Business Echo - Justina LeeStolz

Okanagan Echo
May 26
4 min read

Business Echo is an interview series celebrating the incredible individuals shaping the Okanagan business landscape. Through candid conversations, we’ll dive into their journeys, challenges, and triumphs, offering inspiration and insights along the way.

With over a decade of experience as a REALTOR®, homeowner, and investor, Justina combines strong negotiation skills, local market expertise, and a deep love for the Okanagan to help her clients succeed. Born and raised across the valley, she brings a personal touch to every transaction, grounded in genuine connection and an appreciation for the region’s beauty. For Justina, real estate is about people first, guiding buyers, sellers, and investors with care, strategy, and a commitment to long-term value.

In this interview, Justina shares her journey into real estate, her approach to building lasting client relationships, and why sustainability and community matter just as much as the perfect property.

OE: Hello! thank you for granting this interview, could you please tell us a little about yourself

JL: As an Okanagan-local, homeowner, and investor with over a decade of experience as a REALTOR®, Justina leverages succinct systems, deep market knowledge, and strong negotiating skills to secure the best deals for her clients. Born and raised in various Okanagan cities, she possesses a profound appreciation for the valley's beauty, unique communities, and agricultural richness, which fuels her passion for advocating for its environmental protection and encouraging sustainable choices. Justina is dedicated to cultivating value-laden relationships and sharing her extensive experience in real estate investing to guide clients through every step of their property journey, whether it's a sale or a purchase.

OE: What is your business all about and what inspired you to start your business?

JL: I'm in the people business and it just so happens that those people want to buy and sell houses too! I help connect, local community and clients with their dream homes or resources that they need and the inspiration to get into real estate was a mentor who saw my negotiating, organization and people skills as elements that would bode well for me in a real estate career.

OE: How would you describe your approach to helping clients buy or sell homes?

JL: My approach with clients is being their ultimate connector and resource to make the selling or buying process as easy as possible. Real estate is a diverse and changing industry and there is a LOT to keep up with, so my goal is to be informed and up to date so that my clients are the most recent information and if I don't know something, I will go find out and ask, I love learning!

OE: What advice would you give to first-time buyers navigating this market?

JL: Be decisive. In today's market where prices have dropped, interest rates are levelling out and there is SO much uncertainty economically about what is to come, knowing what you want will be critical to knowing when to pull the trigger on a purchase. You could look at homes forever with no end in sight and there will ALWAYS be another home that you like, trust me, after a decade of looking at homes, I see SO many that I love, but ultimately, at some point, you need to pull the trigger or you'll never be IN your own home!

OE: Can you share a moment in your career that you’re particularly proud of?

JL: Of course it's always a prideful moment when you receive an award for performance in this industry and those are nice, but I have to say, the moments I am most proud of are when someone calls me up and says "so and so referred you and said I should call" or when a past client comments on some social media post when someone is looking for a "great realtor" or when someone that I know (who knows a million other realtors too) calls me up and says "hey, can you help me" either sell or buy. Those moments are the most precious to me because it tells me that someone is happy with the service I provided them and happy enough that they would recommend me to someone else, that trust is invaluable!

OE: If you could design your dream home, what would be a non-negotiable feature?

JL: Some sort of vaulted ceiling with wood panels and tons of natural light and a wood burning stove, absolute must haves.

OE: What’s a piece of advice you’d give to women looking to start their own business?

JL: How you do one thing, is how you do everything - Brandon Nankivell... so if you're going to start a business, commit to it. Don't half ass the effort. That doesn't mean quit your mortgage-paying, food in your kids-belly job, no, it means if you're starting a business and you have decided that every day you're going to spend 2 hours working on the biz, then DO IT, commit to that time, no distractions, no scrolling facebook marketplace because you just remembered you wanted to look for a new light fixture for your some-day office... no, DO the work that needs to be done even if it's not sexy.

OE: What’s your favorite Okanagan spot to relax or find inspiration?

JL: I spend a lot of time in nature and thankfully we have that in abundance here in the Okanagan, so if I'm feeling stressed or need a quiet moment, that's where you'll find me.

OE: What’s one thing about you that people might not know?

JL: I love to be alone and silent. Despite being in a people-facing business, being found at a dozens of networking events and running some highly social side projects, when I get my alone time, I LOVE it.