Earlier this year, The Cliffs, based in Travelers Rest, South Carolina, announced a new director of sales, and it’s a homecoming for him.
Richard Seay is the new sales director of sales. An admired and capable leader with the ability to manage simultaneously on vision and execution – while retaining focus on achieving long-term goals and critical business objectives – he arrives at The Cliffs during an exciting, but complex, next stage of growth.
Having spent the last 30+ years working as a sales leader in the luxury real estate industry across the U.S. and the Caribbean, Cliffs officials believe Richard Seay is well positioned to assume the new role.
Seay, a Greenville, South Carolina, native, attended The University of South Carolina, receiving a bachelor’s degree in hotel, restaurant, and tourism administration.
His father was in the restaurant business for over 20 years and Richard is returning to the Upstate to be close to family and friends.
His daughter attends law school at Charleston School of Law and his son is attending Clemson, majoring in chemical engineering. His family is his passion – along with golf – and a new puppy named Ryder Cup.
“We are looking forward to Richard’s stewardship of real estate operations at The Cliffs as the new director of Sales at Cliffs Realty. Our communities are entering a phase of considerable growth, and his comprehensive experience will be integral to our success,” said Rob Duckett, president of Operations for South Street Partners, which owns The Cliffs.
As sales director, Seay will manage the Cliffs Realty sales teams in the Lake and Mountain Regions, which encompass The Cliffs’ six private luxury communities within South Carolina as well as the firm’s newest brokerage office in the Asheville Region, which includes The Cliffs at Walnut Cove, the sole community in North Carolina.
Before arriving at The Cliffs, he was director of sales and vice president at luxury, four-season resort communities in Park City, Utah, and the Pacific Northwest where he was responsible for the creation, development and implementation of all sales and marketing strategies while overseeing record breaking numbers of transactions and a 60 percent increase in the average sales price of lots.
Previously, he founded an international resort real estate sales and marketing consulting firm on the island of St. Maarten which negotiated multiple deals with international developers, including the sellout of a 20-acre mixed-use luxury condominium community.
Seay began his real estate career at IMI Resort Holdings, Inc., where he held multiple positions throughout a tenure that included appointment to executive vice president of sales, to strengthen the company’s general management and sales operation throughout the U.S., Mexico, and the Caribbean.
In the first quarter of 2024, 63 properties were closed across the seven communities at The Cliffs, totaling a volume of $39,469,500 from all brokerages operating within their gates.
Cliffs Realty, the official brokerage of The Cliffs, achieved significant success with 35 properties sold, totaling $26,777,500 in volume, and had an additional 35 sales pending to close.
The spotlight in Q1 was on homesite transactions, accounting for 46 of the total transactions, while home construction maintains a steady pace with 292 homes under construction across their seven communities.
The Cliffs is a collection of seven private, luxury residential mountain and lake club communities located in the Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains, between two of the nation’s top award-winning cities for quality of life – Greenville, S.C. and Asheville, N.C. – and Clemson, S.C., home to Clemson University.
The Cliffs’ suite of amenities for club members includes seven clubhouses, seven nationally recognized golf courses, seven wellness centers, multiple tennis and pickleball complexes, a marina, beach club, and equestrian center, more than a dozen restaurant and private event venues, and over 2,000 year-round programs and social activities to create timeless experiences.
Homes at The Cliffs range in price from $650,000 to $6M+; homesites, starting at $125,000.
Meanwhile, The Cliffs also recently purchased The Village at Mountain Park in Travelers Rest from Blackstone Development. The acquisition included 15 acres of land as well as some roads within the mixed-use village, which comprises commercial and residential buildings and lots.
The parcel of land now connects the homes and homesites in the Mountain Park Estates section to the main portion of The Cliffs at Mountain Park community.