How Cole Rorebeck Is Reshaping Real Estate in North Central Missouri

On a quiet weekday morning in Trenton, it is not unusual to see Cole Rorebeck’s name on yard signs scattered across town. For many residents, the signs have become familiar—almost expected. What may be less obvious is how quickly Rorebeck’s presence in the local real estate market has grown, or how purposely it has been built.

Rorebeck, a Trenton native and broker-owner of Rorebeck Realty, did not begin his career with the intention of becoming one of the region’s most visible real estate professionals. Like many young people graduating high school in the mid-2010s, his original plan followed a more traditional route.

“I thought I was going to go into computer science,” Rorebeck said. “Back then, that was the golden ticket. Everyone wanted to be in it.”

After graduating from Trenton High School, he enrolled at North Central Missouri College, pursuing coursework in computer science with the idea of eventually becoming an electrical engineer. At the same time, however, another path was quietly taking shape—one rooted much closer to home.

Rorebeck grew up around real estate without realizing it would one day become his livelihood. His parents owned rental properties in the early 2000s, and some of his earliest memories involve getting off the school bus at houses they were renovating.

By the time he was 19, Rorebeck had saved enough money from working since age 16 to purchase his first rental property. It was a modest beginning: houses purchased for $15,000 to $20,000, renovated with careful budgeting, and rented for around $500 per month.

“It wasn’t glamorous,” he said. “I spent a lot of time painting, cleaning, fixing things. But it worked.”

For several years, rental properties were his full-time focus. While still attending college, Rorebeck found himself increasingly torn between coursework and hands-on work. The moment of decision came when he realized the rental income—though not extravagant—was steady and sustainable.

“I had this point where I asked myself, ‘What am I doing?’” he said. “Am I really going to leave this to go sit at a desk, or do I stay here and build something?”

He chose to stay.

At 22, Rorebeck became a licensed real estate agent, initially as a practical move to support his rental business. Being able to show properties himself and save on commissions made financial sense. But over time, the balance shifted. His real estate sales activity grew, and the rental business moved to the background.

Today, rentals remain part of his portfolio, but sales—and people—are at the center of his work.

“What I really like is the problem-solving,” Rorebeck said. “Nobody buys or sells a house for no reason. There’s always something going on—good or bad—and you get to help people navigate that.”

In 2020, he formally established Rorebeck Realty, creating a logo and forming an LLC. At first, the name represented mostly his personal investments. By 2021, it had begun evolving into a full-service real estate operation.

Growth came quickly. In recent years, Rorebeck served more than 100 clients annually—a pace he admits was unsustainable on his own.

“I wanted everything to be perfect,” he said. “The photos, the videos, the descriptions. If something wasn’t right, I’d redo it.”

That perfectionism, while helping set him apart, also led to burnout. Weeks stretched into months with few days off, and the workload began to exceed what one person could reasonably manage.

The solution was expansion—not just in volume, but in people.

In 2026, Rorebeck Realty transitioned into a team-based brokerage. The firm now includes multiple agents, a transaction coordinator, and support staff handling everything from signage to staging

Letting go of control has been a challenge.

“It’s hard,” Rorebeck said. “But if you don’t give people responsibility, they never grow. And if they don’t grow, the business can’t either.”

A key part of Rorebeck’s growth strategy has been social media—an area he views less as direct sales and more as long-term visibility.

“Most of the time, social media doesn’t lead to an immediate transaction,” he said. “It leads to mindshare.”

By consistently producing listing videos, local content, and informational posts, Rorebeck Realty has accumulated significant reach within a roughly 50-mile radius of Trenton. The goal, he said, is simple: when someone thinks of real estate, his name comes to mind.

His results speak for themselves.

“We have on Facebook right now, since I started Facebook, 1.8 million views… I think we have like 140,000 impressions, which are different accounts that have viewed our profile.”

“That’s advertising,” he said. “It’s no different than a billboard or a newspaper ad. It just works a little differently.”

Despite his use of modern marketing tools, Rorebeck remains focused on rural communities. His ambition is not national or even statewide. Instead, he has set his sights squarely on North Central Missouri.

“I want to be the dominant brokerage in this region,” he said. “Trenton, Chillicothe, Bethany, Cameron—this is home. This is where I want to be.”

His vision extends beyond individual transactions. Rorebeck sees long-term demographic and economic shifts that could benefit small towns as remote work becomes more common and urban living grows increasingly expensive.

“I think small towns are going to have a renaissance,” he said. “People want affordability. They want space. They want community.”

That belief also shapes his message to Trenton itself.

“We’re pretty much all we have,” Rorebeck said. “No one else is coming to save us. If we want growth, if we want opportunity, it has to come from within.”

Outside of work, Rorebeck relies on physical routines—particularly the gym—to manage stress. He describes entrepreneurship as a constant mental process, one that rarely shuts off at the end of the day.

“You have to have something that grounds you,” he said. “Something physical. Something bigger than yourself.”

For Rorebeck, that grounding also includes faith, which he credits with helping him maintain perspective amid ambition.

Looking ahead, his immediate goal is consistency—ensuring that every client, regardless of which agent they work with, receives the same level of service and professionalism. Long-term, he hopes to scale that model across the region while maintaining local roots.

“I don’t want to leave,” he said. “I want to build something great here.”

In a town where change often comes slowly, Rorebeck’s trajectory stands out—not because it arrived overnight, but because it was built step by step.