Rising Stars: Meet Gabrielle Hodge of Greater Cincinnati & NKY

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabrielle Hodge.

Gabrielle , we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I came back from Europe in 2019 after graduating with a marketing degree from Ohio State’s School of Business. At the time, my mom was dating a real estate broker, so I decided—why not get my real estate license? What started as a curiosity quickly turned into a career path.

That broker also happened to own a real estate school, and he hired me as the Director of Marketing while I was simultaneously starting to grow my real estate business on the side. For about four years, my full-time role was leading the marketing strategy for the school, which exposed me to the inner workings of both real estate and running a small business. Because it was a startup, I had to build everything from scratch — website building and coding, SEO, Google Analytics, Google Ads, CRM management, email campaigns, blog writing — you name it. It was a crash course in digital marketing, business operations, automation, and process refinement.

By 2025, my real estate client base had steadily grown, and I hit a point where I knew my heart was in the sales side full-time. It was overwhelming to juggle both, but the years of technical marketing experience set me up to build my own living, breathing business: Hodge Homes under Ken Perry Realty. Now, I work fully for myself, and I bring that same high-level execution, attention to detail, and creative marketing strategy to my real estate clients.

I’ve never used a transaction coordinator — I’ve handled every aspect of my business myself. Some people say I do too much, but it’s hard for me to not give everything 100% when I know how to do it and want it done right. I built my website from scratch (hodge-homes.com), manage my own social media, and have developed a strong listing track record, largely thanks to my analytical approach when it comes to pricing and negotiations.

Now that I’m full-time, I’m learning new parts of the business — especially networking, building industry relationships, and nurturing leads, which I didn’t have much capacity for during my earlier years. My background in real estate education also allows me to create resources and guides for my buyers so they not only purchase a home, but fully understand the “why” behind their decisions.

I don’t have a traditional path into real estate, but I’m proud of the journey. I’ve worked hard to build my business from the ground up, and while I’m still learning every day, my focus now is to continue refining my processes, scaling sustainably, and—slowly but surely—learning how to relinquish some control so I can grow in a way that feels good.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not a smooth road — there have been a million bumps and plenty of mistakes, but I try to never make the same mistake twice. One of my most memorable learning moments happened in my first year. My boss had given me a lead, and I helped the client purchase a beautiful farm. I was so proud — I had researched zoning laws, figured out storage regulations for his business, and really felt like I was crushing it.

Right before closing, the loan officer asked for proof that we were moving forward with listing the client’s current home. I didn’t fully understand the correct process at the time, which should’ve been a signed listing contract. Instead, I manually entered a draft listing in the MLS, took a screenshot, and sent it to satisfy the lender. It worked — the deal closed.

But two weeks later, before we had officially listed, the property accidentally went live online with a placeholder price I had just made up for the loan. My client sent me a screenshot of his home for sale on Zillow that was sent to him by a neighbor,. He was completely caught off guard. I immediately received about 40 calls from agents, and had to very quickly (and humbly) navigate the situation. I got a very stern talking-to from my boss about loan fraud and proper listing procedures — but I did ultimately secure the listing and sold it about a month later.

It was horrifying in the moment, but it’s a lesson I’ll never forget — and one that made me much more thorough and process-driven moving forward.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in digital marketing — that’s really where my background gives me an edge. My listing process is extremely thorough from the start. I ask my sellers every question I can think of: where they actually lived in the home, where they shopped, what they loved most about the neighborhood, and how they used the space day-to-day. I also look into local economic factors and neighborhood trends. Once I have the full picture, I start mapping out who the likely buyer is for the home, and I shape my marketing to speak directly to that person.

From there, I actually run the listing narrative through ChatGPT — it often helps pull out a few creative angles I may not have thought of — and then I run my strategy by my mom, who’s also my staging partner now that she’s retired. Once the narrative is fully dialed in, I roll out a well-rounded, multi-layered marketing plan.

I always start with a video — usually incorporating some humor — to get strong organic reach. Then I focus on hyper-local marketing by joining neighborhood Facebook groups as soon as I know I’ve secured a listing. I also run targeted email campaigns to agents who have sold similar properties, make sure my network knows about the listing, and run paid digital ads locally. I even create custom property websites for each listing that present the home exactly how I want it showcased — easy for buyers, agents, and anyone else to digest. None of my marketing is automated or templated — everything is customized for each listing, and it’s brought my clients some amazing results.

I’m really proud of the level of effort I bring to every single listing — no matter the price point. On top of that, staging my listings with my mom has been a really fun and meaningful part of my business.

On the buyer side, I genuinely love teaching and breaking things down — especially when it comes to numbers and strategy. Helping buyers make confident, informed decisions on such a major purchase is incredibly rewarding, and I love being part of that process with them.

What matters most to you?
For me, it’s about building something that’s both high quality and high integrity — in my work, my business, and my client relationships. I take a lot of pride in delivering a very detailed, thoughtful experience for my clients, whether they’re buying or selling. Real estate can feel overwhelming, so I want people to feel like they have someone in their corner who’s not only guiding them but also truly understands the financial, emotional, and practical sides of the process.

I also care a lot about long-term growth — not just doing things quickly, but doing them right. That’s why I’ve built my business piece by piece, learning every part of it myself. It’s made me extremely detail-oriented, but also deeply invested in the success of my clients. I want the people who work with me to feel like they got not just a Realtor, but a partner who cared about their outcome as much as they did.

I’m also a control freak so autonomy is directly correlated to my happiness. The fact that I get to decide what my day looks like makes me work harder and longer than I ever worked in my life which is why I am able to do what I do.

Pricing:

• 3% commission on both buy and sell side + I can sometimes include free staging depending on the situation.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hodge-homes.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabriellehodge_/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HodgeHomesRealtor/photos/?_rdr