CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Marshalltown native and longtime local REALTOR ® Kristin Polley serves as the broker for the CENTURY 21 Signature Real Estate office and co-owns The Outlet, a downtown coworking space at 119 E. Main St., with her husband Kurt.

For REALTOR Kristin Polley, there isn’t a greater feeling than seeing a client take that house key and walk into their new space.

“To me, it’s the joy of home,” she said.

As the Broker of the CENTURY 21 Signature Real Estate Marshalltown office, as well as Polley Real Estate Team, Team Lead, Polley has been selling real estate the past 25 years. She and her husband Kurt co-own The Outlet, a state-of-the-art co-working space available to rent. Last fall, she was named Iowa Realtor of the Year for Iowa REALTORS ®.

Polley is the second vice president for the Iowa REALTORS ® (and will become its president in 2028), current member of the Central Iowa Board of Realtors, as well as former president of the Mid-Iowa Regional Board of REALTORS ®. (Mid-Iowa Regional merged with Central Iowa in January 2025 right as her term as president ended).

She is licensed to buy and sell anywhere in Iowa, but she says her expertise lies in Marshall, Tama and Grundy counties.

“Marshalltown, specifically, would be the top zip code that I’m selling in,” she said.

Spring can be an ideal time to list a home, with yards fresh and green and the threat of snow mostly gone, but Polley points out, she stays busy year-round.

“There are advantages and disadvantages for why you choose a certain season to sell in versus the other. Obviously packing up and moving in the winter isn’t everybody’s favorite time to move, but it could be a great time to sell because there is lower inventory, so the competition is less, but consistently, I would say the market stays pretty busy throughout the full year,” she said.

Although Polley’s name has become synonymous with real estate, it wasn’t her initial career path. Born and raised in Marshalltown, after graduating from MCC, she planned to go into teaching.

“I loved the thought of really growing that next generation of learners, and so I always thought that I would be a teacher, but having the experience of buying my first home as a young adult, I really just loved the sales side of it,” she said. “And I thought, what better way to really give back to our community and to really focus on that next generation of learners. I certainly feel like I get to do a lot of teaching about home ownership and home sales and home buying.”

While “real estate agent” is a general term for anyone licensed to assist people in buying and selling a property, “REALTOR ®” is a trademark for real estate agents who are members of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and adhere to its Code of Ethics.

“Working with a REALTOR ® is a must, in my opinion. There is no way you should sacrifice not working with somebody who has to follow that strict code of ethics,” she said.

Sharp marketing skills are a must in her profession. But the journey is as important as the destination. Research and planning goes on behind the scenes before the “for sale” sign gets planted in the yard. She works alongside home staging companies, professional photographers and licensed contractors.

“The sign is kind of like that grand finale of here we are — we finally made it to the cusp of the sales process,” she said.

As the saying goes, you can only make one first impression.

“A buyer will make a buying decision in less than eight seconds. So that first impression, really, really, really matters. How something looks, how something smells, the temperature, all those different things matter when somebody is walking up to a house, and honestly, people are making buying decisions based on the first image that they view online. They are all sides to the marketing to consider,” she said.

Interest rates remain a heated topic.

“While the interest rate is not as low as it was three years ago, we are probably never going back to those historic low interest rates. And so now it’s a matter of working with buyers to really analyze what are their needs and their wants, so that when we set (a) price range, we try to stay within those parameters,” she said.

Most REALTORS ® will tell you that they don’t clock in at 9 a.m. and clock out at 5 p.m. They may be required to show a property in the evening or on weekends and also stay in frequent communication with a client, especially as a sale or purchase progresses. Achieving a healthy work-life balance helps prevent burnout.

“I think if you set realistic expectations up front with your buyers and sellers, 99% of them understand. They don’t want to interfere when you’re going to watch your daughter play volleyball, or they don’t want to interfere when you’re at church or things like that,” Polley said.

Staying on top of industry changes, especially through continuing education, can give a REALTOR ® the competitive edge. Clients range from first-time homebuyers, folks downsizing, those aging and moving into retirement communities, to big budget dream homes.

“There are definitely clients whose needs and wants might be greater than what the market can bear right now, so there are definitely times when you’re working with the buyer that you know you have to get creative and really try to focus in on what are the top priorities for them as a buyer, or top priorities for them as a seller. We’re able to usually find a great compromise to help people meet their goal,” she said.

Polley sits on the boards of the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce, the Assistance League of Marshalltown and Ruckus in the Roundhouse, and she is the chair of Legislative committee for the Iowa Association of REALTORS ®, is a member of the Risk Management committee for the National Association of REALTORS ® and is an active member of Journey Church.

“I think if you look at the industry as a whole of REALTORS ®, they all make really great community volunteers, because REALTORS ® are really striving to make a difference in their community,” she said.

Locally, Polley likes to stay connected to business owners and civic leaders. She added that there’s a lot of pride that goes into being the best REALTOR ® she can be.

“I also love the fact that every day is a little bit different, and there’s a new opportunity every morning. So it’s really been a blessing,” she said.