Last fall downtown real estate broker and developer Todd Toconis opened Town and Country Real Estate and added property management to his sales and leasing work.

“I’m down here showing a $1 million building or I’m out showing a $800 rental property. You know, whatever it takes to survive in this recession,” Toconis said.

Toconis had established Town and Country in 1995 as a rental management company. In 2007, he sold the company to Wiechert Real Estate, which assumed his property management listings, his 30 agents and his office under the Wiechert name before failing and closing, he said.

Meanwhile, the Town and Country name became dormant and Toconis became a commercial and residential broker for Intracoastal Realty.

“I built my real estate reputation on Town and Country Real Estate’s name and my name. They are synonymous with downtown real estate development,” he said.

After receiving phone calls from potential clients requesting property management services, he officially resurrected the company name in Nov. 2010.

He currently manages about 50 properties and said he has been able to pick up a few more clients each week.

“A lot of my old clients have come back to me for my services,” he said.

Currently, he employs three brokers. But, he carries the property management load himself as well as some sales.

Out on the street, he reports he’s seeing an increase in traffic on the residential and commercial side. He said commercial leasing is picking up and is the most he’s seen since 2007.

“2008 and 2009 had very little commercial activity. And, I’m getting the activity now. People are calling and looking at office space for the first time in a long time. I’ve been able to show a lot of office space in downtown Wilmington,” he said.

In addition to leasing, commercial sales seem to be picking up this year. He said he has two commercial sales under contract already. While last year he had only one or two commercial sales all year.