From $1B in Sales to Global Real Estate Moguls: How Amy & Ally Are Changing the Game

When we last spoke with Amy Leong and Ally Ballam of Engel & Völkers Vancouver, they had already made a name for themselves as top award-winning realtors, with over $1 billion in sales and a firm hold on Vancouver’s luxury real estate market. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Amy & Ally, it’s that they never stop pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

Their business has skyrocketed, evolving far beyond traditional real estate sales. Their Cross Border Program—once an ambitious experiment—has become a game-changing model, helping investors navigate markets in Scottsdale, Los Cabos, and Tulum with ease. They’ve not only expanded their own real estate portfolios but also created a blueprint for others looking to achieve financial freedom through strategic global investments.

In this exclusive follow-up, we catch up with Amy & Ally to discuss the pivotal moments that shaped their recent success, the unconventional risks that paid off, and how their perspective on business, wealth, and balance has transformed over the years. From mastering new markets to staying ahead in a fiercely competitive industry, they continue to redefine what it means to be a modern real estate powerhouse.

What was the defining moment when you both decided to take the leap into cross-border investing, and what fears did you have to overcome?

Post Covid, we were having travel withdrawals and wanted to start investing in our favourite places. We weren’t scared per se, because we had been investing locally for over 15 years since the age of 24. Our main concerns were how to get a mortgage, how to structure the purchase, and what accounting and legalities did we have to consider before taking the leap. That was when the Cross Border Program was born, out of necessity, and also out of mistakes we made being the guinea pigs before our clients, family, and friends bought.

How do you each define “success” in your personal lives, and has that definition changed over the years as your business has evolved?

Success in the first five years was pushing as hard as we could, doing deals in the kitchen on Christmas Day, and never taking a day off. Today, we prioritize balance and travel more, as well as working smarter, not harder. It’s a constant struggle as high performing entrepreneurs, but over the years we understand how important a team is, how crucial our assistant is, and delegating tasks so you don’t feel like you are going to burn out.

Both of you have dealt with a lot of uncertainty and risk. What’s the most unconventional risk you’ve taken that ended up being a game-changer in your personal life?

We have been quite strategic and purposeful with our tolerance for risk. We call it ‘calculated risk’ where by we analyze any decision and weigh out the positives and negatives before we act on something. When we co-founded our Cross Border Program which spans from Vancouver, Canada to Scottsdale, Arizona to Los Cabos and Tulum, Mexico that was very unconventional. As a realtor, you are told to ‘farm’ or market to ONE area. Not cross borders, not span globally. This was completely new to our industry when we started to push boundaries and borders to offer our clients an enhanced and better lifestyle, and more cashflow for an earlier retirement. Now, we have realtors who join our cross border program because they want to push their limits and offer added value to their clientele. That has been very special to be part of and inspire so many people and fellow colleagues from so many different areas.

Both of you work in a highly competitive industry. How do you maintain personal authenticity and self-confidence while constantly striving for excellence?

We always have had a target on our back, especially being in the top 1% of our industry amongst over 18,000 realtors. The amount of other people that have tried to copy what we do, or claim they are experts using our tools is something we have to deal with a lot. However, we try to shut off the noise, and stay true to our own goals and not compare ourselves to other people.

There was one point in our career that we would always talk to the camera with bunny ears and share on social. We would meet top agents at events and before we spoke on stage, they would say “I didn’t even notice you without your ears”…and it became a fun, authentic thing. We are all human. We fail, we succeed. But have fun with your business, and with your business partner or team, you will last longer by being authentic much longer and be happier.

Your business has grown exponentially, especially with the cross-border program. What was the “aha” moment that showed you this business model would work at such a large scale?

Finding the right support system and ‘dream’ team is key to allow for expansion and operating at scale. We have showing agents, assistants, dual lingual lawyers, accountants, managers. They say it takes an army, and that is completely correct. Our brokerage, Engel & Volkers has been a huge support system and back bone to scaling globally. And our advisors and cross border partners are crucial for win-win collaborations, referrals, and happy clients.

Many people talk about financial freedom, but can you break it down for us? What does that really mean, and how can someone practically work toward it in real estate?

Financial freedom can mean so many different things to different people. To Amy, it’s living for free and not having to work one day at a certain age, let’s say by 50 years old for example, with multiple cash flowing properties paying me into retirement and beyond. To Ally, it’s all about diversification. Having multiple streams of income, including cash flowing properties in various countries so she can not only live for free but also be able to spend time in different parts of the world with her family in retirement. And for some, it’s having a home away from home, in a favourite sunny destination that pays them when they aren’t enjoying the property themselves.

Many of our clients are planning to use their property holdings to retire, and without them, they wouldn’t be able to do so, or it would take much longer. So many of us do not have pensions we can rely on, so it’s even more important to think outside the box and invest in cash flowing businesses or properties.

For example, no one talks about Section 8 housing which is a $70 billion dollar industry in the United States and Canadians can also invest as foreigners through this creative vehicle. You can buy a 3-4 bedroom home for under $150,000 and have a property manager that will apply to the housing authority on your behalf for a guaranteed government backed rent cheque every month. Very little capital is required, and you can also get a mortgage, and these cashflow nicely while building equity and a nest egg. Often these get appraised after renovation for much higher than $150,000 and then you can go one step further and re-finance at the higher appraisal amount to take out most of your initial cash investment. Why is no one spreading the wealth love and talking about this strategy. We are always looking for the best investments near and far with our cross border program for ourselves and clients and realtor partners. Knowledge is power, and you will be closer to financial freedom before you know it, on your terms.

What’s one thing that sets your team apart from other real estate firms, especially in a competitive cross-border market like the one you’re tapping into?

We were the guinea pigs and it is very important to us to practice what we preach. Both Amy and Ally bought themselves in Scottsdale a detached renovated 4 bedroom house for Airbnb. It grossed $87,000 USD in one years time. We made mistakes as foreigners, but the support system wasn’t there for Canadians buying in the US. No one knew what structure to buy in, corporation versus personal name? No one understood the tax advantages or loop holes. No one really knew how to finance the properties and what was required to qualify. Next up was investing in a rapidly growing market in Los Cabos and Tulum where the ladies bought next. Investing in Mexico was even more of a learning experience and highly lucrative for return on investment by buying pre- construction properties there. Amy and Ally are so bullish on the Tulum market with so many developments in infrastructure, transit, and millions of visitors to the new airport, that the two invested and partnered with Carlo Toluzzi to buy Engel & Volkers Tulum in Aldea Zama. We are very present and engaged in each market with teams, boots on the ground, and hand picked and vetted opportunities for our clients so they can invest as seamlessly as possible. But we own ourselves and are ‘foreigners’ who ended up getting residency in our respective areas, and that is a huge competitive advantage.

How do you decide when it’s the right time to expand into a new market, like Scottsdale or Los Cabos? What are the key indicators you look for to know that expansion is the right move?

We have been studying investment real estate inside and out for the past 15 years and over 10 years of our real estate career. In Canada, it has gotten harder and harder to make profit and cash flow on real estate investments. We have foreign buyers bans, we have restrictions on rentals, we have an environment where tenants hold most of the power. As things in Vancouver got more restrictive, we started studying and travelling to places like Scottsdale and Cabo. We were studying where hotels were opening, what flight paths were being added from key feeder markets, what retail and commercial developments were happening, and how certain areas were rated on a tool we use called airdna.co

Some of the key indicators we look for are less restrictions with short term rentals such as Airbnb and VRBO, better tax breaks, and economic fundamental factors that will drive ROI and appreciation. We look at schools, transit, luxury brand names entering these markets, the population influxes and from where and why. Both areas, and Tulum especially as it’s still growing with a brand new international airport and countless luxury hotel chains coming in, were top rated by us for a multitude of reasons, the above included.

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