Women Leaders Of Real Estate: Tracy McLaughlin On The 5 Things You Need To Succeed In The Real Estate Industry

An Interview With Jason Hartman=

Always tell the truth: If you are building a long term business, it’s a business of relationships, not listings. Agents make huge mistakes in thinking that they can make a living selling a home quickly to someone and not really focusing on what is best for that buyer or seller. A long term real estate career is a career of relationships. Those relationships are maintained through integrity and trust being at the core of an initial meeting with a client who might well be there 30 years later with decades of repeat business.

As a part of my series about strong women leaders of the Real Estate industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tracy McLaughlin.

Tracy McLaughlin has been the top real estate agent in Marin County, California every year since 2005, setting a US record for any county in the US, and recently closed $407 million in transactions in 2021. In 2009, she and her then partner, Mark McLaughlin, purchased Pacific Union International, which they grew into the 5th largest brokerage in the United States. Tracy is a Global Real Estate Advisor for Engel & Volkers in Marin County & Aspen, Colorado, the author of the book Real Estate Rescue: How America Leaves Billions Behind in Residential Real Estate and How To Maximize Your Home’s Value, and a thought leader in residential real estate, regularly appearing on national media, and consistently being ranked number 24 in the US by the Wall Street Journal/Real Trends.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the Real Estate industry?

I was a television reporter/newscaster for the first 7 or so years of my career. When I was pregnant with our first child, the show that I was a co host of (adventure/travel ski show called “Jeep’s Inside Skiing”) was headed to shoot in Russian military helicopters in the Rosa Khutor area. Since I was unable to travel at that point, I bought a home down the street from our existing home in Tiburon California. I replicated the design that I did to our own home that we had purchased a year before, and sold it with a fairly substantial profit. I realized that I had some kind of innate ability to understand how to monetize spaces and we decided to start flipping homes. After a succession of those homes, I got licensed and became an agent in addition to a developer. That was 25 years ago. The rest, as they say, is history!

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 take away you took out of that story?

Oh gosh, I have so many of those stories. I am in the middle of writing my second book which is entitled, “I bought a home and ruined my life”. It’s a book about the grave mistakes people have made in relation to decisions on residential real estate that really compromised their lives. There is a chapter in that book about a billionaire who paid the most for any house in the history of Marin County in the early 2000’s. Not only did he overpay by about $10m, but he then ran into a myriad of financial challenges in both business and his personal life which cost him hundreds of millions. Instead of keeping his house current with a design that would track with what buyers wanted as the years progressed, he ignored the house. He kept the very, very ornate finishes (there were murals of clouds on the ceiling of the living room with gold gilded moldings). He never updated the very committed, dated and saturated colors on the walls. He opted for opulence over “chic”. As the years progressed, the buyer demand for this kind of home not only waned but it disappeared altogether. So, instead of this $20m home going up in value over the years, the appreciation turned into depreciation. Every year that those finishes and design remained, the home actually lost value. Remember, he overpaid in the beginning, so not only was the depreciation offsetting organic appreciation, he was also missing the opportunity to make up for overpaying. When his financial situation started to really become compromised, coupled with a mega million dollar divorce, I met with him multiple times about selling this house for anywhere near where it was worth. He did the obvious: He chose an agent who hyper inflated the value of the home. He bought into that and listed it for almost $20m more than it was worth. He spiraled into foreclosure and ultimately lost every dime of equity in the most expensive home at that time in the history of Marin County.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Yes we are launching in Aspen, Colorado as The Tracy McLaughlin Team. My two daughters, Whitney and Grace McLaughlin, are my partners in what is likely the most dynamic real estate market in the United States. Agents in Aspen do not tend to do much to prepare homes for the market. $50m-$70m homes are oftentimes listed with no styling, staging, or pre listing prep. The Tracy McLaughlin Team (with Engel & Volkers brokerage), takes a very hand’s on approach in relation to prep. I have personally flipped over 30 homes for my own portfolio in the course of my career. I have “hands on” prepared, with construction, staging, styling etc over 600 homes in Marin County, California and Aspen, Colorado for the market. This is unrivaled experience in relation to prepping homes to fully monetize the exit/sale’s price. We have an exclusive, Los Angeles based staging company that has opened for us in Aspen that works with many celebrities who are selling in Los Angeles. This kind of “hands on” prep is not regularly done in Aspen. We feel that our white glove, concierge service will set us apart from any other individual agent or team in Aspen as has been the case in Marin County, California for 25 years.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

We stand out as a result of our unprecedented 25 year history of preparing homes for the market. People tend to think of “marketing” as photos, videos and a write up. However, if the house is not prepped to look like a “magazine shoot”, then the marketing is not optimized. GREAT marketing is GREAT prep for a home. The younger demographic who makes up the majority of America’s buyers cannot relate to homes that do not feel “done” or “updated”. That does not mean that your home has to be new construction in order to sell successfully. What it means is that your home has to have the right paint color, floor color, lighting, wallpaper, and staging to sell for the very highest price the market will bear. That is exactly what the Tracy McLaughlin Team and the design arm of our company does: We make homes perfect for marketing with the a lot of pre listing vision, design and experience that has consistently provided a 4x return on investment. For every $100k invested, there is a +- $400k return. We have prepared over 600 homes for the market. This return on investment with hundreds and hundreds of homes became the subject of my first book: “Real Estate Rescue: How America Leaves Billions Behind In Residential Real Estate And How To Maximize Your Home’s Value”.

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?

The singular best and most important influence over the course of my career has been Lorna Hines, who is, in my opinion, the smartest person I have ever met on the subject of negotiation, managing clients, and handling the day in and day out curve balls that happen in this business. In fact, my book is partially devoted to Lorna Hines.

Ok. Thank you for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. The Real Estate industry, like the Veterinarian, Nursing and Public Relations fields, is a women dominated industry. Yet despite this, less than 20 percent of senior positions in Real Estate companies are held by women. In your opinion or experience, what do you think is the cause of this imbalance?

I am not an expert on the subject of gender appropriation as it pertains to senior management in real estate. However, I can tell you this: The option of a sale’s career at any age or any stage. suits women very well. I have met so many women who have found themselves divorced unexpectedly, or in need of a more flexible and less corporate oriented schedule, that have gone into real estate for the flexibility in the hours. I never missed a school play, performance or game as I could be right in the grand stands or on the sidelines of a field and take a call from a client. I suspect that the managerial roles are more structured which may be part of the gender split between sales and management in the industry.

What 3 things can be done by a)individuals b)companies and/or c) society to support greater gender balance going forward?

I honestly think that the real estate industry has less gender bias than many or most. So many of our country’s top producers, like myself, are women. I think we have seen a fairly seismic shift in women taking over more and more leadership roles in the past ten plus years. That momentum builds on itself. I. think we are in a good place historically there.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women executives that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

I don’t want to speak for others but for me, personally, it was the sense of “guilt” for working and having help with my children. So many of our more affluent suburbs still do not see educated women continuing their careers after they have children. I was one of a very few working in a small, affluent suburb outside of San Francisco. I consistently felt “guilty” for working. I do think that has changed in the past 10 or so years. However, 20 years ago, I felt guilty for going into an office most days and having help. Now, I see that work ethic as a source of inspiration for children. A work ethic is one of the most important things we can teachour children. At the time, it was hard to forecast that. I don’t believe men have that same level of “guilt’ for working and contributing to their households financially.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Real Estate industry?

1. I love that every day is completely unpredictable. You have no idea who is going to call you for a listing; what kind of offer may come in on a listing; who is going to buy a home; who is going to sell a home and certainly none of the complications and emotion that come with all of it.
2. I am also really excited about the lack of change in fee structure in the industry. When I got into the business 25 years ago, the fee for both listing a home and buyer representation was 2.5 percent (on each side). While many naysayers predicted that realtor fees or would go down as realtors were “less and less needed due to technology” That was and still is not correct. In fact, I have not seen fees affected at all in the past two decades. With the added complexity and legal exposure around transactions in most states, and especially in California, agents are needed now, more than ever, to navigate the complexity and emotional component of buying and selling homes. It’s one of the most stressful things a person can go through. Agents are responsible for all of the guidance to get a buyer or seller from A to Z. That is easily worth 5 percent in totality in a transaction.
3. AI and superior marketing: With the advent of AI and all sorts of creating marketing videos, I love love how video content is being recreated for today’s marketing. I am keeping all of my videos at 8–15 seconds with a lot of personal content on design. !5 years ago, agents kept their “tricks of the trade” a secret. Today we are sharing our ideas on platforms that are so far reaching. This kind of curated content not only benefits the seller of a listing but also helps the public at large. I like this kind of symbiotic marketing that crosses over between sellers and the public.

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?

1. That many agents don’t tell the truth to buyers and sellers about the REAL value of a home. Many agents, when they are starting out, want to inflate the value of a potential listing to “get the sale”. Inevitably, that lack of clarity or truthfulness will adversely impact the ultimate sale’s price due to protracted days on the market.
2. If I had the ability to influence our industry, it would be to make a requirement that all agents have an undergraduate degree and high levels of checks and balances in relation to what they tell buyers and sellers. As agents, we are essentially people’s money managers. 40 percent of America’s wealth is tied up in its principal residence. We should be very beholden to checks and balances in relation to what we tell buyers and sellers.
3. I would also encourage my colleagues to bring far more planning into the release of a listing. I consistently see my colleagues take photos of homes that are not well prepped for the market and use very generic language that does not differentiate that property from others. Every listing should be branded like an Apple product or the 4 Seasons hotels. Every listing should have a distinctive, well thought out “brand” with a creative write up/description, superior photos, clever videos. Homes should not just be “thrown” on the market. High levels of attention should be given on every single decision made to fully monetize a home’s exit price.

What advice would you give to other leaders to help their team to thrive?

Read my book “Real Estate Rescue: How America Leaves Billions Behind In Residential Real Estate and How To Maximize Your Home’s Value”. Every principal of how to best serve clients and the myriad of mistakes that home buyers and sellers make every day on the purchase and sale of homes is in this book. It’s the first of its kind ever written about the industry.

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. Learn and understand architecture and finishes: Homes date themselves every 10–12 years. If a homeowner does not keep up with what is on trend, their home starts to lose its ability to fully appreciate. Advise your clients on what paint colors, floor types and colors, lighting, wallpaper, staging and landscape design is trending and make sure your listing reflects that.
2. Always tell the truth: If you are building a long term business, it’s a business of relationships, not listings. Agents make huge mistakes in thinking that they can make a living selling a home quickly to someone and not really focusing on what is best for that buyer or seller. A long term real estate career is a career of relationships. Those relationships are maintained through integrity and trust being at the core of an initial meeting with a client who might well be there 30 years later with decades of repeat business.
3. Defending One’s Value: I am consistently asked to drop my commission by even the country’s wealthiest clients. Learn a dialogue (Lorna Hines coaching is GREAT for this) that diffuses the subject of reduced fees. When someone asks me to drop a commission, I explain that my staging, prep, marketing and negotiation skills make them hundreds of thousands of dollars more than they would working with any other agent. The client accepts my explanation and never mentions it again.
4. Don’t be afraid to say “no” to a very unrealistic seller. Our reputations are built on success. If you cannot be successful in a sale, and you know that going in due to unrealistic pricing expectations, that seller will tell 5–10 people you were not a good salesperson. It’s not worth it. Wait for the realistic seller.
5. Don’t sell a home to a buyer that you would not sell to your own family members. Things like road noise, power lines, bad school districts and other social and environmental factors that do not allow a home to appreciate the way others should or would should NOT be on a buyer’s agent radar for clients. Wait until the RIGHT house comes along that will be a great investment for your client. I oftentimes talk buyers out of homes I know are bad investments. They always thank me afterwards.

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. :-)

My idea to inspire a lot of people would be to train parents on how to be great, loving parents. All of the problems in our society are largely the result of unloving or unkind parents. If there was appropriate training to be a kind, loving and caring parent, I believe much of our crime and other social issues would be resolved.

How can our readers follow you online?

Please feel free to follow me and the Tracy McLaughlin Team on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.

Tracy McLaughlin’s Facebook Page

The Tracy McLaughlin Team Facebook Page

Tracy McLaughlin Instagram

Tracy McLaughlin Team Instagram

Tracy McLaughlin Twitter

Tracy McLaughlin’s YouTube Channel

Thank you for your time, and your excellent insights!

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.