Pickering real estate entrepreneurs star in LISTING LARGE reality show
Published October 16, 2023 at 12:18 pm
A pair of local realtors are starring in a docu-reality series airing on CTV Life, with the premiere episode airing Monday night at 8 p.m.
LISTING LARGE takes an inside peek at the machinations behind running a high-end real estate brokerage, with attention given to both the process of developing, building and selling luxury homes as well as the social aspects behind all that work, with episodes devoted to lavish launch parties and to the stars’ dating life.
Welcome to the WE Group, a Toronto-based real estate hub led by Pickering residents Odeen Eccleston and Lamont Wiltshire.
Eccleston, the broker of record, has been in the real estate game since she was 21 and Wiltshire built his first home at around the same time. Together the 30-something entrepreneurs have launched a brokerage with a new office and new agents and thanks to the brand new show, are hopeful for a host of new customers.
The company’s development arm had already been the recipient of an award from the Black Business and Professional Association, and Eccleston, a self-proclsimed over achiever knew the time was right to merge the businesses together. “I had some incredible success but as we built more and more houses – which is the crux of our business – Lamont and I thought it would make sense to have our own brokerage,” she said.
She had been part of an ensemble cast for a real estate show in the past – HGTV’s ‘Hot Market’ – and that and their social media presence attracted the attention of the Listing Large producers, noted Wiltshire, who opened the building side of the business in 2008. “They came to us,” he said.
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Eccleston said they hadn’t expected much from the initial contact until she received an email – “against all odds” – from a producer telling her they had an idea for a show.
“So we did the pilot, it got green lit and here we are.”
They got the call that the show was a go a year ago. “Is this for real?” Eccleston remembered saying to Wiltshire. Filming began “right away.”
“We’re excited,” noted Wiltshire. “This will create a national audience and we expect some exposure from this,” he said, adding that the company is already on a growth spurt of late, boosting their staff from just Eccleston and sales agent Nicole De Silva (who gets some attention on the show) to 20 employees.
Being a reality show, each 30-minute episode will have plenty of airtime devoted to the lighter side of the business, including the dating lives of both Eccleston and Wiltshire – “just a little bit, Eccleston said with a smile – and of the colourful characters at the brokerage.
The two weren’t always just business partners and part of their story is of the decade-long drama of their on-again-off-again romance. Right now, they insist, they can’t afford to let their history get in the way of their success as they juggle childcare (they’re both single parents), friendship and their dating lifestyles.
On the series premiere of LISTING LARGE, titled ‘Lift Off’ they bring the new team together for the first time and introduce their new venture to the world with a lavish launch party and an opportunity to learn if they can still lean on each other to deliver and if they can all jive as well as they hoped.
On Episode 2, ‘Commitment Issues,’ airing Monday, October 23, Eccleston opens a new chapter with the start of demolition on her estate, and reality sinks in that her and Wiltshire are building parallel, separate futures. Though still leaning on him to lead the construction, Eccleston returns the favour by helping him find his own home. But her partner, says a release from the show, makes a “picky client,” so Eccleston gets creative with a solution to solve her business partner’s dilemma and spark some competition among the agents at the same time.
Meanwhile, a new agent faces an uncomfortable conversation with the boss for skipping out on the office launch party and Eccleston’s girlfriends give her the push she needs to get serious about her dating life.
The final episode will air December 18.
For more information on LISTING LARGE, including episodic images, episode synopses, cast bios, and more, visit TheLede.ca.
