Is Chris Leavitt Miami's Million Dollar Man?

The first thing you notice about Chris Leavitt when you turn on Bravo's hit reality show "Million Dollar Listing Miami" is the star's flamboyant and outrageous personality. He's being filmed in the bath or strutting his fashion choices in SoBe, eating up Miami like a kid eats up Gummy Bears. The first thing you notice about Chris Leavitt when you interview him is how straightforward he is, down to earth, dare I say it... serious?

But don't tell him that; he already knows.

"I have a tagline; work smart, not hard," says Leavitt. "Realtors can work 24/7 and get nothing accomplished. You really have to work with the people who are smart. You have to be intuitive. 'Are they really going to buy something?' I'm a really good judge of character. One hour of my day is like six hours of someone else's day."

The openly gay 40-year-old realtor started in the business as a kid, helping his parents seal the deal on a property when he was 15. By the time he turned 17 he was an intern for a top broker in Palm Beach, and he went into the business immediately after college. In 2013, Leavitt sold $120 million in property. His company just awarded him with a 500 million dollar development project, which he will pursue while filming "MDLM," which itself takes nine months out of the year.

"I don't really have free time," he says flatly, in what may be the understatement of the year.

The other thing you notice when you watch "MDLM," or when you visit South Florida, is how glamorous the real estate world looks. Leavitt says that you are not being deceived.

"Miami is cosmopolitan. It's a world-class city. You have culture, you have amazing restaurants, you have the backdrop of water. There is so much going on here. It's fun, it's exciting, and the real estate is sexier than anywhere in the world."

"The buildings turn you on," he adds, fine-tuning his perfect pitch. "They are incredible and erect and strong and powerful."

Reality TV takes a lot of heat, in case you've been living under a foreclosed rock and hadn't noticed, and Leavitt knew from the beginning he wasn't going to get involved with something he'd regret.

"I had no reservations, I'm pretty out there," says Leavitt on accepting the TV gig. "I don't have anything to hide. I just act as I am. I knew that whatever comes out on television would be good. You can't hide on TV; what you see is what you get. People often say, 'Oh, he must be acting. He can't be over the top.' I really am that way. It's very accurate. I'm not an actor, and I like who I am."

In addition to the show providing "a huge uptick in my business," Leavitt's presence has added yet another out personality to the ever growing list of gay-friendly TV personalities. Leavitt says his sexuality had nothing to do one way or the other with getting offered the job.

"I don't think the gay thing had anything to do with it," says Leavitt on why he was chosen for the show. "I think I had a working package that was really remarkable. I'm fun, I don't take things seriously. They could have picked any gay person in Miami."

On being an openly gay realtor in general, Leavitt, who came out at 17, says it's been lucrative and served him well. "You have to be open and accept who you are. That's how people respond to you. If you hide something, people don't trust you. They sense they're not getting the whole picture. If you are flamboyant, make it benefit you."

He also gets to show off his oft-discussed fashion sense. "There aren't many people who dress like me," he says. "I have an East Coast flair with a Palm Beach attitude."

Speaking of dressing, much of Leavitt's job requires making homes look pretty enough to live in --�literally.

"Less is more," says Leavitt on the first rule of staging a home. "When you style a place, don't put down table settings with glasses and a ring holder. Bring in things that make it look like someone lives there. No fake flowers. Invest sixty dollars and get an orchid."

Leavitt also says you don't have to spend a fortune to make a place look like a million bucks.

"I take a few important pieces that are expensive, and fill in with things that aren't so expensive. Get a really nice coffee table, and them some pillows from Home Goods. It looks staged when you go to one place. Go to a flea market, get a table and paint it. You can make something look expensive even if it's not."

Leavitt's an ace at selling a home, but you can't buy love. He's single, and looking. Yes, gents, the man is on the market.

"You have to be a strong person to date me," says Leavitt. "If you need that much attention it's not going to work. I give what I can. They have to have a lot going on in their own life, otherwise they're just sitting at home waiting."

In case you haven't figured it out yet, Chris Leavitt isn't big on waiting around.

Click here for more information about Bravo's "Million Dollar Listing Miami."