David Ellis of The Agency On Five Things You Need To Know To Succeed In The Real Estate Industry
An Interview With Jason Hartman
Don’t be a salesperson. Clients prefer agents that act more as a consultant or professional advisor to help them make the best decisions with their real estate transactions. No one wants to be “sold”.
As a part of my series about the ‘Five Things You Need To Know To Succeed In The Real Estate Industry’, I had the pleasure of interviewing David Ellis.
A highly respected, top-producing real estate agent with more than two decades of experience in the luxury realm, David Ellis brings a deep understanding of southwestern Utah’s unique offerings to his role as Managing Partner at The Agency St. George. Raised in Provo, Utah, David attended Brigham Young University, where he achieved a degree in Hospitality Management. Prior to launching The Agency St. George, David owned RE/MAX First Realty in St. George for ten years, where he built, guided, and mentored a full team of real estate agents and staff. David presently serves as President for the Washington County Board of Realtors and as Director for the Utah Association of Realtors. He is also a Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist, Pricing Strategy Advisor (PSA), Senior Real Estate Specialist (SERS) and Certified MD Agent. A committed member of the local community, David has served on the local charter school board and participates in local church and youth groups. In his free time, David, his wife Christy, and their three children enjoy traveling and reveling in St. George’s year-round outdoor activities — from hiking and biking to canyoneering, skiing, and boating.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the Real Estate industry?
In college, I purchased two rental properties. Both were duplexes, and I rented rooms to students. The agent that represented me was a huge help in assisting me, as an inexperienced buyer. The duplexes ended up being great investments and awoke in me an interest in real estate. A few years later, I got married and moved with my wife to St George, Utah. While my wife Christy was pregnant with our first child, a realtor named Shayne Barney helped us purchase an old run-down house in St George. Christy and I put our work gloves on and spent weeks remodeling the property. The remodel turned out amazing, and we soon had our first child, Lauren. At the time, I owned a pest control company, and had decided to move on to a different career. We planned to move to Northern Utah to help my dad with his life insurance and financial planning business. So, I called our realtor Shayne and scheduled an appointment to meet with him to list our house for sale. Shayne, also an owner of Coldwell Banker Realty, showed up at our house and told us he was not there to list our house but to convince me that I should get into real estate. I was more interested in real estate than life insurance, so it didn’t take much convincing, and soon I joined Shayne at Coldwell Banker. Nearly 20 years later, Shayne is still at Coldwell Banker and has remained a close friend and mentor.
Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that occurred to you in your career so far? Can you share the lesson or takeaway you took out of that story?
I don’t know for sure if it’s the most interesting story, but it’s a memorable one for me. In 2008, I had a potential buyer call me from Italy. His name is Bernard van Bienen. Bernard, at the time, had been a real estate broker in Italy for over 40 years. He and his wife Ella had traveled all around the world and had selected St George as THE place they wanted to own a second home. They had a plan to travel to St George and hired me as their agent. Bernard’s story is interesting in its own right. Bernard purchased a small Villa in a 16th Century Mountain village in Italy called Airole. The entire village of Airole had suffered major damage during World War II and had been deserted. The Villa that Bernard purchased, too, was wore-torn and had long since been abandoned. Bernard renovated this unit and sold it. He then purchased a second unit, renovated it, and found a buyer. Over the decades, Bernard tracked down dozens of property owners, purchased more Villas, renovated more Villas, and essentially rebuilt and revived the entire village. Today, it is a vibrant and bustling village in the mountains of Italy. So, back to Bernard and Ella’s story of buying a home in St George. They arrived at my office and we jumped in my car to go look at properties. At this first home we arrived at, we walked inside and Bernard knocked on the hollow-sounding wall of a wood-framed American house. He looked at me and said, “Is this house temporary? It seems like the wind would blow it right over”. He then told me the villas in Italy are built with solid stone walls that are one to two feet thick. He was genuinely surprised with the less-sturdy construction standards in America compared to Italy. We laughed and he ended up buying a wood-framed house in St George. Bernard and Ella are some of our closest friends to this day.
Do you have a favorite “life lesson quote”? Can you share a story or example of how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.” by Eckhart Tolle. Being a real estate broker is a very busy job in which you never “clock out.” Contracts and real estate deals run around the clock. My wife and I have three children, and I love to spend time with them. I have had to learn to control my work schedule to focus on what’s most important to me: my family and my faith.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
My primary focus currently is opening and growing our new brokerage, The Agency St George. The Agency is an amazing company with amazing people. In 20 years of doing real estate, I’ve never been more excited and energized in my work. Having owned and worked at multiple brokerages, I have never seen a real estate company more focused on helping agents succeed than The Agency. I’m excited to work with the best agents in the St George area to help them build their businesses, offer top-tier service to their clients, find life balance, and give back to this amazing community.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
The Agency St George is a new company, so I don’t have any stories. But, I believe what helps us stand out is: the brand and support of The Agency as an organization, the reputation of the broker and the extraordinary agents in our firm, and our very unique office space in the middle of downtown St George.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
James Macpherson was a loan officer with Academy Mortgage. I referred clients to James and worked closely with him for many years. James is a happy, positive person who has mastered how to organize and plan, and live a purposeful life better than perhaps anyone I know. I learned a lot from James about how to plan my personal life and my business, and the importance of relationships.
Ok. Thank you for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Real Estate industry? If you can please share a story or example.
1. Working with great people. I love the agents I work with and the clients I work with. Some of my closest friends are past clients that I’ve worked with over the past 20 years.
2. I love real estate in St George. I love homes and property. Homes have their own style and personality, their own story. The St George area has some of the most gorgeous scenery in the world. Each neighborhood has its own unique views. Helping clients find the perfect home in the perfect location is part of the reason I love what I do.
3. Every day is a challenge. The real estate market changes constantly. The process of buying and selling homes is stressful. Each real estate transaction comes with its own set of hurdles. I love the challenge of helping to make a very complicated and process as smooth as possible for my clients. I feel I’m very good at helping to manage stressful situations and helping all parties feel at ease.
Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest? Please share stories or examples if possible.
1. Affordability. Property values have appreciated so dramatically the past couple of years, and housing affordability is at an all-time low in our market. Housing affordability is a major concern in our area. The average sales price of a home in Washington County last month was $652,000. House prices make it very difficult for a healthy percentage of our market to afford a home. The market is adjusting rapidly right now, with higher inventory and fewer buyers — so we are seeing downward pressure on pricing. I anticipate prices will depreciate in the coming months and help bring prices down a bit.
2. Interest rates. Interest rates are higher than they have been in over 20 years. Rates have put a huge damper on the market, drastically limiting the buying power of people looking for homes. I feel the Fed needs to curb their aggressive efforts to raise rates and look for other ways to balance inflation.
3. Geopolitical issues. Real estate has been affected dramatically by world events and governmental policies like COVID, rising crime in some urban areas, the war in Ukraine, and other issues, as well as policies that affect real estate on a local and national level. These issues and similar issues will continue to provide uncertainty in the future.
What advice would you give to other real estate leaders to help their teams to thrive and to create a really fantastic work culture?
It all starts with the people. Hire great staff that truly care about the agents. Recruit great agents that truly care about their clients. Meet regularly as a team in a fun, energetic setting to encourage relationship-building and excitement for what we do. Teach cooperation over the competition — be happy for the successes of other agents. Set a standard for ethics, teamwork, and professionalism that is non-negotiable.
Ok, here is the main question of our interview. You are a “Real Estate Insider”. If you had to advise someone about 5 non-intuitive things one should know to succeed in the Real Estate industry, what would you say? Can you please give a story or an example for each?
1. Don’t be a salesperson. Clients prefer agents that act more as a consultant or professional advisor to help them make the best decisions with their real estate transactions. No one wants to be “sold”.
2. Stay calm. Buying or selling a home can be a very stressful experience. Surprises often arise during transactions and things often don’t go the way our clients expect. Sometimes parties in a transaction are emotional. As a real estate professional, we should stay calm and avoid getting caught up in the emotions of a difficult situation. We want to be a steadying influence, to help our clients think objectively and make good decisions at times when stress and emotions can run high.
3. Learn the art of negotiation. Negotiation isn’t about strong arming to get your way. A well negotiated transaction allows all parties to walk away with a win. Keep emotions out of it, focus on facts.
4. Detach from the commissions — for your clients sake and for yours. Our clients’ needs come before ours, always. Period. We can better consult and advise our clients, putting their needs above ours, if we don’t think of the commissions that are attached to the transaction. Even as our client’s advocate, sometimes deals fail. Detaching from commissions will make dealing with a failed sale much easier.
5. Stay in contact with past clients. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 90% of homebuyers said they would use the same real estate agent again, yet NAR also reports that the typical realtor earned only 13% of business from repeat clients. Some realtors report 80–90% of business coming from past clients. How do they do that? By staying in contact with past clients and maintaining those relationships.
Because of your position, you are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
This is simple for me. Care about people. No matter who they are, no matter what they look like, or what they believe.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
www.sgutah.com, https://www.theagencyre.com/region/st-george
Thank you for your time, and your excellent insights! We wish you continued success.
About The Interviewer: Jason Hartman is the Founder and CEO of Empowered Investor. Jason has been involved in several thousand real estate transactions and has owned income properties in 11 states and 17 cities. Empowered Investor helps people achieve The American Dream of financial freedom by purchasing income property in prudent markets nationwide. Jason’s Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ is a comprehensive system providing real estate investors with education, research, resources and technology to deal with all areas of their income property investment needs. Through Jason’s podcasts, educational events, referrals, mentoring and software to track your investments, investors can easily locate, finance and purchase properties in these exceptional markets with confidence and peace of mind.
Starting with very little, Jason, while still in college at the age of 19, embarked on a career in real estate. While brokering properties for clients, he was investing in his own portfolio along the way. Through creativity, persistence and hard work, he earned a number of prestigious industry awards and became a young multi-millionaire. Jason purchased a California real estate brokerage firm that was later acquired by Coldwell Banker. He combined his dedication and business talents to become a successful entrepreneur, public speaker, author, and media personality. Over the years he developed his Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ where his innovative firm educates and assists investors in acquiring prudent investments nationwide for their portfolio. Jason’s sought after educational events, speaking engagements, and his popular “Creating Wealth Podcast” inspire and empower hundreds of thousands of people in 189 countries worldwide.
While running his successful real estate and media businesses, Jason also believes that giving back to the community plays an important role in building strong personal relationships. He established The Jason Hartman Foundation in 2005 to provide financial literacy education to young adults providing the all-important real world skills not taught in school which are the key to the financial stability and success of future generations. We’re in a global monetary crisis caused by decades of misguided policies and the cycle of financial dependence has to be broken, literacy and self-reliance are a good start. Visit JasonHartman.com for free materials and resources.
