Joining Mario Carey Realty (MCR) as a licensed real estate sales agent, qualified architect Ashley Brown is following a long family tradition.

Brown’s great-grandfather, Ernest John Henry “Harry” McPherson, sold his first piece of property in The Bahamas in the late 1930s.

A generation later, McPherson’s daughter, Mary, married David “Lester” Brown who followed in his father-in-law’s footsteps.

Lester Brown became partner of McPherson & Brown Real Estate in 1952 with his father-in-law and was one of the founding members of the Bahamas Real Estate Association in 1959, along with HG Christie, Edgar Bain, Frank Christie, Jack Hughes, and Bert L Roberts. In those days, only a handful of Bahamian realtors existed; there are now more than 650.

By the time Ashley Brown’s father, Ian Brown, got into the real estate business with his father, McPherson & Brown had become Real Estate Sales & Rentals, which included a few other prominent realtors.

Nearly 75 years later, Ashley Brown is carrying on what has become a family tradition under the tutelage of Mario Carey, who has sold over $1 billion in luxury properties and was recently named in the Who’s Who of Luxury Realtors.

“Ashley is a great addition to MCR,” says Carey. “She’s young, energetic, eager to learn, and brings a strong knowledge of the current trends in sustainable design for buildings, as well as social media and marketing.”

“With a degree in architecture, I understand the importance of a good floor plan and how initial design affects the outcome of the built structure,” says Brown. “I notice these things the minute I walk into someone’s house. I look at the use of natural light, ventilation, layout, and apply my expertise to help with showings. You can see clients really appreciate this kind of knowledge.”

Brown studied at Northeastern University in Boston prior to completing her degree in Architecture with a Bachelor of Environmental Design Studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

“I think real estate was in the cards,” she says. “Or at least in the genes.”

Ashley Brown (standing) and her employer Mario Carey hold a copy of a 1956 issue of Bahamian Review with her grandfather, Lester Brown, on the cover. Some 75 years after his father and Ashley’s great-grandfather took up real estate in The Bahamas, Ashley became the fourth generation professional to follow in the family tradition. (Photo by Charles John, DPA)