Our team
Meet the team
The Phayes Group is a full-service real estate team brokered by eXp Realty, helping people buy, sell and invest across Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Wake Forest, Chapel Hill and the wider Triangle. It’s led by William Phayes Patrick II and Cristina Galavis, who have lived in the Triangle their entire lives and also buy, renovate and build homes of their own. Together they bring three strengths to every client: skilled negotiation, hands-on investor knowledge and real design expertise.
Founder & broker
William Phayes Patrick II
Founder and broker, The Phayes Group · Co-owner, Phayes Building Co.
William Phayes Patrick II founded The Phayes Group in 2020. Raised in Durham, he has lived in the Triangle his entire life. He earned his associate’s degree, and while pursuing his bachelor’s he realized he wanted to build his career in real estate, both as a REALTOR® and as an investor.
Today William leads the team as its broker, helping buyers, sellers, investors and builders across the Triangle. He focuses on listings, working with investors and overseeing new construction projects. Negotiation is one of his greatest strengths: in multiple-offer situations and challenging transactions alike, he works hard to secure the best possible price and terms for his clients.
He is an investor and builder himself. With Cristina, he has bought and sold 15+ properties of their own, and he co-owns Phayes Building Co., which builds designer-curated new homes in the Triangle. That hands-on experience shapes his advice: he looks at every home for its value, its condition and its potential.
Since 2020, William has closed 220+ transactions and $85M+ in sales volume, with $17M+ closed in 2026 so far.* Triangle Real Producers magazine featured him as a Rising Star in 2022, and he has been recognized among the Triangle’s top 500 agents by the magazine four years running. He also received the eXp Realty ICON Agent Award in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
- NC Real Estate Broker, License #317828 · REALTOR®
- Founded The Phayes Group, 2020
- 220+ closed transactions · $85M+ in sales volume*
- $17M+ closed in 2026 so far*
- Rising Star, Triangle Real Producers magazine, 2022
- Top 500 agents in the Triangle, Triangle Real Producers, four years running
- eXp Realty ICON Agent Award, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025
Co-founder & Realtor
Cristina Galavis
Co-founder and REALTOR®, The Phayes Group · Co-owner, Phayes Building Co.
Born and raised in Durham, Cristina Galavis has lived in the Triangle her entire life, and she has helped William build and run The Phayes Group since the day he started it. She began behind the scenes, coordinating the team’s marketing, managing the office and helping shape its vision. As demand for the team’s services grew, she became a REALTOR® herself, and today she works alongside William helping buyers, sellers and investors across the Triangle, pairing her design expertise with the team’s investor knowledge and strong negotiation.
Design has been part of Cristina’s life since childhood, and she began working in the field professionally in 2020. Although she earned a business marketing degree from NC State University, her love of beautiful homes led her into staging and interior design, where she could explore her entrepreneurial and creative side. She went on to stage more than 50 homes for other agents and homeowners.
That work sparked a real passion for renovation. Cristina has personally flipped more than 13 homes and is always on the lookout for her next project. Her gift is turning unremarkable houses into stunning, personalized spaces, seeing potential that most people miss, and leaving every home more beautiful than she found it.
Cristina no longer stages or designs for others; her design work now goes into the team’s own projects and Phayes Building Co. Clients still benefit from her eye, though. She shares free design advice along the way, from which updates are worth making before you list to what a home you’re touring could become, and offers paid design consultations: a dedicated meeting to go over your project.
- REALTOR® with The Phayes Group
- Helped build The Phayes Group from day one, 2020
- Born and raised in Durham
- Business marketing degree, NC State University
- Staged 50+ homes for agents and homeowners
- Personally flipped 13+ homes
- Free design advice for clients; paid design consultations available
* Closed sales volume, 2020–present, based on Doorify MLS data. Based on information from the Doorify MLS, Inc. for the period 2020 to present. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Work with us
Buying, selling or investing? Let’s talk.
Tell us about your plans and we’ll show you how our team can help, wherever you are in the Triangle.