Austin-Based Specialist Kathleen Magat Guides Clients through the Unique Challenges of Divorce Real Estate

As every real estate agent knows, buying or selling a home is not just one of the most important financial decisions people make in their lives, it’s also one of the most emotionally charged. Few agents appreciate that intersection of finances and feelings better than Kathleen Magat.

An Austin-based agent for Douglas Elliman, Magat works primarily in the southwest area of the Texas capital and the surrounding Hill Country neighborhoods, including Driftwood, where she recently sold a six-bedroom mansion lasted offered at $1.2 million. What distinguishes her, however, is her work as a Divorce Real Estate Specialist who helps clients navigate the heightened financial, legal and interpersonal stakes of buying and selling property amidst the end of a relationship.

“It’s a very stressful time in both parties’ lives, and they need very particular advice and support,” she says. “It takes a lot of patience and sensitive people skills. That’s a lot to ask of a broker.”

Magat began her career in real estate in 2022, when she moved to Austin from the Bay Area, where she had worked for more than a decade in healthcare management. She saw working with clients who are divorcing as an extension of the caretaking impulse that led her into healthcare. Last year, she completed an online course with the well-known legal expert Prof. Kelly Lise Murray, J.D. and earned her designation as a Real Estate Collaboration Specialist – Divorce (RCS-D). Although she had already been practicing in this area, the designation has given her more opportunity to partner with law firms, which have become a major source of new clients and business.

It's paid off: Magat’s total sales in 2025 increase by 170%. Where many agents may regard divorce as a minefield to be avoided, she sees the opportunity to help people in need.

“For most of them, their home is usually their largest asset, so dividing that up is often very hard, especially if it means a sale,” she says. “And that’s just the start. Each now has to figure out how and where to live, which only one of many challenges in their immediate future that need to be resolved.”

And though she understands that such emotionally fraught situations are not conducive to making major decisions, Magat believes divorcing couples should know that they have options. She credits her healthcare background with giving her the ability to advise these couples and move forward to an agreement.  

“It’s always tense, as very often collaboration is the last thing on their minds,” she admits, noting that one partner often is more agreeable than the other. “Each is now making decisions on their own and for their own reasons.”

Magat tries to minimize moments of friction and acrimony by meeting with divorcing clients separately.

“I try to get them to tell me what it is they want from the house going forward, and I push the emotional baggage to one side,” she says, adding that a quick sale is not necessarily the mutually desired outcome. “Many couples, or rather one member of a couple, would prefer to stay in the home, so my job then is to lay out how to do that, what options might be available, whether or not they can even afford that.”

Because Texas is a community property state, Magat often encounters the misconception that each spouse automatically receives half of the proceeds from the sale of the home. In reality, a 50/50 split is not automatic, and if the parties cannot reach an agreement, the court ultimately determines how assets are divided. The more information she is able to gather from both parties early on, the better she can help her clients to evaluate their options with a more complete understanding of the real estate implications involved.

Magat has also found herself increasingly brought into cases by legal teams before they go to mediation, often before the separating couple has even decided to sell their house. She can then help these clients understand their options, identify potential roadblocks and determine whether a proposed outcome is achievable before decisions are finalized. It suits her matter of fact but sensitive way of dealing with people and their challenges.

Ultimately, Magat's priority is to help her clients maintain homeownership eligibility whenever possible, preserve their credit, and make informed housing decisions.

“I come into it wanting to help people, and I know my focus has to be on a solution that’s best for the couple involved,” she says. “One just has to hope that when a sale happens or perhaps another purchase is made, the client will choose to go with you.”

David Hay is a well-known architectural writer and playwright. His stories have been featured in The New York Times, Dwell and New York.