Jan & Terry Erhardt
CELEBRATING LEADERS
PHOTOS BY SHAWNA McDUFFIE, PEAK RES | STORY BY ZACH COHEN
SIDE BY SIDE
Real estate has been a part of Jan and Terry Erhardt’s life for nearly 30 years. Jan was first licensed in 1986, when the mortgage lending rates sat at over 10%, and the median home price in Oklahoma City was around $65,000. The world was a different place.
Jan built her real estate sales career for several years before turning toward a more corporate sales environment. She spent the next 16 years in medical equipment sales, but her real estate dreams never died.
In 2012, Jan returned to the real estate business alongside her husband and now-business partner, Terry, who had also enjoyed a long, successful corporate career. They have been thriving in real estate for a decade now.
Drawing on their Roots
Jan grew up on a dairy farm in Chandler before moving to Norman during high school. She has been a lifelong equine enthusiast, riding, training, and showing horses for over 25 years. After her stint in property management and real estate in the ‘80s, Jan settled into a career in medical equipment sales. She climbed the ladder, eventually becoming a regional manager, overseeing the sales operations through four states.
In 2007, Jan left her career in medical equipment sales to focus on her passion for horses. She created a small company that sold horses online, set up internet cafes at horse shows, and offered equine photography and videography.
After spending his high school years in Norman, Terry earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1982. He went on to enjoy a 25-year career in retail, during which he worked for companies such as Sears, Gateway Computer, and GameStop. He became a store manager, then a district/regional manager, and eventually a territory vice president.
Terry became interested in real estate during his time in retail. He was often involved in site selection and lease negotiation and thought he’d pursue commercial real estate. But in 2012, he chose to join his wife on the residential side of the business.
Returning to Real Estate
While Jan was working horse shows, her passion for real estate was reignited.
“Some of these folks were planning on moving out of Oklahoma, or they would tell me about friends moving into Oklahoma. I decided to reactivate my license so that I could help and provide another service to my clients and friends,” Jan explains.
Coming off a 25-year corporate career, Terry decided to join his wife in the real estate business. He was licensed in 2012 and went full-time in 2013. Jan and Terry have built their real estate business together for the last ten years. They are both brokers/owners of the Erhardt Group. In 2021, the group closed an impressive 179 transactions for $29.6 million.
Divide and Conquer
“Our goal is to have a creative group of agents with a mixture of interests and expertise,” Jan explains. “I personally love farms and ranches. My niche is equine property or homes on acreages. Terry specializes in new construction home sales development — working closely with developers, home builders, and new home buyers.”
Jan and Terry have found that a divide-and-conquer approach works well for them.
“A lot of spouses we’ve met in real estate work together on all their transactions, and that’s a great way to do it,” Terry says. “We both have different interests and niches.”
Jan and Terry encourage their team members to find their own niches, too. The result is a boutique brokerage with a mixture of agents, each with their own area of expertise.
“It’s not my goal to build a large brokerage, but rather create a company that always puts our clients' needs first. Further, we work as a team, sharing leads and finding the right agent/client partnership,” Terry says.
Words of Wisdom
As Jan and Terry reflect on their real estate journeys, they feel a sense of gratitude. Life has been humbling, teaching them patience and understanding. Family and friends keep them grounded. They are supremely grateful for their real estate business.
Jan and Terry have two grown children and two grandchildren. They enjoy traveling in their RV, hiking and spending time with family. Jan still enjoys photographing horses, while Terry is a NASCAR enthusiast. Real estate remains a huge part of Jan and Terry’s lives. They hope to continue impacting their community through their business for many years.
“If I can share some of my experience both in real estate and in life — to help my team grow personally and professionally, then I’ve had a great day,” Terry says.
