The practice
Gillette & Associates is a small Nanaimo real estate office on purpose. The practice opened in 1992 with one idea — that the way homes are bought and sold could be better made. Every year since, Derek has continued to improve, innovate and lead the industry through new ideas.
We think beautiful work moves people, and that a home deserves to be presented as well as anything else worth looking at. Nothing is farmed out, which means we control the design, the marketing and the timing end to end. We are not trying to be the biggest practice in the industry — only the best one.
34years of making the work ourselves
Derek has worked in Nanaimo real estate since 1992. His interest in how a home is presented grew into a practice with its own creative team, market tools and way of working. The aim is practical: help a seller explain what makes a home worth seeing, and give a buyer enough information to make a considered decision.
In 2011, Derek built his boutique private office to bring the work together. Photography, graphic design, staging and film became part of the same conversation as pricing and client service. Having the people in one place lets the team carry an idea from the first visit through the photographs, brochure and final presentation.
The Rutherford Road office remains the centre of that approach. A home is discussed as a place someone lives, with a setting, a layout and details that deserve attention. The marketing follows that understanding. You can meet the people responsible for it and ask how they would approach your property.
Derek’s work has also included real-time market software and client dashboards, including Trenlii Analytics. The purpose is to make market information easier to examine and discuss: what is available, what has changed and how one home compares with another.
That combination of local experience, presentation and market analysis shapes the advice we give today. If you are choosing a real estate agent in Nanaimo, we can walk you through the work and the reasoning behind it. Read our clients’ experiences, explore the record, or come into the office for a conversation about your home.
The department
The order a home passes through the workshop, from the first frame to the wall label.
IN-HOUSE · NOTHING FARMED OUT
Inside the practice
1217 Manzanita Pl #103Departure Bay · Nanaimo
A closer look at the observations and decisions behind a home’s presentation.
I’d begin with this view through the living area to the kitchen and dining space. It helps a buyer understand how the rooms connect. The fireplace gives the photograph a focal point, while the view through the home gives it depth.
I’d show the connected living spaces first, then the seating and windows, before coming closer to the fireplace. Each photograph has a job. Together, they help a buyer understand the space and notice the details that give it character.
Before recommending a price, I’d compare the layout, finish and condition with competing townhomes and relevant recent sales. I’d also review the strata documents and what the monthly fees cover. The photographs open the conversation; those details help inform the advice.
The people
5 IN THE PRACTICE
Personal Real Estate Corporation
Nanaimo's top-selling agent by cumulative MLS® sales since 1992*. He opened the practice that year to change how homes are bought and sold. Every year since, Derek has continued to improve, innovate and lead the industry through new ideas.
Licensed Realtor®
Rotman School of Management, with a background in investment banking and venture capital — he raised capital across industries including real-estate development. Collaboration is the part he actually enjoys, which is why he is good at it.
Client Care Coordinator
Digital marketing, Google Analytics and SEO; she took psychology at UBC. A black belt in karate and a bronze at the IKGA world championships, which tells you something about how she sees a process through.
Photographer
An architect by training, from Odessa, with years in interior design and construction supervision. He reads a building before he photographs it, and it shows.
Photographer & Creative Partner
Graphic design and a Master's in psychology, brought to photography and film. Magazine-like, minimalist, cinematic — the boutique end of the craft.
Come in
Precise about the numbers, easy to talk to. If you want to see how a home gets made, ask and we will walk you through the department.
101-5275 Rutherford Road · Nanaimo
250-585-3322
