Jonathan Diianni has only been in real estate since the fall of 2021. In that time, though, he’s made massive headway, becoming the co-owner of his Charlotte realty group, Clockwork, after selling $24.5 million in volume with 61 transactions in only 18 months.

 

Jonathan got his start in real estate after five years of professional golf. “I graduated in 2016 from Elon University doing college golf. I moved into professional golf and traveled all over the world — from Europe to China to Latin America. After five years, I was looking to transition into financial advising, but this was June 2020, the height of COVID,” Jonathan recalls. The company interested in him was going through a hiring freeze but said they’d get in touch again in a few months. “I needed to stay afloat in between, so I sold swimming pools until fall and then pianos once it was too cold to swim,” he explains.  

 

A few months turned into a whole year, during which Jonathan bought a house from a contact in the Clockwork Realty Group and married his wife, Abbie. When he encountered his contact and friend, Jobey Thomas, at the wedding, Jobie asked him to give real estate a try and join Clockwork Realty. “So I went on my honeymoon, I took the exams, and I’ve been in real estate since September of 2021,” he says.

 

“Clockwork was an independent brokerage at the time, and I was really focused on setting out on my own and making a name for myself — figuring out what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it,” Jonathan recalls.

 

And figure it out he did. In his first year, he had 36 total transactions, moving $15.5 million in sales volume. Seeing even more potential in Jonathan, Jobey approached him with another opportunity… “He asked me to be his business partner,” Jonathan recalls. “So I bought into his company, Clockwork, and we’ve been co-owning it ever since.”

 

Jonathan says he loves making his clients happy, and that makes his career fulfilling. “Winning dreams for clients and friends… At the end of the day  — a hard day or a great day  — they want to celebrate by going back home. That’s what we win for so many people. I say ‘win’ because Charlotte is such a competitive area. But we don’t disappoint our clients. We ensure that they have that home to go back to,” Jonathan notes.

 

It’s not just about winning clients their dream homes though. It’s about building connections that last. “I love people and building relationships that last beyond closing day,” Jonathan says. “And I want to be that point of contact for them here in the city of Charlotte, the guy they can reach out to for anything they may need so they don’t spend valuable time hunting for a bunch of different people to take care of all the little things.”

 

With Clockwork’s commitment to not only the home-buying process but to all aspects of home ownership, clients have a capable and trustworthy contact for everything from property management to design. “We want to be a one-stop shop for all things real estate here in Charlotte. Not only can we get you a home, but we have interior design departments to help you make it your own or property management teams to take care of investment homes,” Jonathan says. “Buying a home is one of the most stressful decisions that someone can make. Our goal is to help them have such a smooth and enjoyable experience that they can’t help but talk about it.”

 

“For me, being successful is being the greatest real estate agent in North Carolina. To define ‘greatest’ would be that every client is taken care of and feels like they’re the only client I’m taking care of at the time. But this will never come at the expense of being a great husband or a great church member or a great son. I will always make sure that my family and my future kids will have time; they’ll never come behind work,” Jonathan asserts.

 

It would seem that Jonathan believes in a strong work-life balance, but he has a different take: "I don’t love the term ‘work–life balance,’” he says. “The word ‘balance’ implies that there’s a choice. I live life with the ‘and’ philosophy. I want to be a good husband and a good church member and a good REALTORⓇ. The ‘and’ is what I want. This comes through holding myself accountable to everyone — to my wife, to other people, and to my life itself. This is very important to me. If being the greatest real estate agent comes at the expense of my family, I’ll quit.”

 

“My family always showed up for me. My dad was there for me throughout school; my mom came to every game she could. I’m so grateful, and Lord willing, I will get to do the same for my family.”