Katey McGrath—vice president and director of Operations of Elfant Wissahickon REALTORS®—was recently named as a Crusader in RISMedia’s 2025 class of Real Estate Newsmakers. She was recognized for her leadership on the Philadelphia Women’s Council of REALTORS®, Philadelphia Commission for Women and BrightMLS Board of Directors, as well as having a successful career in the industry and frequent work as an advocate for advancing homeownership.
In this entry of our Newsmaker Spotlight series, RISMedia and McGrath discussed her journey in the industry, how her many leadership opportunities came to be and her experiences with them, her advocacy work and ideals, and her advice to other women as a successful woman in real estate.
Claudia Larsen: Can you tell me a bit about your background in real estate and how you got to where you are today?
Katey McGrath: I actually started at my company 25 years ago answering the phones. It was right around the time that real estate really went online, and I guess had a broader understanding of the Internet than most of the people in the office at the time. The timing just worked out that I was able to be of real use, teaching people how to transition their businesses. Through that I collected responsibility, and over the next 10-plus years I had done just about every job in the building. I was made the director of operations when we opened up our fourth office and then within a few years got my broker’s license. A couple years after that I became a partner and for the last few years had been running my organization with my two operating partners. I run the day-to-day with the president and the Broker of Record.
CL: Elfant Wissahickon is one of the largest independent brokerages in Philadelphia and the third largest in Pennsylvania—it’s really grown in your time there, with your assistance.
KM: You don’t do it alone, but absolutely. I’m proud because it’s been really organic growth. It’s a little slow, but it’s sort of sustainable. We’ve only really ever grown, we haven’t retracted at all. It also helps that our market—Philadelphia—has always been slow, steady and stable. We haven’t had the massive highs as some of the other large metros, but you don’t get the lows that way either, which is nice. We call ourselves either the biggest little guy or the littlest big guy in town, whichever you prefer.
Also, Elfant’s thinking is great. It’s privately owned, and we feel like a family. Of the three operating partners, we’re all first generation real estate people. There’s an enormous culture of mentorship in my organization and I’ve been really, really lucky to have the mentorship of the people who founded the company. We feel sort of honored to have their trust to see it into the next 30, 40 years.
CL: You spearheaded the creation of Pennsylvania’s only Women’s Council of REALTORS® network and were elected its president through 2025. How did this initiative come to be, and what has the experience of leading it been like so far?
KM: There was a rumble of interest around the state for many years. Actually, part of the strategic plan for the Greater Philadelphia Association and the diversity committee at the state level was to really support the creation of these culturally focused real estate associations. Philadelphia in the last three or four years has chartered Asian American Real Estate Association, National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, LGBTQ+ Alliance, Women’s Council of REALTORS®. People were talking about it and I got tapped on the shoulder mostly because I have my hand in a lot of pies and relationships in a lot of different places. It’s a bit ironic because I don’t sell actively, so I don’t know a lot of people in the business from being on the other side of the table. But, I know a lot of people from all of my volunteering and organizing, and just being around forever. So, I was asked if I would head the steering committee and serve as the president because they needed somebody who knew, and I was happy to help. I’m sort of a connector by reflex or nature.
Leading the council so far has been a lot of work. Keeping together a nascent organization requires a lot of faith from your membership because you’re constantly working to keep it together and deliver content and value. It’s a lot, but it’s worth it. Plus, the women that we’ve met and worked with have been incredible. I’ve made incredible relationships and I’ve gotten sort of access to things I never thought I’d get to see, which has been great.
It’s a lot of work though. When you work with the local associations, MLSs or state associations, they all have staff, and you’re really just there for your opinion. With the Women’s Council, though, we do it all.
But again, it’s a volunteer-led organization, and it’s a lot of opportunities to create connections, which has been super, super cool. I think honestly, the thing that’s been the most interesting and compelling for people to either get involved or to support us is that 67% of realtors are women, and less than 15% of leadership is women. Anytime you tell people that, they’re like ‘Oh, okay, here’s my check.’
CL: You were also appointed by Philadelphia’s first female mayor Cherelle Parker to the Philadelphia Commission for Women, where you advocated for homeownership to close the wealth gap. Can you tell me more about this experience—how it came to be and what it was like?
KM: That’s another opportunity that came through my sort of volunteer leadership and connections. Annette Collier—she’s the first black female president of the Philadelphia Association of REALTORS® this year—introduced me to the director of the commission who asked me to serve. It was right after the Women’s Council election.
There’s never a shortage of nonprofit and civic engagement with these sorts of commissions. What they really want is people from the business community. I was asked to represent real estate and housing. Another one of the reasons that they asked to include me was, as I keep saying, all these relationships I’d built. We had worked with the Philadelphia Association of REALTORS® and Community Legal Services on a few projects in the past. It’s sort of crossing non-traditional lines to get things done. That was also a project that women had a strong hand in.
Back to Annette, she’s just somebody who really shares her platform and shares her space. When she was asked, instead of saying ‘pick me,’ she said ‘I know a few women who you’d be lucky to have.’ She really shares her seat at the table, brings people with her, and is incredibly generous about mentorship. So, the mantle has been passed to me with the clear intention that when it’s somebody else’s turn, I make sure I’m using my influence to bring the next generation with me as well.
In terms of home ownership and the wealth gap, it’s really probably the main source of net worth of most families in America. Actually, single women are the fastest growing demographic in terms of ownership. To me, especially in Philadelphia, we want to really push that it’s an achievable thing. I think with prices skyrocketing and inventory at record lows, the narrative to share is that we don’t want people to stop trying. There’s a tendency to go try and go for your dream home, so you wait till you’re on your budget, but we can get you into a starter house now. Let’s just get you in as an owner and start building equity for yourself.
The other thing about ownership and women is that they’re not negotiating from different positions than men. They might for salaries or for any of the other sort of historically discriminant situations, but not in housing. If I own a house and a man owns a house across the street, we’re going to appreciate the same way.
CL: Another leadership opportunity for you that popped up last year was being named to the Bright MLS board of directors. What has that been like?
KM: That’s been a huge turning point for me just in terms of being in a room with some of the smartest and most interesting people. Our board chair is a woman, and she runs an incredible meeting. Sometimes if you go into a room and you’re one of the few women in the room, it’s usually men who talk more. I’ve never had that in any of my programming with Bright at all. It’s always half or more women, and we feel heard. We all constantly contribute. They’re a very women forward organization.
CL: As we can see, you’re very big on advocacy in the industry. Along that line, your profile also noted that you have a deep belief that sustainable homeownership and strong neighborhoods build a better future for all. Can you expand on this?
KM: It initially came because where I started my advocacy—which the nicer way of saying rabble rousing—was in public education. I really believe in all of the pieces that you need for a healthy neighborhood. Vibrant neighborhoods make healthy cities. To be a vibrant, healthy neighborhood, you have to have good public schools, and you have to have a high homeownership rate.
Homeownership is one of the most impactful quality points you can have because it improves the crime rate, it improves the temperatures (and there’s lots of studies on this, that the temperature comes down the higher the home ownership rate in a community.). Every metric that you have for an economy and a healthy community is tied to that home ownership rate. It’s the rising tide that lifts all the boats. That’s something where once you realize it, it clicks for you, you just become an evangelist. Whether you’re trying to sell houses or not, you’re just out there preaching. Once you pull on that thread, it really gives you the energy you need to be pushing for policies that help home ownership, for programs and even just for more awareness.
CL: Since it’s women’s history month and you are a successful woman leader in real estate, what is your best advice for women in the industry looking to succeed and even become leaders like you?
KM: I would say that ambition is not a bad word. I think it’s really important to know that and feel that, especially for women who are socialized to think the opposite of that.
I think ask for connection, be open to advice and mentorship, and then pay it back when it’s your turn.
For me, I’ve been really, really lucky. Lucky that the people around me and the people that I worked for and now work with have never thought of me differently because I was a woman. But I think if they did, I wouldn’t have stayed. I don’t think I would’ve made it to the point where they were considering me for anything, because I probably would’ve gotten frustrated and been gone long before that. So, when you are in an environment that you feel validated and supported, lean into it. You want to be somewhere that sees your value and wants to help you grow that.
CL: You can also attest to the power of connections and networking. That’s fueled a lot of the opportunities you’ve seen. Like you said, build connections. That is something that is so big and important to being able to grow and see opportunities.
KM: Oh yeah, totally.
CL: What does it mean to you to be named as one of RISMedia’s 2025 Real Estate Newsmakers?
KM: It’s super flattering. I get so much out of the involvement that I have, the connections that I make, the relationships I have, sometimes I feel like it’s cheating a little bit. It truly helps me have a grasp the backstage path of what’s happening on an industry level outside of my little bubble. Same with being involved at the Philly Association and the Pennsylvania Association. All of those things really just give me different perspectives, different exposure to new ideas. To me, I feel like I get more out of it than I give, so it feels really nice to be seen that way. It also makes my husband and my kids proud that when I’m not around, I’m doing something of value.
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