R

ealtor Avi Knopf has 
been working with 
homes for nearly his 
entire life.
At the age of 15, he began 
apprenticing as an elec-
trician.
“Growing up, my dad was a 
custom-finish carpenter,” he 
explains of his childhood in 
Oak Park, where he learned 
the ins and outs of home 
renovation. 
“I’ve always been hands-on 
and building things since I 
was a child.”
Involved in the local 
Orthodox Jewish community, 
Knopf’s father was often 
building items for yeshivahs. 
In fact, the first item Knopf 
ever recalls building is a 
shtender (lectern).
“That’s what got me 
started,” he says of his love 
for homes and the art of 
craftsmanship,
Now working as a licensed 
realtor with Birmingham-
based Max Broock Realtors, 
Knopf originally planned 
to go into a career as an 
electrician, but the 2008 
recession inspired him to go 
in a different direction.
As the trade slowed down, 
Knopf migrated into sales, 
particularly home sales. “It 
was a good move,” he says of 
the natural transition from 
one housing industry to 
another.

THE REAL ESTATE BUG
After buying his first house 
at age 19, Knopf, now 32 
and based in Southfield, saw 
potential for a successful 
career. He also fell in love 
with the opportunities it 
offered.
Knopf went to work 
renovating his first house. 
When it was ready and fully 
updated, he sold it and saw 
what kind of profit could be 
made in this line of work.
“I was hit by the bug,” he 
laughs, “to really dive into 
that.”
In addition to traditional 
real estate selling and 
buying, Knopf also invests 
in properties and purchases 
homes to renovate and sell.
However, it’s the relation-
ship-building part of his 
job that keeps Knopf in the 
game,
“It’s so much fun, the 
number of different people 
you get to meet, different 
personalities and cultures,” 
he says of working in real 
estate. “You learn a lot about 
people. You make good 
friends, good relationships. 
It’s just very rewarding.”
Yet like any career path, 
real estate presents its own 
challenges. Managing buyers’ 
and sellers’ expectations is 
a hurdle Knopf often has to 
navigate.
“There’s the classic, like 

you can’t buy a $1 million 
house for $200,000,” he 
explains. “But I do a really 
good job at helping people 
understand the face-value of 
homes.”
He credits his experience 
working in craftsmanship to 
his ability to understand fair 
and accurate home pricing.
“I think I provide a lot 
of value to people because 
of my background in 
construction and being 
an electrician,” Knopf 
says. “If I walk through a 
house with buyers, they’re 
always appreciative that I 
can identify issues or lack 
thereof, saving them money 
on inspections right up 
front.”
Gratification from clients, 
Knopf says, is another 

rewarding part of his real 
estate career.

HARD WORK LEADS TO 
SUCCESS
To be successful in real 
estate, Knopf believes the 
key is hard work and a 
willingness to adapt.
“I try to be available for 
people,” he explains. “I 
actually really enjoy what 
I do, so I don’t mind doing 
it all the time. You can’t 
be afraid of changes; you 
have to understand how to 
adapt, just like we adapted to 
COVID-19.”
Good relationships, he 
continues, also help bring in 
referrals. “People will keep 
an eye out for you,” he says. 
“You’ll end up with a great 
referral base.”

Realtor Avi Knopf says the key 
to success is hard work and a 
willingness to adapt.

A Natural-Born 
Salesman

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

44 | SEPTEMBER 29 • 2022 
 
 
 
 

Fast cars 
are one of 
Avi Knopf’s 
favorite things.

NEXT DOR
VOICE OF A NEW GENERATION

