Pioneer. Founder.
Raleigh's Own.

The Beginning

Jean Hunt was born in 1935 and has called Raleigh home her entire life. She grew up in a city that was still finding its footing — a state capital with deep Southern roots and a growing sense of what it might become. From an early age, Jean understood that a home was more than four walls and a roof. It was where a family put down roots. Where a city grew its soul.

Long before she held a real estate license, Jean understood community. That instinct — to connect people with places where they belonged — would define everything that followed.

Career Begins

In 1966, Jean Hunt obtained her North Carolina real estate license — making her one of the first women to do so in Wake County. The real estate industry of that era was largely male-dominated. Women in the field were uncommon. Women in leadership were nearly unheard of.

Jean didn't set out to make history. She set out to help people find homes. But the two turned out to be the same thing.

Historic Firsts

In 1977, Jean Hunt was elected president of the Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS — the first woman in the organization's history to hold that position. It was a milestone that spoke not just to her individual achievement, but to the shifting tides of a profession she had helped to modernize.

She would go on to serve on the RRAR Board of Directors for more than 25 years — a record that reflects not just tenure, but ongoing impact.

The Company

On April 1, 1971 — incorporated July 13, 1971 — Jean Hunt founded Hunt & Co. of Raleigh, Inc. The firm's philosophy was embedded in its tagline from day one: "Home-Folks." Not a marketing slogan, but a promise. Treat every client the way a good neighbor would — with patience, honesty, and a genuine stake in where they ended up.

More than half a century later, Hunt & Company called 7 Dixie Trail home for more than 50 years — a testament to that founding promise. An A+ BBB rating across 55 years reflects what it looks like when a business means what it says.

Dual Credentials

Jean Hunt holds both NC Real Estate License #11638 and NC Certified Residential Appraiser License #A2766. Holding both a real estate sales license and a state appraisal certification simultaneously is extraordinarily rare. It means Jean brought both a seller's understanding of the market and an appraiser's objective precision to every transaction she touched.

Legacy

Jean Hunt's career spans more than half a century of Raleigh's transformation — from a mid-century Southern city into a modern metropolitan hub. Through booms, busts, and the relentless march of change, she served the same city with the same philosophy — and today continues as a trusted consultant to agents and small business owners across the Triangle.