Thomas Real Estate

Lib Carlisle is the definition of longevity when it comes to running a long successful business. Thomas Real Estate has remained strong and vibrant beyond the half-century mark. So how does a business stay alive and thrive for over 60 years in an industry as competitive as real estate?

Since 1960, Lib has led one of the most successful real estate firms in Saline County, Thomas Real Estate. A fixture in Benton, the firm is located just a few blocks from the Saline County courthouse. Lib credits his uncle Robert, the business’s founder, with teaching him at a young age the importance of helping others and taking care of his family. 

Lib’s father passed away just eight days after Lib was born in 1936, leaving his mother the formidable task of raising a child alone. So, the role of “father figure” fell on both his uncles, Robert and Albert, who stepped in to help the grieving mom and her young son. Though his childhood home is long gone, the lessons he learned from those two men have stood the test of time.

“They taught me the value of hard work,” Lib said. At 14 he took a job at Smith Caldwell Drug Store working the soda fountain counter. This location right next to the Royal Theater was a popular place for people from all walks of life, and a young Lib learned how to talk, how to show interest in all the stories he heard on a daily basis and how to really listen to what people had to say. All those stories taught him some valuable lessons which he has carried to this day.

After a few years at Smith Caldwell, Lib enrolled at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia where he met the love of his life, Sandra. They married in 1958 and just two years later, Lib recalls receiving a letter from his Uncle Robert asking him if he wanted to join the new family business, Thomas Real Estate. 

“It was letters back then,” Lib said with a grin. “No email!” He said that letter meant he would get to go home, and that is exactly what he did. After working for his uncle for five years, Lib became the sole proprietor in 1965. “I owe everything to my uncles,” Lib said “They were always there for me.” 

For the past 64 years, Thomas Real Estate has continued to grow and thrive in Saline County, all under the watchful eye of Lib. He points to several subdivisions in the area that he has developed. They include the Dobbs subdivision in 1960, followed by Watson Manor, Misty Meadows, Rolling Acres, Desoto Terrace, and most recently, Richland Hills, which he just completed last year. “I’m not jumping up and down to start another one just yet, but I won’t say no,” he said. 

Lib can easily recall all the changes that have come through the years since he first set foot in the office, too. “People who wanted to buy used to have to call the agent first thing,” he said. “There were no other options. But now they can save a lot of time and search on the Internet for exactly what they want, then when they find it, they can call the agent at that time. It also helps us in the business because we can search online for homes listed by other agencies.”  

He talks about the changes that came right after Covid, too. Prices shot up all over, and not just in Saline County. “The market has stabilized now,” Lib said. “I don’t see things going up anymore, but they aren’t going to come down just yet either. It’s just leveled off right now.”

Across the years, Lib has seen his share of growth in Benton, and he agrees that Benton, Bryant, and Bauxite are almost all “one town” now. “My uncle always said Bryant might pass us by one day,” he said. “It’s all location, location, location!” And Lib says location is also what drives the different prices in the real estate market across the United States. “One part of the country may be more expensive than another,” he said. “It’s all about where people want to be, and many people want to be right here in Saline County.”

Benton is still described as a small town with lots of character, and the character of the man at the helm of Thomas Real Estate is what has made the business so successful. And that leader has no plans to retire anytime soon, either. “I live two blocks from the office so I will never stop,” Lib says with a chuckle. “People talk all the time about retirement, but I think I would be bored. We all fuss, but at the end of the day we all like to work,” he said.