Ryan O’Neill is named SPAAR Hero

Introducing the newest SPAAR Hero ... Ryan O’Neill. Ryan’s parents taught him and his siblings to serve in their everyday lives, which is evident throughout his real estate and Foundation work.

Originally from New Prague, Ryan grew up in a large Irish Catholic family as the youngest of six children. Today he lives in Bloomington with his wife, Kathy, and their dog, Minnie.

Ryan became a Realtor® in 2003. He initially purchased a duplex in 2001, which led him to become interested in investment properties, resulting in the purchase of a second investment property and ultimately getting his license to help others. He began working primarily with investors, helping them buy properties and then helping the investors rent the properties, working with Bill Lipka and Scott Wollmering.

In 2013, after generating more leads and having agents reach out to work together, Ryan started The Minnesota Real Estate Team, focusing on his team of agents as a broker and team leader.

Ryan, along with the extended O’Neill family, founded The O’Neill Foundation of Hope in 2022, an endeavor that involves his entire family. The O’Neill Foundation of Hope has the ability to move quickly to help local community members who have experienced:

• Job loss
• Medical emergencies
• Auto/other accidents

The Foundation’s goal is to help three to four different families each week with one-time assistance. In fact, the team noticed that a lot of the requests for help were housing related so, just this year, the Foundation opened The Bob & Kathy O’Neill House of Hope, a way for the O’Neill siblings to honor their parents who had dedicated their lives in service.

This House of Hope, an up and down duplex home, is a zero-cost, short-term, transitional housing location to accommodate two separate families who are struggling. Ryan wishes they could have 1,000 Houses of Hope to help those in need of transitional housing.

“The real estate business is all about people from listening, caring, providing empathy and doing your best,” said Ryan, a self-proclaim dog person. “Consumers want to work with people who treat them well.”

Beyond real estate and his Foundation work, Ryan is active in his local church, Our Lady of Grace, and participates in local charities including Feed My Starving Children and Mary’s Place. Additional hobbies include following the NFL and playing fantasy football. He also loves music, singing and playing the piano and can be found alongside his brother Tim as part of The O’Neill Brothers playing and singing in holiday concerts, with the proceeds benefiting the O’Neill Foundation of Hope. Check out O’Neill Foundation of Hope and follow along on its social media accounts.

Congratulations, Ryan, on being named a SPAAR Hero!

SPAAR Hero is a program of SPAAR’s Community Engagement Committee, sponsored by SPAAR’s REALTORS® Charitable Foundation. Members of SPAAR’s Communications Committee interview and write the SPAAR Hero articles, including this interview by Ben Smith.