There are more than 1.5 million licensed real estate professionals in the United States. Fewer than 1% hold the Certified Divorce Real Estate Expert designation. Ronda Hopper is one of them and, right now, she is the only one in northern Arizona.
Hopper joins media strategist and host Keri Murphy on the latest episode of The Keri Murphy Show to talk about why that credential matters, what most agents get wrong when a couple is selling a home in the middle of a divorce, and how she built a practice that serves one of real estate’s most overlooked and emotionally complex client populations.
The Gap Most Agents Miss
Nearly half of all U.S. marriages end in divorce, and the family home is almost always the largest shared asset involved. Yet the overwhelming majority of agents handling these transactions have no specialized training in the legal, emotional, or logistical dynamics that make a divorce sale fundamentally different from any other.
The core difference, Hopper explains, is neutrality. In a traditional sale, an agent typically comes in through one party’s referral. In a divorce transaction, that built-in bias can quietly undermine the entire process.
“We’re trained neutrals,” Hopper said. “I treat both homeowners exactly the same. They get the exact same communication. Most homeowners going through a divorce have a lot of fear and negative emotions — and they think the agent is going to side with one or the other. We don’t.”
Hopper’s path to this specialty is as personal as it is professional. A child of two divorces herself, she spent years in traditional real estate before discovering the CDRE certification and recognizing immediately why it fit.
“I know what goes on behind the scenes, and it’s hard,” she said.
The Family Law community is beginning to take notice. Hopper says a growing number of family law attorneys are actively seeking CDRE-certified agents to refer their clients to. This shift is driving nationwide awareness of the designation, even as it remains rare.
The Emotional Weight of the Work
Serving clients in crisis requires more than technical credentials. Hopper describes maintaining her own equilibrium as a non-negotiable part of the job, and one that demanded its own kind of investment.
“I didn’t realize I was storing all these negative emotions and just living from the neck up,” she said. “I’m still learning. It’s still a work in progress. But it’s about replacing the negative emotions with the positive ones and learning how to reprogram the things I’ve believed all these years.”
She sustains the kind of presence her clients need from her through a daily practice of journaling, exercise, and meditation that she built deliberately over time.
Reinvention Without Starting Over
When Hopper relocated from San Diego to Prescott, Arizona, she faced a decision many established professionals recognize: walk away from two decades of client relationships or find a way to serve both markets simultaneously. She chose a third option.
“I remember thinking it had to be either/or,” she said. “But it doesn’t have to be. You have to think outside the box.”
Now licensed in both California and Arizona, Hopper recently closed her first consecutive San Diego-to-Prescott Valley transaction, guiding the same client through selling their Southern California home and buying in Arizona without needing a second agent. It is a model she plans to expand, positioned squarely at the growing number of Californians relocating to Arizona.
And when the market slowed, she did not wait for it to recover. She started making candles in her garage, a creative outlet built around hand-mined amethyst crystals she excavates herself from a working mine at 6,000 feet elevation, accessible only by helicopter. The result, Dune Candle Co., is now moving toward commercial sales. Murphy connected it to a pattern she sees repeatedly among women entrepreneurs.
“My greatest new idea has come from going through a challenging time,” Murphy said. “It’s not about you. It’s about being of service to someone else.”
About The Keri Murphy Show
The Keri Murphy Show is the flagship program on Brilliant TV, the media channel of the Brilliant Women Network. Each episode features candid conversations with entrepreneurs, executives, and professionals who are building careers and businesses on their own terms. The show is designed for women leaders who want substantive stories, practical perspective, and honest conversation about what it actually takes to grow.
Watch the full episode with Ronda Hopper at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qc3X8TDUCc.
New episodes of The Keri Murphy Show are released weekly on www.InspiredLiving.tv.
About Ronda Hopper
Ronda Hopper is a Certified Divorce Real Estate Expert (CDRE) and licensed real estate professional serving clients in San Diego, California, and Prescott, Arizona. She is currently the only CDRE-certified agent in northern Arizona. She is also the founder of Dune Candle Co., a handcrafted candle brand featuring hand-mined amethyst crystals. Learn more at https://rhhomesweethome.com/about/.
About The Keri Murphy Show
The Keri Murphy Show is a weekly interview series on Brilliant TV, the media platform of the Brilliant Women Network. Host Keri Murphy is a media strategist and entrepreneur who has spent 14 years coaching executives and entrepreneurs to grow their influence through video and authentic storytelling. New episodes are released weekly on www.InspiredLiving.tv.