Before we recap what was truly an incredible year, we want to pause and share one of the core beliefs that drives everything we do here at the RiverWILD Real Estate Team:
Homeownership is freedom!
That belief isn’t just a slogan. It’s a mission — and in today’s complex Johnston County real estate market, it matters more than ever.
Affordable New Homes Matter More Than Ever
A Quote That Really Hit Home…
There was a moment in a recent Fox Business interview that stopped us in our tracks.
OpenDoor CEO Kaz Nejatian said something boldly simple and profoundly true:
“When people own the ground they live on, it puts an end to serfdom.”
OpenDoor CEO Kaz Nejatian
That line resonated deeply because it captures what so many families feel but rarely say out loud.
Owning a home — even a modest, affordable one — can be one of the most empowering financial and personal decisions a person ever makes.And right here in Johnston and Harnett Counties, that’s exactly what RiverWILD is committed to helping people achieve — every single day.
How the RiverWILD Real Estate Team Expanded Access to Homeownership in 2025
At RiverWILD, we believe affordable homeownership is one of the most powerful tools for strengthening communities. Our mission is simple:
Have more meaningful conversations with consumers and help more people cross the threshold into homeownership whether it’s their first home or their fifth.
Here’s what that commitment looked like in action during 2025:
- 2,236 calls made
- 25,990 text messages sent
- 1,086,525 emails delivered
Every call, text, and email represented a real person — buyers and sellers seeking answers, clarity, and guidance in a complex housing market. And we were honored to walk that journey with them.
The RiverWILD Real Estate Way: Building Trust Through Expertise
One of the most effective ways we build trust, authority, and confidence is by openly sharing our knowledge as local market experts.
In 2025, that commitment resulted in:
- 56 blog posts published
- 77,000 website visitors
- Over 2,200,000 page views on RiverWILDRealEstate.com
That content was created to educate, empower, and help consumers make smarter decisions about one of life’s biggest investments.
Staying Connected Via Social Media The WILD Way in 2025
Social media continues to be a powerful way for us to extend our message and stay connected with our community.
Across Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn in 2025:
- 1.58M total views
(1.3M FB | 268.8K IG | 10.5K LI) - 615 new followers
(181 FB | 368 IG | 66 LI) - 8.7K engagements
(6.1K FB | 2.3K IG | 363 LI) - 15K visits to our channels
(11.1K FB | 3.9K IG)
Each view and interaction helped us reach more individuals with practical guidance, local insights, and real opportunities.
2025: A Year of Trust Earned
In 2025, the RiverWILD Real Estate Team reached a major milestone:
Over 100 Google Reviews — including 47 new 5-Star reviews earned this year alone.
We are incredibly grateful for every client who trusted us enough to share their experience.
These reviews reflect the care, professionalism, and heart our team brings to every transaction.
We purchased a new build home with Riverwild in July of 2025. We had a great experience with everyone on the team. Starting with our REALTOR®, Dakota, she was so incredibly helpful throughout the entire process for us as first time home buyers. She also gave us SO many recommendations for things we needed for the home. We have loved working with her!!
The builders and other staff were also great. We worked with Chase, Josh and Connor on our home. We met with the builders early on in the signing process to discuss and confirm the changes to the floor plan that we made after framing. They were awesome in accommodating some changes for us and getting things done quickly before the home was too far along to change. We are so grateful to Connor for taking good care of us during our final stages of the home building process and ensuring quality work was done! We overall had a great experience with anyone we worked with at RiverWild!!
Amber Efird
Giving Back: The Heart of RiverWILD
At RiverWILD, people always come first.
Whether we’re building homes, helping clients buy, sell, invest, or rent, growing farm-to-table goods, or volunteering right here in our community, we believe service is part of the responsibility of success.
In 2025, partnering with OneCompassion and JCAR’s BackPack Buddies, our team invested countless hours volunteering our time, talents, and resources with one simple goal:
to positively impact people and help our community thrive.
That’s the WILD way.
A Heartfelt Thank You to Our Partners
None of this impact would be possible without our incredible builder and lender partners.
Your creativity, responsiveness, education, and commitment to affordability played a critical role in helping our clients overcome obstacles and achieve homeownership in 2025.
From thoughtfully designed floor plans, quality-built homes, and competitive financing options to clear guidance and trusted collaboration — you helped turn “maybe someday” into keys in hand.
Our builder and lender partners:
- RiverWILD Homes
- Solomon Home Builders
- Westan Homes
- Fairway Mortgage Company – Don Waters Team
- Secure Choice Mortgage – Sharon Altman and Casey Johnson
- First Home Mortgage – Callie Johnson and Naomi Stevens
We are deeply grateful for your partnership and proud to serve alongside you.
Thank You Agent Partners!
It’s always been said how important it is to “play nice in the sandbox” with our fellow agents, and our agent partners went above and beyond to help our team achieve any measure of success we enjoyed in 2025!
To each agent on the other side of the transaction table, we give our heartfelt “thank you”!
Saving the Best for Last
In 2025, the RiverWILD Real Estate Team helped 361 families purchase a new or existing home.
Our Leasing Team also helped 190 families find shelter through a rental home.
We don’t take that responsibility lightly.
We count it a privilege to serve clients who ultimately become part of the RiverWILD family.
If you’re curious whether now is the right time to buy, sell, invest, or rent, we’re here to help you find the answers and a path forward that fits your life. You can reach out to our team here.
Here’s to the families served, the trust earned, the partnerships strengthened, and the communities built in 2025.
And here’s to doing even more good together in 2026. From the RiverWILD Real Estate Team, Happy New Year!
