Karen Hagen

 

In guiding Fairfield County buyers and sellers to success, Karen Hagen has garnered extensive market expertise while building meaningful relationships with her clientele and community. Karen’s impressive talents and track record are due, in part, to her innate ability to connect with people, listen to and understand their goals and build a clear plan to achieve their objectives. Satisfied clients rave about her responsiveness, professional service, tenacious negotiation skills and priceless guidance. Karen understands that buying or selling a home can be daunting, so she continually strives to minimize stress, maximize value and make the entire process as enjoyable as possible.

Karen's real estate career began in 2012; she quickly rose to the top five percent of agents worldwide. Before real estate, she spent nearly a decade with the National Football League working on player programs, international activities and corporate sponsorships. She credits the experience of working with professional athletes and high-level executives with forming her diplomatic, solutions-oriented style. Laser-focused and patient, Karen is the calm at the center of the storm. Whether in football or real estate, her successful business philosophy is simple — treat others the way you want to be treated. It's no surprise she's cultivated a tremendously loyal repeat and referral client base.

Karen and her husband, Colin, raised their two children in Weston, lived in Westport and now reside in Fairfield. Always a community volunteer, Karen’s interests expanded as her children grew and she developed her business. She was chapter president of BNI’s Westport Entrepreneurs and has recently become a board member of the Mid-Fairfield County Association of Realtors. On a broader scale, Karen is a founding member of the National Association of Divorce Professionals (NADP). Working with other licensed professionals in NADP, Karen has gained a better understanding of the unique challenges presented by divorce, enabling her to more effectively serve clients facing this situation.

An outdoor enthusiast, Karen spends her free time on walking and hiking with her husband and their Golden Retriever, Brody or on the courts. An avid tennis and paddle ball player, Karen also serves (pun intended!) on the Tennis & House committee at Aspetuck Valley Country Club.

~ Q & A with KAREN ~

Why did you choose real estate as a career?

“Prior to becoming a realtor I had worked a corporate job in NYC. We moved to Connecticut when our children were young and I worked a couple of different “work from home” jobs over the years, allowing me the flexibility to be home with my children. Real estate was always a draw, however, until I knew I had the time it takes to be successful in this business I wasn’t willing to take it on. I know myself well enough to know that I’m typically “all in” when it comes to work, therefore, the timing needed to be right for me. Jumping in when the kids reached high school was one of the best decisions I have ever made and I’ve never looked back.”

What is your most memorable real estate transaction?

“My most memorable real estate transaction involved a couple moving from New York City to Connecticut with their young child. They were initially focused on a CT town closer to NYC. We met a few times and toured several homes in that town and nothing was “the one”. During our time together I began to get a really good sense of what type of community and home would work for them. I asked if they would come up the train line a bit to look at homes in Weston. They knew nothing about the town of Weston, but, trusted me when I asked them to humor me and come for a visit. The home of their dreams was indeed in Weston! I’ve remained friends with these clients and it brings me such joy each time we get together when I hear how much the family loves Weston and all that it offers.”

What do clients love most
about working with you and
the KMS Team?

“The collaboration of a team. When representing a client, we represent that client individually (sometimes partnering), however, behind the scenes is an entire team of 8 accomplished agents with more than 130 years of collective experience, ready to assist with all aspects of the buying and selling process.

”
 
Karen Hagen and partners at KMS work together for clients' success
Picking the right paint color is hard - KMS Team knows the trends

What is your favorite outing in the main communities
served by the KMS Team?

“Westport - Walking at Compo Beach and evening dinners on the beach with family and friends. Longshore tennis, paddle and pickleball, and, Levitt Pavilion for concerts.

Weston - Trout Brook Nature Preserve for hiking with our dog Brody, Weston Racquet Club and of course, Lachat Town Farm.

Fairfield - Fairfield Theatre Company for concerts. Lake Mohegan for hiking.

Norwalk - Cranbury Park! The new SONO collection mall, and, South Norwalk restaurants and nightlife.

Wilton - Wilton Loop of the Norwalk River Valley Trail followed by a stop at Starbucks and the Village Market.”

What do you wish you
knew when you bought
your first home?

What do you wish you
knew when you sold
your first home?

“To bring a check book to the closing table...yes that actually happened.

”
“The house does not need to be perfect for every showing. The buyers who bought our home were shown the house in a messy state due to a group play date, which we ended quite abruptly to accommodate the showing. Maybe it was the appearance of chaos and kids that appealed to them!
”

How have you seen the market change in
your time as a broker?

“Buyers are much more educated about the market, and respond when they see a home that is priced well and “a value”. We live in the HGTV world — buyers are used to seeing homes staged and pristine on these shows, so that’s what they are expecting in their home search too. Speaking in general terms, buyers don’t want to do work, they prefer a turn key home. For sellers, the “first showing” of your home is online, increasing the importance of excellent photos, and the need to put forth the best version of the home, decluttered, edited. Buyers want to be able to envision themselves in a home that they are previewing. Extra “stuff” or personal possessions become a distraction for many buyers.
”

And advice for your
selling client?

If you could give one short piece of advice to your buying client?

“Not every house is going to check every box on your list. Decide what is most important for you in a home.”
“Trust your agent and listen to their advice regarding current market conditions, pricing, and, how to best prepare and position your home for market. Pricing your home correctly and putting the best product forward are so important in today’s market. Days on market are not your friend.”
 
A people-person, Karen Hagen uses technology to deliver excellent results for clients

Client Testimonials

Testimonials

Karen Hagen handled every aspect of creating a personalized search for our family. She is tireless, flexible, and kind. When we arrived to the finish line, her capacity to close a deal was seamless. We are truly impressed by her dexterity and comprehensive efforts and hope to be her friend for life. What a blessing! — Hye Na Lucy

Karen Hagen at Compass is, by far, the best realtor I have worked with. A consummate professional, Karen not only delivers results, she is a pleasure to work with. Her experience and skill ensured that the entire process of selling my house ran smoothly.

With an eye for what buyers are looking for, her excellent guidance on staging set me up for success. She was always on top of things, from pre-listing readiness, to listing, showing, and sealing the deal. The result of her diligence and expertise: Karen sold my house within days of listing and above asking price. I highly recommend Karen Hagen — Connie Olsen

We worked with Karen at KMS and cannot say enough positive things about her. We went through a LOT of difficult scenarios as part of our home buying process and Karen handled everything like a true pro and got us the deal that was best for us. You are in GREAT hands with her — Daniel Klug

Karen was able to cut through the clutter and over-bidding in this market to secure my wife and I our first home, in Norwalk, in just a few weeks! She was amazing at working with us and finding what we were looking for in our price range, without being pushy to try to get our bids up to where we wouldn't be comfortable. Highly recommend!

— Justin Schwartz

We listed our house with Karen Hagen in the very busy Weston market in Spring 2021. She was clearly the right choice for us from pricing our house to marketing strategies to choosing the right offer. As we prepared our house for sale, Karen provided various resources and staging ideas. She was professional, knowledgeable and always available. Karen has a personable, patient, low key approach that was reassuring and eased the stress of selling our house. She always made us feel that our sale was front and center for her.

Karen Hagen is a wonderful agent and we have engaged her again in helping us find our new home.

As a first time home buyer, I can’t imagine going through the process without Karen Hagen.

She was able to secure a private viewing of the house on the first day that it was on the market. From there, her expertise and experience in negotiating really showed. She was immensely helpful with the closing process as she provided great third party resources (inspectors, mortgage brokers, attorneys…) and always made herself available to us at all times.

Karen has even been in contact with us after our move in. She has gone above and beyond by helping us get acclimated to the area and providing local resources for repairs, painting, landscaping, etc.

Karen is a very genuine person whose goal is to help make buying a home a great experience, which she did! — Brian Droesch

Karen was referred to us by friends, and she was invaluable in helping us purchase our home in a very hot market. She knows Westport inside out and was an absolute pleasure to work with. Her confident and calm demeanor was incredibly reassuring, and she was extremely responsive and present for us throughout the whole process. Whenever we hit a road bump, Karen would immediately have a creative solution to the problem to keep everything moving forward. She really cares about her clients and getting them into the house that is right for them, and even after moving she has continued to be helpful in making recommendations and providing referrals. I would highly recommend working with her, our experience could not have been any better. — Hannah Redman

Finding and purchasing the right new home in a hyperactive seller’s market is a stressful challenge at best. Karen Hagen was the essential key facilitator as the process progressed from screening and visiting potential houses, through the formulation of an effective “best and final” bid once we found the right one, to helping us through the purchase and sales agreements and home inspection, to, finally and most impressively, her tireless efforts to assist us after the sale identifying local contractors to get started with the work of transition. Karen was much more than the consummate professional, immediately available and cheerfully responsive to our concerns 24-7. We consistently sensed her personal commitment to us that we find the right home for the right price. She is a true gem, as anyone, buyer or seller, fortunate enough to work with her will immediately appreciate.

— Daniel C, Westport

Karen helped us sell our house in Westport with a closing that occurred on April 30th of this year. My wife and are convinced that we got the best service possible from anyone practicing in the field in this real estate market at this point in time. Her knowledge of the market was holistic and encyclopedic. She had her finger on the pulse of how negotiations of home sales were playing out at the time, and was therefor in an excellent position to coach us regarding both pricing and negotiating strategy. Her relationships with the third parties with whom one deals in property sales, including lawyers, tradesmen, surveyors et al brought a world of value to the process. Finally, Karen is a really personable individual, and what you see is what you get. I would recommend Karen to anyone planning to either buy or sell a home in this neck of the woods without reservation.

— Ira Ginsburg

We are so appreciative for Karen’s amazing insights and good counsel on our recent home sale. She is meticulous, focused and, more importantly, fun to work with. We were a tad apprehensive opening our home to potential buyers during COVID and Karen took great pains to ease any concerns. And, she helped us maximize the value of a very unique antique home. Highly recommended. A+++++

— Gil Ditkoff

An EXCEPTIONAL professional realtor that makes a difference.

I have been involved in real estate for over 40 years, and have dealt with many brokers, but I have never met one so INCREDIBLY DEDICATED TO SUCCESS AND CLIENT SATISFACTION as Karen Hagen. We were so fortunate to have her represent us as Sellers of a Conneticuit home, especially as we were out-of-state and needed someone local to help us overcome obstacles.

Karen's advice on pricing and her team's photography and virtual staging of our home brought in tremendous traffic. We received multiple offers within the first day. Then to get to closing, she really shined.

Karen and her team were EXCEPTIONALLY PRO-ACTIVE; she arranged middle -of-the-night snow removal, hired a handyman to meet a few of the buyer's requests, and even contacted the township to clear up open permits. Whenever an issue arose, Karen jumped right in without hesitation. Her goal was to help us get to the finish line and have a smooth closing.

We are so appreciative of Karen's for EXCELLENT REPRESENTATION throughout the process and HIGHLY RECOMMEND her as a real estate professional.

— Diane D

Success in a difficult market! Karen took me under her wing and made sure I found the home that was a great value and I loved! Professional, compassionate, and her attention to detail sets her apart and the KMS Partners at Compass! She is local and knows the area exceptionally well. I was so fortunate to have her find my forever home for me!

— Maira J

After having lived in our home for 24 years, getting it decluttered and ready to sell was a daunting prospect! Karen helped us every step of the way, giving great advice on what was needed to make our home the most marketable in our town (which she knew well), while steering us away from unnecessary upgrades where we were unlikely to get a return on our investment. She provided some good referrals for work that needed to be done as well. When we were finally ready to list, she recommended an excellent stager and sent a professional team who photographed the home beautifully, inside and out. We could hardly believe it was the same house! The first weekend she set up 16 showings, and was relentless in getting our house seen by the most potential buyers until we went to contract. Karen did all the negotiations as well, and kept in constant communication with us (nights and weekends too!) when there were urgent matters to handle. We were more than pleased with the experience, as well as the end result. You will be too! — Valerie Austyn

Karen [Hagen] helped us to find our home in Weston, CT while we were living in California during the pandemic. Her knowledge of the market, responsiveness, professionalism and kindness made this a stellar experience for our family. We were first-time home buyers and Karen guided us every step of the way and truly listened to what we were seeking in a home. Because of this, we trusted Karen to view homes on our behalf and sought out her expert point of view on several properties we considered along the way. Karen consistently went the extra mile for our family...and still does! She checks in on us and makes sure we are settling into our new home. I highly recommend Karen and would work with her again in an instant! — Megan Ricard

Karen Hagen impressed me throughout the entire selling process. She was extremely well-prepared for our first meeting and impressed me with her knowledge of the market. Every step of the way I felt she brought something special to the process from identifying actions I could take to prepare the house for sale, finding contractors who were able to work quickly and inexpensively, handling the staging without me and even taking a building inspector on a virtual tour of the basement. Through the entire time we worked together she was patient, cheerful and always responded quickly to any of my calls. Two days after my house went on the market I had seven offers. Who can argue with success!

I was thrilled to have Karen Hagen as my Realtor when selling my home. Karen always responded very quickly to every email, text and phone call. She gave me sage advice, and I received a solid offer after just one showing. Compass put together a beautiful marketing package too. Karen works VERY hard for her clients. My deal involved tense, challenging negotiations. Karen helped guide both parties to a palatable finish line. You won’t go wrong with Karen Hagen and Compass as your Realtor. — Allison Wysota

I have purchased 2 properties with Karen Hagen as my realtor. She truly is a text book professional in the industry and gets things done the right way, every time. I highly recommend Karen and her team! — Cody Benedetto

We sold our home in Wilton with Karen's help and expertise being a critical component of the sale. She was professional, supportive, and as the inevitable hiccups came, she guided us through them with her knowledge and sensitivity. Her reading of the market was spot on and she made the process go smoothly. — M. Siegel

Karen was great at only showing us the houses that fit our criteria. She was very knowledgable about local neighborhoods and pro's and con's of each particular situation. Gave us excellent advice on bidding and negotiating. We couldn't be happier with her service or our new house. — Rich C

Karen was a key player in helping us transition from 25 happy years in Weston to our second home in Westport. She sold our Weston home in 24 hours and helped us identify a unique spot at Compo where we built a new home for our mature family. Karen works quickly, efficiently and is VERY responsive to her clients. We were always impressed with her communication with the other brokers with whom she seems to have very good relationships. This is very important in getting appointments, viewings, and in negotiating deals in a timely fashion. We never felt that we were missing any potential opportunity in the process, and we smoothly moved through two transactions and two moves thanks to Karen's professionalism, hard work and superior knowledge of the local market. -Liz and Jeff Silverman

Where do I begin writing my compliments for Karen Hagen! We were very fortunate to have worked with her on buying our home and then renting it.. Karen helped us every step of the way, always willing to work with our schedule, always with a smile, very patient, and all while being the ultimate consumate proffesional...Thankyou Karen, it was truly an honor working with you!. — Helen Andrikos

Karen Hagen and Compass brought a wealth of knowledge to the purchase of a property. After identifying several properties Karen Hagen was able to provide us with insight as to which property would best fit our needs. From the initial viewing until the closing we had an experienced partner with Karen Hagen through the process. — Frank Turechek

We worked with Karen to purchase our home as well as sell it, and she is simply the best. Karen is responsive, thorough and caring! We would recommend her to anyone who is looking to buy or sell their home!

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