time homebuyers are now the oldest they’ve ever been (averaging 39 years).

Carly supports creative affordable housing solutions and flexible zoning changes (like multi-family units and vertical expansion), viewing condos and apartments as legitimate forms of homeownership. Her goal is simple: ensure that someone who works in a community can afford to live there.

Unique Superpowers: Bilingualism and Intuition

Carly possesses two distinct “superpowers” that enhance her client advocacy:

1. Bilingualism (Spanish Fluency): This allows her to bridge communication gaps and gain crucial, often off-market, information. She recounted an example of speaking directly with construction workers on a new build to learn about the builder and secure a potential off-market deal for her buyers.
2. Reiki Master Intuition: As a Reiki Master, Carly is “deeply attuned to energy.” This intuition helps her read people at the negotiation table—knowing when to “keep pushing” and when to “hold”—and read spaces. She has advised clients to walk away from homes based on negative energy she sensed, saving them from poor purchases. She encourages clients to tap into their own intuition as well, offering both professional and energetic guidance.

Grounded Advocacy and The Client Experience

Carly’s activism is channeled through her side hustle as a correspondent for Virginia Dogwood News, where she serves as a “news translator.” Her content breaks down complex state and national policies (like Medicaid cuts or changes in the Department of Education) into easily understandable, shareable videos, often providing action items for citizens.

Her open presence on social media (e.g., @CarlyintheDMV on Instagram and TikTok) ensures that clients who value her authenticity and shared political/social values can choose to “vote with their money” by working with her.

The client experience working with Carly is a guided, comprehensive process:

• Initial Consult: An in-depth listening session to understand the client’s values and needs.
• Expert Support: Connecting clients with trusted lenders and keeping an ear to the ground for off-market opportunities.
• The Contractor Advantage: Bringing her father, a 45-year master carpenter and retired contractor, to walk through top choices. He can spot structural issues, identify “lipstick on a pig” homes, and advise on the feasibility and cost of envisioned renovations (like tearing down a wall).
• The Close: Fierce negotiation and a celebrated closing dinner (leveraging her luxury wine background). The relationship is meant to be for life, built on trust and service.

Reach Carly Seward Below