The reputation real estate broker Linz Hunt has crafted for herself far exceeds her ability to find and sell homes in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. An entrepreneur, single mother, and self-described “die hard” feminist, she has made it her passion to support at-risk women and families in the community.
With Peterborough’s recent intimate partner violence epidemic declaration —which she calls “heartbreaking” — Hunt recognizes the need to support women now more than ever.
But her dedication to women has always been at the root of her work, and it’s one of the main reasons she chose to become an agent of Royal LePage when she first gained her real estate licence 10 years ago. As the only real estate company in Canada with its own charity, Royal LePage has contributed over $40 million to 200 local women’s shelters through the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation since 1998.
“Royal LePage is super passionate about it,” says Hunt. “It’s really the number one reason I chose to work with them.”
Through the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, professionals can choose to give a portion of their commissions to women’s shelters from coast to coast, with the option to directly fund a specific location or to put the funds towards any shelters in most need.
Over the past few years, Hunt has been giving her contributions through the holiday fundraising campaign at YWCA Peterborough Haliburton, which helps women escaping gender-based violence and abuse in Peterborough and Haliburton County. Joined by several other community donors, this year Hunt will match up to $48,500 in donations made to the organization during its “Shine a Light in the Darkness” holiday campaign.
“It’s an amazing cause,” says Hunt. “It’s doubling what I’m able to contribute myself and it’s been very successful because there are always so many others who are willing to do matching donations as well.”
Always harbouring a “high entrepreneurial spirit,” Hunt opened her brokerage, Electric City Real Estate under Peterborough’s Royal LePage Frank Real Estate, in 2020.
“I wanted to offer a more personalized service,” says Hunt. “I wanted people to come in and just have more of an intimate experience where they know the team personally.”
The boutique-style brokerage is run by women through and through, with Hunt having enlisting the help of former client Lauren Ryan — Hunt helped Ryan and her husband find a home in their move from Toronto to Peterborough — to become client coordinator and later encouraging Megan Currie, owner of Burrow home décor store in downtown Peterborough, to get her real estate licence and join Electric City as a sales representative.
“We met when I would go into the store often to buy closing gifts for clients and we just became fast friends,” says Hunt of meeting Currie. “Since I always liked design, as does Lauren, when Meg wanted a change, we thought we could buy into the store while she gets her licence and share in both altogether.”
Coincidentally, long before they knew each other, Currie opened Burrow on the same day Hunt got her real estate licence. It felt like a sign and now all three women also share in owning Burrow.
“I work with my two best friends, and it has been very fulfilling,” says Hunt. “These are people that I want to spend days with and celebrate success with.”
Whoever warned against mixing friendship and business clearly never met this trio, because in 2021 Hunt received the Royal LePage Chairman’s Award representing the top one per cent of the company’s realtors across the country. Considering there are over 20,000 agents from coast to coast, this is no easy feat.
“It was my biggest year in real estate, and I can proudly say that we hit goals that I had always been striving for,” Hunt recalls.
This largest achievement of Hunt’s professional life coincided with her greatest personal milestone. After years of preparation, a long process, and a few rounds of in vitro fertilization, Hunt became pregnant with her daughter Sloane.
As a single mother with a demanding job, Hunt was very intentional about when she wanted to give birth and chose not to share the news about her pregnancy so clients would not assume she would be distracted or taking time off work.
“To me, it was very empowering that no one knew I was actually pregnant,” Hunt says. “I didn’t want anyone to think I was incapable of doing it. I was feet on the ground, working every single day. Those things are very empowering when you just know you can do it on your own. I’ve always been extremely independent, and I’ve always thought I would be a solo person even from when I was a young kid.”
In 2022, one of Hunt’s most significant days professionally became one of the most significant personally.
“I used to always say that January 2nd was the day my phone would light up with everyone’s New Year’s resolutions of buying or selling property and, sure enough, I had a baby on that day,” jokes Hunt, noting her newborn immediately followed in her mother’s footsteps. “Sloane is just super cool, independent herself, sleeps like a dream, and loves doing everything on her own.”
Despite the demands of having a full-time job and being a single parent, Hunt continues to be a major community supporter.
In addition to her contributions to the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, she also supports Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peterborough (of which her own grandfather was co-founder), is a part of the philanthropy group 100 Women Peterborough, donates to the New Canadians Centre, and has a multi-year commitment to Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s mental health unit.
“Mental health is also at epidemic levels nationally right now, and I think if somebody is there seeking help, it should be a place where they want to stay until they are in a better place,” says Hunt. “I really think a community needs to look out for people who have setbacks.”
Hunt’s generosity also extends to supporting arts organizations. Having previously held board positions for Artspace and the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre, Hunt has been a major sponsor for the Art Gallery of Peterborough’s annual It’s All About ART fundraising auction.
“Peterborough has an amazing arts community, and I would hate for it ever to not exist because it gives our community a soul,” says Hunt. “We cannot become a city just filled with hockey arenas. There needs to be avenues for kids who don’t play hockey to do things as well, and if we’re not helping these organizations stay around, then we lose that opportunity.”
As for the Shelter Foundation, Hunt reached the top one per cent of donors across Royal LePage last year, with Currie also being in the top 10 per cent across the country. In 2019, Hunt participated in a trek of the Sahara Dessert where she joined 120 other Royal LePage professionals to journey 100 kilometres over five straight days. She raised upwards of $20,000 to the charity, with a large portion going towards the YWCA Peterborough Haliburton.
“I come from such a place of privilege as an independent woman,” says Hunt. “There’s lots of reasons women can’t leave (an abusive relationship), whether it’s out of fear or not having shelter or the means to do so. I would never want to know that a child is learning or thinking that’s normal or acceptable. Just the amount of generational trauma that you’re inflicting on people doesn’t make sense in 2023. It doesn’t make sense that it’s happening at this level.”
Though her donor match campaign for YWCA Peterborough Haliburton is taking place during the holiday season, Hunt explains that it’s essential to support community organizations year round.
“There are some really amazing people who are doing amazing things,” she says. “I don’t always have the chance to go out and donate my time, especially as a solo parent working full time, but if I can help in others ways, I will.”
