“Relationship-centered real estate, valuing people over profit, and inspiring others to do the same” – this was the vision of Founder and CEO Charlie Peterson when launching Tyler York Real Estate Brokers at the beginning of 2018.
After a meteoric rise in Nashville real estate beginning in 2013, Charlie quickly discovered his talent in brokering transactions, and a passion for the industry. “It was a tricky place to be in: I loved the work I was doing, but I had serious concerns about the state of the brokerage industry, which is known for being high on recruiting and perceived value. Everyone knows a dozen residential Realtors™, and they wouldn’t work with eleven of them. I wanted to change that, and work for a brokerage whose mission was to reform the industry, and reestablish consumer trust. And the simplest way to do that was to start my own firm.”
Reestablishing consumer trust would begin with a clear distinctive in the marketplace, one centered around market segment specialization. Charlie believed that the most valuable way to serve the market is to become the single most experienced, approachable, knowledgeable person in the world to help them transact. “When a community can see and feel that someone has built their business specifically for them it changes everything. You aren’t just any Realtor, you are their Realtor. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to this business because each market segment needs something different, and often, someone different, who is all-in on serving a specific community or housing product, whether that’s geographical, demographical, or architectural.”
This mission took root as Tyler York Real Estate Brokers attracted more team members and grew its market share in middle Tennessee, consistently being named one of the Nashville Business Journal’s highest producing brokerages, and being named among Nashville’s “Best Places to Work” in 2025. “Culture isn’t part of our strategy, culture is our strategy,” Charlie says, commenting on the firm’s retention and reputation.
Now in business for over seven years, and with over sixty agents and more than four hundred transactions a year, the success of the firm clearly speaks for itself. “We just closed our best year ever, and are already on track for a record year in 2025. This just doesn’t happen in the toughest housing market in thirty years; the system works, and we all still expect big things from ourselves, so it feels like we’re still just getting started.”
One of the most unique elements of the firm is centered around Charlie’s conviction that a company, particularly a brokerage, should foster a culture where thriving agents don’t hold back from supporting and promoting their fellow team members at the same time. “The Apostle Paul called it ‘outdoing one another in showing honor’ in his letter to the church in Rome; we simply call it a ‘people over profit’ mindset, where it doesn’t cost me anything to champion somebody else.” This belief shaped the firm’s hiring practices, which protects the market segment of a Tyler York agent by not hiring anyone else that would overlap into their specialization. “This is unheard of in the brokerage world, but nothing else makes sense,” Charlie says.
When it comes to innovation, Charlie believes the brokerage world is always living in the future and the past simultaneously. If you follow brokerage news, Charlie says “you would think that people are buying homes through TikTok using BitCoin with a contract drafted by ChatGPT” but Charlie says none of this is true move with the market to serve our clients, but it’s about expertise and strategy. We aren’t romantic about how we used to do real estate, and we aren’t stuck in how we practice it now. Every year the market is different, that’s our opportunity to shine by providing the best brokerage services for the moment we are in.”
A family-run business, Charlie’s wife Tonya leads the brokerages finances as the CFO, being honored as a finalist for CFO of The Year with the Nashville Business Journal in 2024. “She is really the brains behind the operation,” Charlie says. “I manage the people and our top-line revenue, and she manages our systems and our bottom-line profits. Behind every naive idealist trying to change the world there is someone gifted in discernment, thinking through the processes and strategy to point the sails in the right direction to actually move the ship where we want to go – that is Tonya. We wouldn’t have made it past the first year without her wisdom and financial expertise.”
The strength of a family-run business doesn’t stop there. Tyler York Directing Broker Haley McKnatt says, “I’ve worked for a big national brand, and I’ve seen how things are different working at a family-run boutique. This is their baby, and they protect it. Its reputation really matters because it’s a reflection on them, and that carries over into who they hire, and how they run their company. It is an extraordinary company, and I’m so grateful to get to be a part of it.”
Headquartered in Brentwood, TN, with an additional office in Chattanooga, Tyler York has proven to be a leader in the brokerage industry, with many agents attracted to its business model, and its culture. What is clear is that culture comes from the top, and Charlie is setting a new standard for leadership for brokerages nationwide.
