About Haven
We sell homes the way we would want ours sold.
An independent agency founded in Austin in 2011, now in six cities — still small enough that the founder answers the phone.
4.9
★★★★★ from 380 verified reviews
Our story
Started with one desk and a stubborn idea
Elena Marsh opened Haven in a shared office on South Congress with a single conviction: people deserve an agent who tells them the truth about price, and who stays on the phone after the deal closes. Fifteen years later that is still the whole business plan.
We have grown to five agents and six cities on purpose, slowly. Every agent handles a small number of clients, stages every listing personally and is measured on one thing — whether clients come back and send their friends. About 70% of our business does.
homes bought and sold
billion in transactions
%
of clients are referrals
What we stand for
Four rules we do not bend
Price with evidence
Every valuation is built on the last twelve months of sales, not on what wins the listing.
Fewer clients, more time
Agents carry a small caseload so the person who values your home is the one who negotiates it.
Local first
We only work streets we could walk you down blindfolded. Six cities, and not a seventh until we know it.
Say the hard thing
If the house is wrong, we say so. If the offer is low, we say so. Clients keep us for that.
Milestones
Fifteen years, slowly
Growth was never the goal. Doing the job well enough to be recommended was — the rest followed.
One desk on South Congress
Elena opens Haven with a laptop, a borrowed desk and two listings. Both sell in a week.
The staging programme
We start staging every listing at our own cost. Days on market drop by a third; it has been included ever since.
Denver and Seattle
Marcus and Sofia open the second and third offices, and the property management desk launches with 40 homes.
San Diego and Miami
June and Daniel bring the coasts. Haven crosses $1 billion in cumulative sales the same year.
Portland, and 1,200 families
Six cities, five agents, 180 managed homes and a referral rate we are prouder of than any number.
The team
Five agents, six cities, one standard
Elena Marsh
Founder & Principal Broker
Daniel Okafor
Senior Agent, Luxury Homes
Sofia Chen
Agent, Seattle & Portland
Marcus Lindqvist
Head of Rentals & Property Management
June Whitaker
Agent, San Diego
Free valuation
Thinking of selling? Find out what your home is really worth.
Get a free, no-obligation valuation from a local Haven agent within 24 hours — plus a clear plan to get the best price.
