Brian Pate has been a well-respected real estate professional for over 32 years. During his time in the business, he has served as an agent, manager, instructor, coach, and trainer for over 50,000 real estate students. In addition, the teams he has managed and coached have produced over $2 billion in real estate sales under his leadership.
Since 1993, Brian Pate has been an integral part of the real estate scene in central North Carolina. Based in Wake Forest for over 32 years, he has seen massive growth in the area and experienced three recessions, as well as rate fluctuations from 16% down to less than 3% and back up to 7%. He also continued to sell real estate and teach during the Covid-19 pandemic from March of 2020 through 2022 as lockdown and masking orders were eliminated.
Since 2013, Brian has been in the top 20% of Realtors in the Triangle market and maintains that position to this day.
His real estate sales career began on August 2, 1993, when he joined Fonville Morisey, the #1 independent real estate firm in the Triangle region and one of the top 50 independent real estate companies in the United States.
Other than a 2.5-year stint at Coldwell Banker, Pate was with Fonville Morisey from 1993-2012 when he left management to get back into sales. In 2012, he established Brian Pate Seminars to continue teaching in addition to selling real estate. In 2014, he set a goal to create one of the top 100 team in the Triangle Multiple Listing Service (TMLS) within 5 years.
In 2017 and 2018, that goal was reached with the help of some fantastic teammates that averaged over $25 million per year in real estate sales. Also, during those two years, Brian taught over 5,000 students in real estate classes and began coaching other agents to help grow their business.
Brian served two stints as CEO/Team Leader at Keller Williams Preferred in Raleigh, NC and during that time, the office became the #1 listing office in the Triangle MLS.
Today, Brian continues to sell real estate, write classes and teach on a regular basis. He also runs a coaching program for new, experienced and top producing agents in addition to teaching regulatory and training classes.
He lives in Youngsville, North Carolina with his wife Kirke. Together they have four children between the ages of 21 and 26. They also have three dogs; a coonhound, a black lab and a yellow lab. They love to travel and have a slight obsession with baseball, with a goal of seeing a game at every Major League Baseball stadium in the next 10 years.
Early Career
Brian obtained his first job when he was only 14 years old as a busboy at Tia Maria’s Mexican Restaurant in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. During that time, he would also DJ many of his friends birthday parties, and that is where he caught the music bug.
Being the son of two musically talented parents, Brian’s love for music was instilled at young age. His parents took him to every concert imaginable from the Easter Brass Quintet to Alabama.
While in high school at Socastee, he started playing school dances and also playing at a local night club called Studebakers. DJing on weekends became the norm and he enjoyed it so much, he decided he wanted to do it for a living.
After a short stint in college, he opened Brian Pate Productions at the age of 19 and began to perform professionally. In addition to weddings and private parties, he was also on the air at WKZQ in Myrtle Beach.
An opportunity came to move to Raleigh, North Carolina in 1989 and Brian took it. He was a ring announcer for World Championship Wrestling while also DJing at local clubs in Raleigh and on the air at WRAL in the capital city. He also worked as an on air personality at G105, WDCG.
He also did weekend syndicated radio with the Saturday Night Hot Mix which aired on over 75 stations across the country. In addition, he also did station identifications for radio stations all across the southeast.
In 1993, Brian decided to take a real estate course. He borrowed $200 from his parents to take the course and the rest is history!
Working as a DJ and part-time as a real estate agent from 1993-2003 gave Brian a myriad of wonderful experiences, and he made many lifelong friends.
In 1995, he changed the name of Brian Pate Productions to Brian Pate Entertainment and began hiring other DJs and entertainers. BPE became one of the most successful mobile DJ companies in the country, being recognized from 2011-2014 as one of the top 10 DJ services in the country by multiple outlets.
Also in 1995, Brian started teaching real estate courses. The transition from performing to the classroom was an easy one for him. His humor entertained students while also educating them. As a result, he became a very popular instructor in North Carolina.
In 2014, Brian decided it was time to hang up his headphones and he sold Brian Pate Entertainment to one of his DJs and close friends. That company still operates today as First Choice Customized DJ Services. At the time he sold the company, Brian Pate Entertainment was ranked the number one wedding DJ company in the United States by weddingindustryexperts.com for two consecutive years and the company had won many awards.
Brian is also very involved in his community, something received in the DNA from his parents. He is the second longest serving member of the Wake Forest Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and has been chairman of the Government Affairs Committee for over six years.
In 2015, Brian was elected by the people of Wake Forest, North Carolina to serve a four-year term as a Town Commissioner. Brian proudly served and it was a great learning experience for him.
Awards and Recognition
2025-2026- President, North Carolina Real Estate Educators Association
2023- Wake Forest Chamber of Commerce Business Leader of the Year
2022- Nominee for Wake Forest, North Carolina Citizen of the Year
2019-2020- President, North Carolina Real Estate Educators Association
2018- Ranked in the top 25 real estate agents in the Triangle for Units Sold
2018- Ranked in the top 1% of Keller Williams Agents Internationally
2018- Best Real Estate Broker, The Wake Weekly Best of the Best
2017- Ranked in the top 25 real estate agents in the Triangle for Units Sold
2017- Ranked in the top 1% of Keller Williams Agents Internationally
2016- Ranked in the top 100 real estate agents in the Triangle for Units Sold
2016- Ranked in the top 1% of Keller Williams Agents Internationally
2015-2019- Wake Forest, North Carolina Town Commissioner
2015- Ranked in the top 5% of Keller Williams Agents Internationally
2015- Ranked in the top 100 real estate agents in the Triangle for Units Sold
2015- Quadruple Platinum Award from Keller Williams International
2014- Ranked in the top 100 real estate agents in the Triangle for Units Sold
2014- Wake Forest Chamber of Commerce Board Member of the Year
2013-2014- President, North Carolina Real Estate Educators Association
2011- Best Real Estate Broker, The Wake Weekly Best of the Best
2006- North Carolina DJ of the Year- Dixie Dance Kings
2005- Triangle Business Journal 40 Under 40 Hall of Fame
1996- GRI (Graduate Realtor Institute)
1996- North Carolina DJ of the Year- Dixie Dance Kings
Organizations Served
Franklin County Chamber of Commerce
Wake Forest Chamber of Commerce
Wake Forest Purple Heart Foundation
Koinonia Foundation
Trentini Foundation
YMCA We Build People Board of Directors
Emcee for Second Chance Pet Adoptions Evening of Pawsibilities (5 years)
PA Announcer at Heritage High School for football, basketball and baseball (12 years)
PA Announcer at Wakefield High School for football, basketball and baseball (10 years)
Wake Forest Centennial Celebration Board Co-Chair
Auctioneer for the Raleigh Testicular Cancer Foundation (5 years)
Events where Brian has spoken
Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2026)
RE Bar Camp- Raleigh (4 times), Charlotte, Atlanta, South Bend Indiana
Canopy Association of Realtors (Charlotte, NC)
Raleigh Regional Association of Realtors
Prop Tech Connect 2026 for NC Realtors
Real Estate Educators Association National Conference
Keller Williams Family Reunion
Florida State University Real Trends Conference