Welcome to Episode 61 of the Gent’s Talk podcast, where we sat down with James Milonas. Fresh off the June 2023 View The Vibe cover, Milonas is best known as James In The City to the Toronto real estate community. With a highly successful lifestyle brand of the same name, James broke down the current condition of the real estate world for us. We also dove into “James Milonas vs. ‘James In The City'” and discussed the power of the words we speak.
James Milonas
Being a public figure is challenging, and James explained the difficulties of living up to the James In The City persona, which exudes perfection. “This world is so judgmental,” Milonas stated, “they always expect a polished version.” Because of this, he feels the real James cannot come out as frequently as he’d like. Struggling to split time between the two personas, it was his brother’s passing and the inability to grieve that loss that Milonas decided to defer to the more polished James In The City.
Serendipitously, his brother’s passing also opened the door to reconstructing his tumultuous father-son relationship. He spoke briefly about how, before, he was content that he would never talk to his father again but admitted that he is grateful for at least some relationship with him now.
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See Also: Gent’s Talk: Ep. 60 – A Sit-Down w/ Dom Gabriel
James In The City
Is real estate an industry worth getting into? Take a listen as James explains why it is not! He explained that many of the 70,000+ real estate agents (in Toronto alone) face the reality of waking up every morning unemployed. He informed us that a real estate agent often goes up to six months without a paycheque. Although they may be writing deals, the difficulty arises when closing time stretches for months. “It’s a very lonely business,” he noted, “it’s a grind. You’re by yourself every day.”
“Always do things authentically and just be yourself.”
James Milonas’ advice to his future children
Your Forever Home?
If you’re a potential homeowner in the discouraging housing market of Toronto, heed James’ advice: Manage your expectations. He stressed that if the goal is to get into the housing market, not to lose track of that. Accept that you may be unable to afford that $2 million home by the waterfront. “Gone are the days of buying your forever house,” he warned, “[you have to] climb the ladder. The average buyer moves every 3-5 years.” This means your first home may be a condo/townhouse or a bungalow instead. You can live there for a few years, then move into something closer to the home of your dreams.
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Although James talked much about the discouraging aspects of real estate, he still very much loves the industry. Please tune into Episode 61 for the entire conversation with James Milonas as he discusses the validity of “Representation Matters” and the shift from people refusing to work with gay real estate agents to gay agents now being fetishized.
About Gent’s Talk
Bulova Canada presents Episode 61 of Gent’s Talk, available for streaming on Youtube, Spotify, Goodpods, iHeartRadio, Apple and Google Podcasts! It was filmed at StartWell Studios in Toronto. You can now catch Seasons 1, 2 & 3 on all Air Canada flights! We appreciate your continued support throughout this journey. Thank you!
