Dec. 2, 2025

This week’s Up-and-Comer is Keisha Tran, a Realtor at Amy Stockberger Real Estate and one of four recipients of this year’s 4 Under 40 awards from the Realtor Association of the Sioux Empire.

Name: Keisha Tran

Age: 37

Hometown: Dallas, South Dakota

What brought you to Sioux Falls?

I moved here in 2008 for college, graduated with a business finance degree and started a 13-year career at Wells Fargo.

What keeps you in Sioux Falls?

Sioux Falls has big-city opportunity with a small-town heartbeat. I can scale a high-service real estate business, raise my family and still know my neighbors. That balance is hard to beat.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

The matchmaking and the journey. Every interaction challenges me to grow, creates valuable relationships and reminds me exactly why I love what I do. No two clients or days are the same, and that variety keeps me sharp. I love learning how people live day to day — routines, priorities, nonnegotiables — and then pairing that with a home that fits the way they need and want to live. From there, I guide the process: crafting a clear strategy, anticipating hurdles and turning complex decisions into simple, confident steps. I collaborate with lenders, inspectors and local professionals to keep momentum, and I negotiate with a calm, steady hand so clients feel informed rather than overwhelmed. The most rewarding part is seeing their shift from uncertainty to clarity and knowing the plan we built together didn’t just close a deal, it improved someone’s daily life and future.

How did you get connected to your industry?

I was drawn to real estate from a young age and intended to get licensed when I moved to Sioux Falls in 2008, but the market downturn led me to build a stronger base first: 13 years in finance and more than a decade in the service industry. Finance taught me how rates, risk and budgets translate into decisions, and service refined communication and fast-paced problem-solving. That combination anchored me in this city and expanded my network across the community. The final catalyst was a good friend, Tyler Stunes, a colleague at my brokerage, who encouraged me to act on what I’d always wanted to do and pushed me to finally get licensed.

Describe your workplace in three words.

Supportive, innovative, relationship-based.

What is something someone might be surprised to learn about you?

I grew up rodeoing, and barrel race on weekends, usually squeezed in between showings. I am wired to challenge the norm, and I take pride in doing things differently, even when that means going against the grain.

What’s your favorite way to give back to your community?

Through education, access and connection. I provide free education to buyers and sellers, share market updates the community can use and make warm connections to local pros for anything a household needs: repairs, landscaping, dog groomers, personal wellness, dining and entertainment, you name it. Those referrals support small businesses, keep dollars local and give families dependable help without guesswork.

What’s one business you’d like to see in Sioux Falls that isn’t here now?

A year-round equestrian complex that combines a true full-size indoor rodeo arena with a haul-in conditioning wing and an equine performance and recovery center. The Expo Building at the fairgrounds and The Denny (Sanford Premier Center) don’t meet the space or infrastructure needs for consistent equine use, and our weather cuts our outdoor season short, so a purpose-built facility would keep riders training and competing locally all year. If anyone’s cultivating a money tree, call me — I’ll bring the business plan!