For Victoria Bulkley, returning to residential real estate sales was all about getting back to the part of real estate she had always found the most rewarding.
After years of managing brokerage offices and supporting agents through their own transactions, Bulkley realized she wanted to return to working directly with buyers and sellers. “One of the reasons I was drawn to real estate in the first place was the opportunity to work with people and help them navigate the process of finding a home that truly fit their lives,” she said.
As a licensed associate real estate broker, her return to residential sales comes with nearly 25 years of real estate experience and a new start with Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
Bulkley grew up in Manhattan and began her professional career in finance, working at various investment banks and hedge funds. Real estate, however, had long interested her. She had family members in the business and saw it as an opportunity to build a career around her deep familiarity with the city.
She transitioned from finance, joining The Corcoran Group, where she represented a broad range of properties, from co-ops and condominiums to townhomes throughout New York City. As her business and reputation grew, she was hired by a prominent developer to represent his new luxury construction project on the Upper East Side just off Fifth Avenue.
“Being involved with a project from the ground up was an incredible experience," Bulkley said. "Working alongside the developers, bringing their vision to life and successfully selling every full-floor residence before the building was completed was incredibly rewarding."
Her career changed again after she had children and moved to Darien, Connecticut. The shift from Manhattan apartments to suburban single-family homes gave her another view of the residential market and eventually led her toward brokerage leadership.
Bulkley became a sales manager and ran Houlihan Lawrence’s Bronxville brokerage office. She subsequently managed William Raveis’ office in Darien to be closer to home and her high school-aged sons.
The experience gave her a broader perspective on the business and a deeper appreciation for what it takes to build a successful brokerage. But over time, Bulkley found herself missing the personal connection that had drawn her to real estate in the first place.
“The management side is very much about supporting agents, helping them get their deals done and driving company initiatives,” she said. “I valued that experience tremendously, but I realized I missed being on the front lines with clients and being part of their real estate journey. That’s really what drew me back to sales.”
Bulkley’s move to Atlantic Beach was a homecoming of sorts. She has been coming to the South Shore since she was born, spending summers and weekends in the Atlantic Beach and Long Beach area, where she has family and friends. With both of her children in college, she had an opportunity to make that longtime connection permanent.
"I recently made Atlantic Beach my full-time home and joined Douglas Elliman," she said. "After spending so many summers on the South Shore and having so many personal relationships here, it’s incredibly meaningful to now live and work in the community that has felt like home for so long. I feel very fortunate to be here.”
Although Bulkley is establishing herself in a new market, the communities of Nassau County feel remarkably familiar. Her years working in Fairfield County, CT gave her extensive experience in coastal communities within commuting distance of Manhattan. She developed a strong understanding of the lifestyle, housing preferences, and priorities of buyers and sellers seeking a balance between proximity to the city and life by the water. One notable difference, she said, is the diversity of housing options in communities such as Long Beach, where apartments, condominiums and townhomes complement the mix of single-family homes.
Bulkley’s return to sales comes at a time when buyers and sellers are navigating a market defined by tight inventory and competition for available homes.
For buyers, she said, one question that repeatedly arises is how to present the winning bid when there are multiple highly competitive offers?
“When there are multiple offers, it’s not always about who offers the highest price," Bulkley said. "It’s about understanding how to position an offer so that it is as strong and competitive as possible.
"Strategy, timing and experience can make all the difference in these situations," she continued. "And one of the most rewarding parts of the business for me is seeing my buyers’ offer accepted and knowing that I was able to draw on my expertise to help make that happen."
Sellers face a different challenge. Historically strong sales prices often lead to high expectations, but Bulkley said pricing a home correctly from the beginning remains important, even in a seller-driven market.
“One of the most important things for sellers to understand is not to overprice the property," she said. "The best strategy is to price it at a level that generates a lot of interest and creates competition. I tell my clients that while they may initially think the price is too low, when multiple buyers are competing for the property, that competition can drive up the final price, sometimes significantly.”
For Bulkley, helping clients work through those decisions is exactly what drove her decision to return to sales.
“What I love most is the relationship you build with clients and being part of their real estate journey from beginning to end," she said. "Whether I’m helping someone find their dream home or helping a seller achieve their desired result, there’s nothing more rewarding than knowing I played a role in making that happen.”
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