NEW ORLEANS (Sept. 1, 2026) — Real estate success is often told through its biggest stories: multimillion-dollar developments, hundreds of rental units and investors who leave their careers behind to pursue real estate full time. New Orleans broker, investor and developer Leslie Haynes Smith believes those stories have value, but she also believes they can unintentionally leave a lot of people out.

Smith, recently recognized through the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) Top 100 in the developer category, has spent a 30+ year investment journey building a real estate portfolio with her husband, John Smith. They did not begin with family wealth, unusually high incomes or a plan to become large-scale developers. They began with a plan, followed by time, attention, education, calculated decisions and the willingness to keep building.

Today, Leslie and John have owned 51 properties representing 94 units over the course of their investment journey. Their current portfolio includes 21 properties and 47 units. They have built new homes, renovated properties, bought and held rentals, sold investments and expanded into multiple Louisiana markets. More importantly to them, they have built assets that can ultimately pass to their two adult children, Taj and Nia.

That experience is at the heart of Own More, an educational initiative Leslie created for emerging and small-scale investors who want to use real estate to create additional income, build wealth and leave a legacy, without necessarily walking away from the careers and lives they already have.

“I think sometimes we make real estate investing look like it has to be all or nothing,” Smith said. “You hear about making millions, quitting your job or doing these huge developments. Those are legitimate paths. But they aren’t the only paths.”

“There are people who have worked hard to build careers that they value,” she added. “They may want to own two properties, or five, or ten. They may want another source of income, assets for retirement or something they can leave to their children. That is real estate investing too.”

Starting Where They Were

Leslie Haynes and John Smith

Long before there was a portfolio, Leslie and John simply decided that real estate could become part of their family’s financial plan. Both were working and raising children. Real estate was not their entire life. It was something they built alongside it.

Over time, one investment led to another. They learned about financing, renovation, property management, construction and development through education and experience, including the lessons that come when deals do not always go according to plan.

Leslie is principal broker of Property Quest Realty, and she and John are co-owners of Property Quest LLC.

“John and I built this together,” Smith said. “Real estate originally became part of our plan for our own financial future. At some point, you look up and realize you have created something that can extend beyond you. You’ve built something tangible that your family can continue building on.”

For Smith, that is an important part of the Own More message. The goal did not have to be enormous at the beginning. It had to be sustainable enough to keep going.

Deep Roots in New Orleans

The Smiths’ real estate story is deeply connected to New Orleans. Leslie grew up in Pontchartrain Park, while John grew up in Gentilly. Years later, their investment and development work would bring them into many of the same neighborhoods and communities they had known for much of their lives.

The couple completed a new-construction project in Pontchartrain Park through a program connected with the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) and have completed additional new construction in New Orleans.

They have owned numerous properties in Tremé and today continue to own seven doubles there. Their holdings have also included homes on the West Bank, and they currently own lots in New Orleans East intended for future development.

For Leslie, those investments represent more than transactions.

“When more people understand how to own assets, maintain them, improve them and make thoughtful investment decisions, that has an impact beyond one household,” she said. “It changes what families can build and what they can pass forward.”

That connection between individual ownership and stronger communities is one reason Smith believes emerging investors deserve more attention.

Recognition and a Growing Voice in Real Estate

Smith’s own growth has increasingly taken her into rooms that once represented the next level she was working toward.

In 2026, she was recognized nationally through the NAREB Top 100 in the developer category for her work through Property Quest LLC. She is also a graduate of the NAREB Developers Academy.

Her industry involvement has evolved from participant to speaker. Smith has served as a panelist for Women Investing in Real Estate, participated in conversations focused on emerging women developers and returned to speak to participants in the NAREB Developers Academy about her own journey.

Those experiences have also made Smith particularly interested in encouraging more women to see themselves as real estate investors. She has met women who are successful in their professions, running businesses, raising families and managing demanding careers, yet still assume real estate investing belongs to someone with more money, more time or a different background.

Smith wants to challenge that assumption, but she is equally clear that Own More is not a women-only conversation.

“There is a lane for everybody,” she said. “I absolutely want more women to understand what they can build through ownership, but this isn’t about excluding anyone. It’s about expanding the picture of who an investor can be.”

Women Investing in Real Estate panel at the NAREB national convention

A Different Picture of an Investor

That expanded picture might include a teacher who wants to buy a duplex, a physician who loves practicing medicine but wants to build assets outside of her profession, a corporate employee who wants rental income, a business owner looking toward retirement, a couple building something for their children or someone who eventually discovers that development is where they want to go next.

Not everyone has to make real estate their full-time profession, and not everyone has to aspire to the largest project.

“I don’t consider myself a big, complex developer,” Smith said. “I’m still learning. I’m still growing. There are larger projects I want to do and rooms I still want to get into. I think that is part of why I understand the emerging investor. I know what it feels like to be looking at your next level and asking, ‘How do I get there?’”

That perspective became increasingly important to her as she watched the conversation around real estate investing become dominated by stories of rapid growth, large portfolios and dramatic career changes.

Smith saw another audience: people who were interested and capable, but who could not see themselves in the version of real estate investing being presented to them.

“I kept thinking, there has to be space for the person who wants to build something meaningful without turning their entire life upside down,” she said. “You can begin where you are.”

From Interest to Action

Smith says she has heard some version of the same sentence for years: “I want to invest in real estate.”

Many of those people never start. Some believe they need significantly more money before they can begin. Others think they need perfect credit, extensive knowledge or access to opportunities they do not have. Still others remain in a cycle of consuming information without becoming comfortable enough to make an investment decision.

That gap between wanting to invest and understanding how to move forward became the foundation for Own More.

The goal is not to promise quick wealth or convince every participant to become a developer. Instead, Smith wants to help people understand the different ways they can participate in real estate, learn how financing and investment decisions work, ask better questions and determine which opportunities actually align with their goals.

“Education should lead to action,” she said. “That doesn’t mean you leave a workshop and buy something tomorrow. Sometimes the action is realizing a deal isn’t right for you. Sometimes it is fixing something financially. Sometimes it is deciding what kind of investor you actually want to be.”

The Own More Experience

Smith introduced that philosophy publicly on August 15 with the first Own More Experience, a small-group real estate investing workshop in the New Orleans area.

Instead of creating another large seminar where participants sit in an audience and leave with pages of notes, Smith wanted people to have room to ask questions, hear directly from professionals working in the industry and talk through the realities behind investment decisions. Financing was a major focus of the inaugural session, reflecting what Smith sees as one of the greatest areas of confusion for emerging investors.

The next Own More Experience will be held Saturday, September 12, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bayou Title’s West Bank office. The event is sponsored in part by Bayou Title.

Smith will be joined by lender Wardell R. Bourgeois and Larry Legania, a 203(k) consultant, for a deeper conversation about financing, renovation opportunities and evaluating real estate deals.

Future Own More sessions will continue exploring the questions emerging investors encounter as they move from curiosity toward ownership.

For Smith, success will not be measured by whether everyone who attends eventually becomes a full-time real estate professional. Some may eventually become developers. Some may build substantial portfolios. Others may own a handful of properties that produce income, strengthen their retirement plans and become assets their children inherit.

All of those outcomes count.

“There is no rule that says everybody has to build the same thing,” Smith said. “John and I built what made sense for our family, one decision at a time. I want people to understand that they can create their own version of that.”

After a 30+ year investment journey, national recognition and a portfolio that began with a family plan, Smith is still building. Now she is making room for others to build alongside her.

Register for the Next Own More Experience

Saturday, September 12, 2026 | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Bayou Title, West Bank

Sponsored in part by Bayou Title

Register Here

ownmorebylesliesmithSeptember2026.eventbrite.com