Stephanie Mols scales across markets and miles

Stephanie Mols leaves nothing to chance. 

The self-proclaimed “German workaholic” covers a swath of Eastern Ontario from the town of Perth as a solo agent for First Ottawa Realty, Brokerage of Coldwell Banker. 

In 2025, she completed more than 160 ends, with double ends accounting for 50 per cent of her business. Mols is building on that momentum, now working toward opening a new office in Kingston. 

Mols, who moved to Canada in 2003, says she’s often asked how she’s been able to achieve such scale, but “it’s not a miracle to get as far as I got,” she told Real Estate Magazine.

Her feet are grounded in traditional business values, old-school marketing tactics and market fundamentals, while her eyes scan for expansion opportunities, international deals and the trends on the horizon.

European entrepreneur to Eastern Ontario agent

Mols built her first career in Germany, running an international mail-order company with franchise outlet stores across several European countries. She oversaw factories, original garment lines and managed distribution worldwide.

“I was always working on my own, although I had a lot of employees in my former business in Europe,” she said.

Her connection to Canada began decades earlier. In the early 1980s, her father bought recreational property in the Land O’ Lakes area near Ompah. The family travelled back and forth for years. In 2000, he retired there permanently.

When her father became seriously ill in 2003, she and her husband moved to Ontario to care for him.

A broad approach by design

As Mols started a new life in Canada, she was already familiar with Eastern Ontario through prior business dealings and investment properties.

Today, Mols works within roughly a 150-kilometre radius covering Ottawa, the Valley and much of Eastern Ontario. Her business spans residential properties, high-end homes, waterfront estates, farms, vacant land, acreage and commercial properties.

“I do think I’m kind of the outside-the-box Realtor,” she said. “I am not specializing in any of real estate properties.”

Rather than focus on one product or location, she is intentional about covering a variety of properties, a strategy to limit possible exposure to falling markets.

“I really was concentrating on keeping it wide open so that I’m not running into a deficit if whatever type of property drops down or has a surplus of inventory.”

Double-end deals and earning trust

Her buyer portfolio includes more than 600 clients, including a well-heeled overseas clientele. At any given time, she carries approximately 80 listings. When a property comes to market, it is introduced directly to her internal buyer base.

A significant portion of her business involves multiple representation, or double ending. She recorded 40 double ends last year (totalling 80 ends).

She says these deals are not forced, but the organic result of a flow of a high volume of listings to a high number of buyers with whom she has strong relationships. 

“It might sound arrogant, but I do not need to double end,” she said. “Often enough, it’s just a case that I already have the buyer for those properties.”

Under Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) rules, consent is required from both parties with double-end offers. If either party is uncomfortable, Mols would transfer one side to another agent before negotiations begin, but that hasn’t been necessary yet, she said.

She has structured her business to manage the volume by working with two to three referral agents to co-list with.

Administrative responsibilities can be delegated, but negotiations remain under her control with co-listings, she said. 

Marketing across borders

Mols continues to invest in print media, particularly in communities with strong retirement demographics.

“Not everybody is reading their newspapers on an iPad,” she said.

Her listings appear in major Ontario newspapers, as well as in international outlets.

Each listing is supported by a detailed booklet ranging from 30 to 60 pages, available in print and digitally. The packages include property details, surrounding amenities and practical information such as proximity to airports.

“Somebody sitting in London or somebody sitting in Frankfurt, they are not coming over 7,000 kilometres to look at a specific property,” she said. “Presenting them with every information about the property, about the surrounding areas, amenities and so forth, that gives them the comfort often enough so that I can write up offers for them without them even having the site physically seen.”

She works with embassies and immigration lawyers and handles transfers from Europe and the United States. International buyers must navigate Ontario’s Non-Resident Speculation Tax, which adds a significant surcharge to purchases, but currency advantages can offset part of that impact, she said.

Preparing for the next shift

Mols is watching 2026 closely, as five-year mortgage terms secured during the low-interest period of 2021 come due. Renewals at higher rates may shift inventory levels. At the same time, new government measures aimed at first-time buyers could stimulate demand from another segment of the market.

“Every day I’m checking and trying to make sure that I’m ahead of the game,” she said.