Since 2006, Judy Michaud has been the owner, president, and managing broker at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Meadows Mountains Realty, a real estate brokerage firm serving residential buyers and sellers across North Carolina. As a child, she loved visiting new houses and dreamed of becoming an architect. Her passion for building remained with her, and she describes each home as “a chance to see the possibilities inside.” A graduate of Florida State University, Ms. Michaud earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics in 1970, and began her career as a flight attendant with National Airlines, where she worked until 1974, when she was denied maternity leave to care for her first child.
After leaving National Airlines, Ms. Michaud returned to her childhood love for architecture while exploring new career opportunities. During these years, she and her young family moved frequently to accommodate her husband’s career as a professional wrestler, spending time in California, Florida, and Georgia before settling in North Carolina. She entered the real estate industry in 1986 as a broker for Signature Properties, a Highlands-based firm where she would remain for the next two decades. Ms. Michaud found that her personal interest in the technical side of the field and her attention to detail translated into a savvy for helping clients find their dream homes, and she soon developed a reputation for her insight and intuition. By the time Ms. Michaud moved on from Signature Properties in 2006, she had become the firm’s managing broker, building a leadership foundation that helped her make the jump to business ownership.
Ms. Michaud’s decades of experience in the industry and the region had fostered her desire to run her own brokerage, and she purchased Meadows Mountain Realty in 2006, transforming it into Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Meadows Mountain Realty in 2015. A luxury collection specialist and member of the Berkshire Hathaway chairman’s Diamond Circle, a designation awarded to the top .5% of agents companywide, she is one of the area’s most trusted brokers and a dedicated mentor to new agents looking to break into the field. While many brokerages are hesitant to work with newly licensed agents, Ms. Michaud makes it a point to give new brokers a chance to build their business, and enjoys tutoring them and giving them the opportunity to develop professionally. She manages three offices with a team of 30 brokers, including her eldest daughter, and remains involved in listings and working one-on-one with clients in addition to her administrative roles.
In addition to her commitment to fostering new real estate professionals, Ms. Michaud built Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Meadows Mountain Realty to reflect her dedication to supporting others and encouraging strong communities. A portion of each sales commission generated is placed in a corporate giving account that has funded initiatives including school supply drives, a $5000 college scholarship fund for children of housing professionals, and partnerships with Sunshine Kids, the Highlands Humane Society, and the Child Development Society. Ms. Michaud attributes her success to her dedication, her desire to support others and create a nurturing and team-focused business, and to what she describes as a natural “competitive streak.” She is affiliated with the National Association of Realtors, the North Carolina Board of Realtors, and the North Carolina Association of Realtors. Ms. Michaud looks forward to continuing to add brokers and offices to her team in the coming years, and eventually hopes to hand the business over to her daughter.