Residential Real Estate

Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty is dedicated to bringing the highest level of service to today’s home buyers and sellers. This tradition continues with the recent addition of luxury real estate agent, Carlos Ayuso, to the Camelback Tower office.

Led by a lifelong interest in architecture and exceptional home design, Carlos began his career in real estate over five years ago. Since then, he has become a respected REALTOR® specializing in luxury residential, land acquisition and investment properties in Phoenix, the Arcadia neighborhood and Paradise Valley. He is known for his attention to detail, strong work ethic and excellent customer service. As a people person, Carlos enjoys interacting with his clients, striving to make sure they feel at ease and taking the time to understand their needs and address their concerns.

I am thrilled that Carlos has chosen Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty to continue building his real estate career! I have no doubt he will thrive with our brokerage, we are honored to have him.

Heather mcnamara, camelback tower sales manager

Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty is dedicated to bringing the highest level of service to today’s home buyers and sellers. This tradition continues with the recent addition of luxury real estate agent, Sarah Schmieder, to the Southeast Valley Office.

Representing both the Phoenix Metro area current and future homeowners, Sarah Schmieder is committed to listening to her clients’ needs and will be an advocate for you. Sarah understands that buying and selling real estate can be stressful. As a full-time REALTOR®, she will work hard to lower your stress level and make your experience as pleasurable as possible. She will accomplish this through constant communication, and by being accessible whenever you need her.

As a native of Arizona allow her to share her vast knowledge of the growth in our Arizona real estate market with her clients. Her advanced education majoring in physiology equip her to guide home buyers and sellers through the process of meeting all their real estate needs. Her biggest joys in life are raising her two beautiful children and living and working in the Southeast Valley. She is a great addition to our team!

cathy green, southeast valley branch manager

excited to announce Judy Smedes and Kate Herk, a top-peforming team, have joined our Tucson office.

Smedes and Herk — a mother-daughter team — have moved to Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty’s from a competing brokerage. The duo did an impressive $23.5 million in transactions via 49 sales in 2018. Judy Smedes has been a licensed agent in the Tucson market for 30 years. Her daughter, Kate Herk, has been a licensed agent for the last 15 years.

“We are thrilled to have Judy Smedes and Kate Herk join our team. They are a dynamic and top performing team in the Tucson market and add to our already strong roster of agents. Their move is testament to the exceptional service we provide clients throughout Arizona,” said Todd Gillenwater, CEO and owner of Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty.

Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty has 79 agents in Tucson and more than 850 across Arizona.

“As real estate professionals, we understand buying and selling a home is so much more than just a transaction. It’s a life-changing experience. That is why we dedicate exceptional and personalized service to all our clients. We see that level of dedication and service at Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty,” Judy Smedes said.

Smedes has been a full-time, active real estate agent since 1988 and has sold some of the highest-priced homes in Tucson.

“I have been working alongside my mom as a REALTOR® for the past 15 years. We specialize in delivering innovative marketing plans for our listings including drone videos, professional photography and social media advertising. For our buyers, we focus on finding them properties before they hit the market through our extensive network of real estate colleagues,” Kate Herk said.

Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty is dedicated to bringing the highest level of service to today’s home buyers and sellers. This tradition continues with the recent addition of luxury real estate agent, Dani Lawrence, to the Flagstaff office. 

In 2000 Dani moved to Flagstaff to attend college and fell in love with the beautiful mountain town. She serves as the Regional Vice President of Region 3 for the Arizona Association of REALTORS® to take time out professionally to help her industry and stay as knowledgeable as possible. At the state level, she serves as a committee member for the Arizona Association of REALTORS® Legislative Committee, Professional Standards Committee and the Business, Service, Technology Committee. 

Affordable housing is a passion of Dani and she serves nationally on the National Association of REALTORS® Housing Opportunity Committee and works locally with Habitat for Humanity of Northern Arizona serving on their board from 2009-2019. In addition, she has served as local 2016 president of the Northern Arizona Association of REALTORS® and involves herself locally in real estate related politics and issues.

Danny Lawrence is a true industry professional with a long history of service to her clientele, our real estate industry and the Flagstaff community. We are excited to partner with her going forward and very eager to see what our future together holds.

dylan kennedy, flagstaff branch manager

Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty is dedicated to bringing the highest level of service to today’s home buyers and sellers. This tradition continues with the recent addition of luxury real estate agent, Amy Antalik, to the Southeast Valley Office.

Amy is the REALTOR® you want in your corner when it comes to buying or selling your home. With over 10 years of experience, Amy provides dedication , integrity , perseverance and creative service in every detail of your real estate transaction. In order to provide superior customer service, Amy meets with prospective clients to discuss their lifestyle needs. The perfect home should complement lifestyles; whether it be children, pets, nightlife, schools, or transportation, Amy is passionate and committed to finding the perfect home for her clients.

Amy specializes in applying her expertise and market knowledge to find homes that consistently exceed her clients expectations. She works in residential property sales and exchanges, including Fine Homes and Estates, single family homes, townhomes, condominiums, income properties and land. She provides exceptional attention to skilled negotiations, knowledgeable analysis of property values as well as market trends. Amy is also an active member of the networking real estate group in the East Valley and continues to be involved in her community.

Amy Antalik brings with her an extensive background in New Home Construction while also excelling in corporate relocation. Her incredible knowledge combined with her ability to keep all parties working together for the common goal allows for a smooth transition for buyers and sellers. We are blessed to have Amy on our incredible team serving the South East Valley

Cathy Green, sev Branch manager

Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty sales associates and teams have been ranked among Arizona’s best! The REAL Trends + Tom Ferry America’s Best – Arizona comprises four categories: the top individual agents by sides, top individual agents by sales volume, top teams by sides and top teams by sales volume.

The following sales associates and teams have been recognized:

Top Individuals by Sides Out of 98 agents

Lisa Lucky #19
Susan Pellegrini #69
Lisa Roberts #73
Tracy Wood #88

Top Individuals by Volume Out of 56 agents

Lisa Lucky #3
Cionne McCarthy #7
Allan MacDonald #8
Susan Pellegrini #11
Lisa Roberts #23
Tracy Fitzgerald #26
Kathy Reed #27
Karen DeGeorge #31
Jan Kabbani #34
Cheryl Anderson #48
Tami Henderson #49
Marta Walsh #52
Bob Hasset #54

Teams by Sides Out of 138

Private Client Group #37 Frank Aazami, David Arustamian, Bill Bulaga, Jaclyn Brand, Chey Castro, Alisha Collinson, Jean-Michel Edery, Mardi Kirkland, Zoja Padenko, Jennifer-Parks Sturgeon, Bill Ramseyer, Nancy Read, Thomas Scott, David Smith, Jovanka Teran, Barry Van Patten II, Dinesh Wilson, Alan Zieder

Luxury Property Group #130 Will Foote, Mike Holder, Debbie Negrin, Jay Pennypacker

Teams by Volume out of 103

Private Client Group #37 Frank Aazami, David Arustamian, Bill Bulaga, Jaclyn Brand, Chey Castro, Alisha Collinson, Jean-Michel Edery, Mardi Kirkland, Zoja Padenko, Jennifer-Parks Sturgeon, Bill Ramseyer, Nancy Read, Thomas Scott, David Smith, Jovanka Teran, Barry Van Patten II, Dinesh Wilson, Alan Zieder

Luxury Property Group #130 Will Foote, Mike Holder, Debbie Negrin, Jay Pennypacker

The Power of 4 #14 Karen Baldwin, Kathleen Benoit, Bee Francis, Anne Morrissey

The Team #19 Lara Broadrick, Rebecca Clayton, Shawner Warner

Bushong, Christian, Almquist #23 Joe Bushong, Chad Christian, Grant Almquist

Wolski, Gillenwater, O’Keefe #35 Dan Wolski, Troy Gillenwater, Jack O’Keefe

The W Group #55 Lisa Westcott, Garrett Shinoskie, Chris Tiller

Cashman Partners #59 Sally Cashman, Karen Nychay, Linda Goldberg, Kathleen Prokopow, Linda Hilgendorf

The Team With More #76 Tracey Gray, Kim Leinweber, Terri Benton, Laura Ingram

Reisdorf Metz & Partners #83 Kathy Reisdorf, Cindy Metz, Kathy Stratton, Nichole Thorstensen, Carolyn Rock, Katie Metz, Emily Thaler

Elevating Luxury Properties #87 Cheryl D’Anna, Donna LeGate, Bob Terry

Ed Pennington Real Estate Team #90 Ed Pennington and Jeanette Sauer

The Sertich Group #95 Nancy Sertich, Tim Floor, Shawn Rimer, Dena Bullard, Katie Fisher

Live Carefree #97 Stacy Paluscio, Courtney Woods-Olson, Darcy Whalen