For 14 years, Crystin Quick built a career in corporate fashion, working for Ralph Lauren and spending much of her career with Saks Fifth Avenue. It was an industry she had wanted to be part of since childhood and after studying marketing in college, fashion seemed like a natural place to build her future.
Real estate was the backup plan. Then life began to change. After becoming a mother, Quick started thinking differently about what she wanted from her career. In March 2020 she earned her real estate license — just as the pandemic brought much of the world to a halt.
While working remotely in fashion, Quick used the time to learn as much as she could about real estate, completing training and beginning to build a business. She closed four transactions during her first year, three sales and a rental, even as her longtime career was becoming increasingly uncertain.
Eventually, her position in fashion was eliminated. At about the same time, Quick went through a divorce and found herself navigating many of the same housing decisions she would soon be helping clients make.
“I basically started over in every aspect of my life,” Quick said. “But really, just pouring myself into my work and real estate is what found a new purpose for me and helped me to get to where I am today.”
Now a licensed associate real estate broker with Douglas Elliman Real Estate, Quick works across Nassau and Suffolk counties and Queens, with much of her business centered in Oceanside and nearby Long Beach.
Her own experiences have given her a personal understanding of how much can be wrapped up in the decision to move. Following her divorce, she sold a house, downsized, rented and eventually returned to homeownership.
Those transitions also helped Quick recognize something that had been missing from her previous career.
“At the end of the day, I was helping to produce clothing,” she said. “I wasn’t helping people.”
Today, the moments that stay with her are often deeply personal ones, whether she is telling buyers that an offer has been accepted on the house they hoped to make their own or helping sellers reach a deal that allows them to move forward.
“I love being able to hand the keys over so that both parties can transition into their next chapter of life,” Quick said.
Quick has lived in Oceanside for nearly four years, where her daughter attends school and is involved in the local soccer program. She said she values the community’s convenience and its proximity to Long Beach, where she does a significant portion of her business.
Her fashion background continues to influence her work, particularly when preparing homes for sale or helping buyers see what a property could become.
“I love being able to help buyers envision what the house could look like for them,” Quick said. On the seller's side, she often brings in flowers, pillows, blankets and other decor or rearranges a room before a home goes on the market.
That relationship can continue after closing, when former clients send photos, ask about paint colors or turn to her for contractor recommendations.
“I’m very involved even past the transaction,” Quick said. “I’m often involved in helping them find contractors or weigh in on design moves that they’re going to make in their new home.”
As her business continues to grow, Quick recently reached another major professional milestone, earning her New York State broker’s license and becoming a licensed associate real estate broker with Douglas Elliman. The achievement reflects her commitment to continued education, professional growth and providing an elevated level of knowledge and service to her clients.
“I am a very big proponent of continuing education and continuing to better yourself,” Quick said. “The world, everything is always changing.”
For Quick, keeping pace with those changes is part of being able to guide buyers and sellers through a market that looks considerably different from the one she entered in 2020.
“I think it’s really important to invest in yourself and education to be able to provide the best service,” she said.
Herald Content Studio articles are produced by the Herald’s marketing division and independent of the newsroom. The Herald may be compensated by featured companies or purchases made through these articles, which does not constitute the Herald’s endorsement.
