PROFILE-May 2009

by Rebecca Falzano
Photography Irvin Serrano

Scott Horty lives to connect the things he loves most: people, houses, and his town

Over the din of clattering plates and silverware in an 1890s pharmacy-turned-deli on Main Street in Camden, just steps from his office, Camden Real Estate founder Scott Horty quietly confesses that he has never actually considered himself a real-estate broker. He also reveals that he is an introvert—the only one from his office of fifteen (at least, according to the Myers-Briggs personality test he had everyone take). This last comment is particularly surprising, considering the number of people who, in only a matter of minutes, have stopped by the table to say hello.

Horty may be well known in and around Camden, yet the most important thing to him, he says, is that people come to know him for who he is, not just for what he does. Although Horty runs one of the most successful luxury residential real-estate companies in Maine, his real passion is for connecting with people in ways that allow him to see their homes through their eyes. “I like to explore the property and take time to absorb it before I start equating a dollar figure to it. Selling a house is an emotional process—people are attached to it,” he says.

It is fateful that Horty’s livelihood is houses; he has a long history with them, dating back to childhood. His father, an architect, and late mother, a surrealist artist, encouraged him to look at life from different perspectives. “Houses are an extension of people’s personalities,” he says. “When I look at a property, I can see it for what it is and what it could be. It’s important to have vision.”

Despite the social nature of real estate, Horty believes his introversion is an asset in the business. “I think one of the things about being an introvert is that you tend to have better, more intense, connected conversations with individual people,” he says. “If you connect with people and you listen to them, you’ll figure out what they want and that will drive you towards what they ultimately are going to buy,” he explains.

Horty’s genuine, forthright manner is welcome in a small town, where credibility is important. Originally from Minnesota, his life in Maine began in February 1981, when he made the decision to move here while on vacation. At the time, Horty was in business with his brother restoring and renovating old houses, and he continued on that path in Maine before going to work for a friend as a real-estate appraiser.

In 1995, after several years at a larger firm, Horty formed Camden Real Estate. His goal was simple: offer a higher level of quality. Initially, he was the sole broker, and his first sale was a friend’s house. From the beginning, Horty had it in his sights to expand, and even before he started the company he had incorporated its name. “I thought, here we have a town that people know about all over the world; why not call it Camden Real Estate?” he explains. Nearly fifteen years later, the firm has expanded to more than a dozen brokers working on properties throughout the midcoast, from as far south as Waldoboro to as far north as Stockton Springs. The firm’s sister company, Camden Accommodations, specializes in vacation rentals. Both businesses operate out of a rambling 1834 house, which Horty purchased, ironically, after showing it to a client. The structure has been carefully restored and converted into office space, but its original charm remains intact. In true form, Horty did much of the work himself. “Somehow I just couldn’t keep my hands out of it,” he says.

Camden Real Estate’s success, at least in part, is a result of its team-based approach rather than the self-promotion of individual brokers. “Many companies push themselves toward individual brokers doing individual ads, but I’ve always believed that as a team we have more power,” Horty explains. While the team is composed of a range of personality types, one thing they share in common is their involvement in the community. “Everyone here is a part of this community and they share that with people,” Horty says. Horty makes it his mission to inspire his team; weekly meetings often evolve beyond updates and business into conversations about much bigger ideas. “One day I took everybody out to lunch and said ‘I want you to come with your ideas and tell me what I can do for you.’ I truly believe that everyone can learn something from everyone else here.”

Despite turbulence in the current real-estate market, the atmosphere around the office remains upbeat. “The deals are a little more complicated now; it used to be you could open the door, people would walk in, write offers, and buy houses,” he says. But Horty prefers to focus on the positive outcomes of the negative economy. “It forces you to reevaluate how you spend your money. The bottom line is that we’re going to continue to sell property because people are going to continue to want to move here,” he says.

HOME IN HOPE
When Horty is not helping others find the perfect house, he enjoys spending time at his own home harvesting blueberries, keeping bees, and growing vegetables with his wife on their 150-acre farm in the town of Hope, a short drive from his Camden office. The quiet, bucolic setting is ideal for Horty, who often gives in to his artistic roots. In his spare time, he works with stained glass and on a new photography pursuit, something he calls “Night Vision,” which will be on display at Hope General Store in May.

For Horty, each day is a new opportunity to share what he loves about where he lives. “My wife tells me I always wake up so happy,” he shares. It is no wonder; the unlikely salesman has found the ideal marriage of two deep passions: personal relationships and midcoast Maine. He uses an analogy to explain Maine’s magical allure: “It’s like when you meet someone and the first thing that draws you in is their physical beauty,” he says. “People are immediately attracted to this area’s natural beauty. But when they go deeper, they uncover the incredible art community, the educational possibilities, the diversity, a sense of belonging,” he explains.

As for why a Midwestern boy like him would decide to move here during a cold visit in February: “I was just taken by this town,” he says—pausing for a second as Main Street’s lunchtime bustle offers a preview of the summer days to come—“How could you find any place more beautiful than this?”