Olivier Monod first visited the "Forgotten Coast" in 1981 and relocated permanently in 1988, joining Anchor Realty & Mortgage Co. as a real estate sales associate. He became Anchor Realty & Mortgage Co.’s broker and president in June 1990, overseeing three real estate associates and one employee in the single office on St. George Island.

Through Olivier’s vision and under his leadership, Anchor Realty & Mortgage Co. did grow to multiple offices, located along 85 miles of the "Forgotten Coast" and north to Tallahassee. With up to 80 real estate associates at the peak of the real estate boom, Anchor Realty & Mortgage Co. posted sales of $235,932,037 in 2004.

During the same years, Olivier oversaw the development of Anchor Vacation Properties, Inc.; a company that managed and rented over 400 beach houses. The Gulf County Division was sold in 2005 to Pristine Properties, Inc., and the Franklin County Division was sold in 2006 to an unrelated entity, named Anchor Vacations LLC (this last entity ended up filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2008).

In 2001, Olivier earned his designation as Commercial Real Estate specialist: CCIM (see ccim.com) - a testimony to his experience, track-record and knowledge in the field of commercial real estate.

The drastic downturn in the Forgotten Coast real estate sales did force Anchor Realty & Mortgage Co. to downsize, going from eleven to three offices. Many Realtors had to find other jobs and eventually left the profession. Olivier was left with a small core of experienced veterans, whose loyalty to his leadership was only matched by their in-depth understanding of the market.

In 2010, it became obvious that a new business concept was needed. Real estate, like the rest of the world, had changed. In the 1980s, when Olivier started in the profession, sales contracts were just a few words on a letter-size page; they have morphed with time to six or more legal size pages. When he started, there was no Multiple Listing Service on the island; now, the listing inventory is available online. The number and size of offices is no longer a determining factor, but rather the ability to provide quick and professional service in the medium chosen by clients: internet, email, telephone or in-person. This new reality brought about a fresh start as the broker of a new company: Anchor Realty of St. George Island, Inc.

Olivier and his team have developed or sold many planned communities, including Gramercy Plantation, a 400-acre, low density, private community, with retail and residential areas in a high-end low density planned neighborhood. Gramercy Plantation was executed carefully to preserve the character and spirit of the area through dedicating substantial acreage to conservation and common grounds. The 110 home sites are scattered on minimum one-acre sites throughout the development.

Olivier, who grew up in Paris, first visited the U.S. in 1975 on a high school graduation trip; he fell in love with our country after touring from New York to San Francisco in a Greyhound bus. He subsequently moved to Florida and became a U.S. citizen in the 1990s.

A community leader, Olivier shows a keen interest in education and culture for our children through sponsorship of the ABC school (his two children attend this local public school), and classical music programs for high-schoolers. Olivier and his family make their home in historic Apalachicola, in the Forgotten Coast.

Jim Dunkin, and his wife Donna, bought a vacation home on St. George Island from Anchor Realty & Mortgage Co. in 1989. Anchor re-sold the house in 1995 so they could live closer to the beach. Anchor introduced the Dunkins to St. George Island and Franklin County.

“We looked at beach property in Florida and Georgia before deciding on St. George Island. For us, St. George Island was and still is the perfect combination of reasonable prices, access to the un-crowded beaches and bay and a low density, among an environmentally sensitive Florida paradise. State and county regulations are quite helpful in keeping it the way it is. We are living our dream.”

Jim Dunkin is a graduate of the University of Kentucky in Business Administration (“Go Wildcats!”) and of the University of Southern California in Systems Analysis. He spent six years in the United States Air Force. He was a Captain and served as Navigator on a KC135.

“Upon leaving the Air Force, Donna and I lived in the San Francisco Bay area for five years. I began a career in Information Technology working for Bank of America. We next moved to Atlanta working for SunTrust Bank for 21 years, retiring to St. George Island in 2002.”

Jim’s community involvements are deep:
Volunteer Firefighter - Volunteer First Responder – Board Member of the St. George Island Volunteer Fire Department – Board Member of The Chili Cook-off - Past Treasurer and Vice President of the Civic Club - Volunteer in the construction of the Cape St. George Light and Lighthouse Keepers Cottage - Volunteer in the construction of the public boardwalks to the beach and of the beach sand fences - Past member of the St. George Plantation Infrastructure Committee - Editor of the Plantation newsletter, The Soundings - Designated Plantation Volunteer of the Year…

“I am active in the Community of St. George Island. My busy banking career did not allow me to spend much time in community service. St. George Island
has finally provided me the opportunity to fulfill that desire!”

Jim has what it takes to be your perfect guide through the real estate mazes of St. George Island, Apalachicola and Eastpoint:

“I can show you how St. George Island can fulfill your dream as a vacation home or as a full time residence. Call or email me!”