Real estate runs in Keith Taggart's family

Home sales in the metro area were up 20 percent in 2012 over 2011, Taggart said. And his office offers evidence that 2013 could be even better. By mid-January, associates had sold as many houses as were sold in all of January 2012.

Office newcomers offer even more compelling evidence.

“Typically it's hard to get started as a new agent, but the new agents in this office are really busy,” he said. “I'm very proud of them.”

Taggart decided on a law career midway through his undergraduate years at the University of Oklahoma. That prompted him to switch his major from piano to musical composition, a more analytical pursuit to prepare him for law school. He then went to law school at OU.

“My original intention was to be a copyright attorney and entertainment attorney because I had the music background,” he said. “But I got into law school, and I excelled at real estate law for some reason and didn't do too well at copyright law.”

He laughed at the memory. “So I started getting these awards in real estate,” he said. “And I thought, ‘Well, I guess this is what I need to do.' ”

Taggart's strength could lie in the fact that he enjoys details that leave many people's eyes glazed over.

“I love the legal descriptions,” he said. “I love the math part and the financing, and I like looking at the settlement statements, closings — yeah, the math part excites me.”

He went on to work for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., helping it close troubled banks during the turbulent 1980s, and lived 10 years in Boston, where he also worked as a real estate attorney for a major engineering firm. He ultimately came home, though, to rejoin the family business.

Taggart ran two real estate offices, in Yukon and northwest Oklahoma City, as well as his own agency in midtown Oklahoma City. He also served as MLS president.

In his new role, Taggart will help Realtors navigate through big changes in financing, regulations and appraisals. That could be a challenge, he said, “but we've had challenges before. I don't anticipate that much of a problem.”