962: How to Succeed as a Small-Town Solo Agent – Sarah Allen

March 22, 2021
In Prescott, the small city known as “everybody’s hometown,” running a real estate business comes with its own unique challenges. But today’s guest, Sarah Allen, found incredible success there as a small-town solo agent. Hear how Sarah tweaked her marketing to match her ideal clientele, where she finds new business, and more on this Real Estate Rockstars. Plus, you’ll discover what Sarah does to get offers accepted when competing with other buyers.
Listen to today’s show and learn:
  • How Prescott fared in 2020 [2:08]
  • Sarah’s first real estate deal [4:34]
  • Advice for new real estate agents [7:47]
  • Sarah’s sales stats for 2020 [13:24]
  • The pros and cons of joining a team [14:47]
  • Where Sarah finds new business [16:04]
  • Sarah’s favorite social media platforms [20:24]
  • Why YouTube is great for your SEO [23:04]
  • Sarah’s secret to success in 2020 [23:47]
  • How to succeed in 2021’s competitive real estate markets [27:20]
  • Advice for getting clients’ offers accepted in 2021 [28:40]
  • Sarah’s real estate predictions for 2021 [30:03]
  • Why authenticity is essential on social media [33:08]
Sarah Allen Exceptional service, industry knowledge, and responsive communication; 3 essential factors in every real estate transaction. Sarah Allen’s goal is to make every interaction a positive experience by servicing her clients to the best of her ability. Sarah Allen is an Experienced Licensed Realtor with a demonstrated history of working in the real estate industry. She is skilled in Sales, Communication, Sports Coaching, Management, and Employee Training. Sarah is a strong real estate professional with a Bachelor’s degree focused in Business/Corporate Communications from Arizona State University – W. P. Carey School of Business.
Related Links and Resources:
Thank You Rockstars! It might go without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway: We really value listeners like you. We’re constantly working to improve the show, so why not leave us a review? If you love the content and can’t stand the thought of missing the nuggets our Rockstar guests share every week, please subscribe; it’ll get you instant access to our latest episodes and is the best way to support your favorite real estate podcast. Have questions? Suggestions? Want to say hi? Shoot me a message via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or Email. -Aaron Amuchastegui

Aaron Amuchastegui 

So the question is this, how do most agents find the secrets to succeed in today’s competitive real estate market, especially when the top agents are keeping those secrets themselves? That’s the question and this podcast will give you the answer. Hi, I’m Aaron Amuchastegui. And welcome to Real Estate Rockstars.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Real Estate Rockstars, welcome back. Today I’m interviewing Sarah Allen from Prescott, Arizona. She’s with Keller Williams out there, her fourth year real estate and already doing a ton of volume. And she’s got a great story. I know there’s a lot of stuff in here that’s going to help so many listeners. So let’s get started. Sarah, how are you?

 

Sarah Allen 

I’m Fantastic. Thank you so much for having me on the show.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Yeah, I’m glad you could make it. What’s it like in Prescott, Arizona right now?

 

Sarah Allen 

It’s absolutely beautiful. We’ve had some snow recently, but it melts quickly. So now we’re about mid 60s, I want to say.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

You’ve had some snow? Is that a every year type of thing?

 

Sarah Allen 

It’s every year. We’re actually a Mile High City. A lot of people don’t realize that but in central Arizona, we’re as high as Denver.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Yeah, a lot of people don’t realize that. So I know that I was thinking like Arizona must be some sort of a weird, you know, freeze right now for that to happen. But you’re like, no, it’s uh, 60 degrees. So it’s still golf weather for the people that are there as long as the snow melted off?

 

Sarah Allen 

Yes, it is. It is. And we do have some really nice golf courses here.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

What was it like over the last year during like shutdowns and things like that in COVID, what was real estate like from like, March last year, through the end of the year?

 

Sarah Allen 

It was different. Although it was my most productive year, I would say the biggest setback was just the local businesses that had to shut down. And that was very sad because our town is very relationship based. And we really depend on a lot of our market going to those businesses and supporting them. So from a person who does that I was a little sad for them. From the real estate standpoint, we had a lot of relocation clients, it was still very active. Yes, we had to follow COVID guidelines. But again, it was my busiest year yet.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Have you always been there when you started in real estate four years ago? You started in Prescott?

 

Sarah Allen 

I did. Yeah, I started as I was a single mom when I went into real estate. And we had just moved to Prescott and I thought I’m going to start a career in real estate that is relationship based. And you have to know the town even though I’ve lived here for six months. But it was a great decision. And I’ve loved it so far.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

She moved to a new town, you’d been there for six months, you’re just getting started in real estate, what made you want to get into real estate?

 

Sarah Allen 

You know, I honestly wanted to feel a sense of accomplishment for Sarah, not just for mom in life, and I thought real estate was something that would give me the flexibility to still be a mom, but also give me a purpose for myself. And shortly after getting into real estate I realized that it’s not a flexible schedule. If you really want to make it you have to, you know, grind which is my personality, but my parents were real estate agents and so I got to see their lifestyle. Again that was after I moved out of college but so I saw the glamorous side of it you know them having a good time with that. But I just thought it was a great opportunity and I really wanted to try it.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Yeah, it really can be – I mean you still get to be your own boss you have more control than if you’re working a nine to five somewhere else but the but there are so many decisions to make – do I take this call or not right? Do I go do this meeting or not? It’s definitely not necessarily working less but it is getting to work for yourself. It’s like the entrepreneurial side of that. You have a daughter? You have a son?

 

Sarah Allen 

Thank you I have both. I have a two year old son and a five year old daughter

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

holy cow that’s like hitting the jackpot. One boy and one girl and now they’re getting to see mom work a little bit. So what was your first deal? So back to four years ago, you’re new and six months in – How did you start marketing yourself to get your first transaction?

 

Sarah Allen 

Honestly, I really took into account what my teacher was saying during real estate school, which was presenting yourself as a business and introducing yourself as a business to your sphere of influence and the database you already have. So my first step was to start calling people that I know posting on social media and saying I am in real estate I just started a brand new business I would love your support. I would love the opportunity to work with you and prove myself in this industry. And I was really shocked at the return I got from from doing that. And showing that professionalism right from the start and also being true to myself by reaching out to my database and saying you know me, you trust me already. Trust me with this. Let me prove myself in that realm. I also joined a team rather quickly. So that was a great opportunity for me to learn and also get some leads and get some experience and just follow kind of an everyday life. As to what a real estate agent should do. So I’m very blessed that I was given that opportunity as well.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Yeah, your first transaction, were you buyers side?

 

Sarah Allen 

Yes, and I have remained a buyer side, I’m a very, I don’t want to say emotional but I do love the emotion of a buyer because they are so excited to buy a home, they’re so excited to get into it and see where these memories are going to be made. And seeing that in a buyer is something that really gives me passion and gives me purpose. So I’ve stuck stuck with being a buyer’s agent. I’d like to transition into a little bit more listings as well as as everyone does in our market right now. But I do love buyers.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Yeah, yeah, that’s is the the emotional side the excitement of a buyer is so unique. When you get to buy a house, everybody’s so excited. I recently sold a house that we owned out in California that we lived in with my family for 10 years. And it was it was such a mixed bag of emotions. It was like happiness, and then tears and all sorts of things. There were very few moments of like excitement, it was more like, oh, the memories we had here. And so the memories we’re going to have here. And I could see really, you know, jumping in on that and how and how much of an impact that would be for you and a difference. What did you learn during your first transaction? Did you have good good coaches? How did that was that process like?

 

Sarah Allen 

I did not have a coach at that time. And I wasn’t on the team when I did have my first transaction. And I remember showing the house getting under contract with my client. And then probably about three quarters of the way through is when I admitted that it had been my first transaction. And they were just shocked by it. They thought I was a seasoned agent. So that made me feel really fantastic. Um, you know, I’m going I’m winging it here. And you’re thinking I’m a seasoned agent. So that was a great experience. I would say that it was I was nervous. And also everything I learned in real estate school just went right out the window. I was like, how do I open a lockbox? Is anyone going to show me how to like book an appointment for a show? Yeah. So you know, you didn’t learn a lot of the real life situations that you deal with in real estate.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Yeah, so what is something you would go back and tell yourself now like so now you’ve done a bunch of transactions, you know, a bunch of volume, what was something you wish you would have known that first year when you just got started?

 

Sarah Allen 

So honestly, there’s a few different things. I push myself to work really, really hard. And I motivate myself, I’m a self motivated person, I played golf my whole life. So I needed to go out practice alone, practice that mentality. So I fall into that really well. But I also fall into being a perfectionist. And I want to say it’s okay, it’s okay to lose a listing, it’s okay to feel burned out to take a step back to relax a little bit, readjust your plans, readjust your goals, and just keep moving forward, I guess it would be feel for it, as everyone says. So that would be a really big piece of advice that I would give a new agent who is very similar to me and just wants it all right off the bat, and is willing to do everything. And then another piece of advice would be to really plan, set a goal, break that down into very manageable items, and step by step processes and then follow through with that you really need to you know, find a system that’s going to work with your goal, you’re going to follow that system to a tee and then you’re going to follow up with it and make sure that you did follow that system, figure out where maybe you lacked a little bit maybe an area that you really loved. And what was the return on that and then repeat it.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Yeah. Do you have a favorite system?

 

Sarah Allen 

Yes, it’s just winging it. No. Honestly, my favorite system is just exactly what I said kind of that three F’s system where you find a system that you really like and follow through with it and execute and then follow up on whether or not you did it well enough and it was a great system. I also really am a I’m a huge goal setter and I really enjoy reaching those goals and knowing that whatever I did today or whatever I’m going to do tomorrow put me a step closer to that end goal that I have. And I would say that’s probably my my biggest system that helps me continue moving forward and continue doing the steps that I need to take to reach whatever I’m trying to get to.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Yeah, so you got introduced to us to broker agent advisor so you’re the seven Star Award recipient for agent of the month for the state of Arizona right now and broker agent has been sending us some great people. Have they sent you your cover yet – like your cover picture and your headline yet?

 

Sarah Allen 

They have not I have sent in a few options for the cover and I you know, when they presented that to me even being on this podcast, I told my husband they wouldn’t want to interview me. This little person in Prescott, Arizona, which is just a small town. So I’m so thankful for the opportunity for both the award and also being on this podcast. And I, you know, I’m trying to stay humble. Because I’m still shocked that I’ve been given the opportunity.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

I think you’ll be so excited when you get to see your cover and, and you know, some of the benefits that it brings, they do some really neat work out there. And I think clients love getting to see too. Have any, any plan for how it’s going to help you in your business or where you might use the cover for recognitions?

 

Sarah Allen 

So I do a lot with social media, I have a strong social media presence and having that recognition on my social media, I think will be a huge lead generation factor for me, definitely sending it out to past clients in my sphere of influence is going to be something that I do as well. And again, we are a small town. So you know, possibly reaching out to friends that I know that own the local magazines, just saying Hey, little old Sarah was on the cover here, I’d love to you know, write an article about it or, you know, talk to you about it or something like that. You know, just the normal grassroots marketing that you do in small towns.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

So the last year, what was your volume like?

 

Sarah Allen 

So I did 24 transactions 25 sides, I represented one listing with both buyer and seller. I did a little over $6.3 million in sales volume and about $163,000 in GCI.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Alright, so then what’s the average sales price out there?

 

Sarah Allen 

average sales prices last year for me it was right around $339,000. I’m bumping that up because our market is so strong right now. So I’m probably going to be around 400,000.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Alright. And so the I think at the beginning, you said you were a solo agent. Now, are you on team?

 

Sarah Allen 

I’m still a solo agent. So right at the beginning, I was a solo agent for about three months. And I already had three under contract at that time. And I was approached by a really big team here. And they said, We’d love to have you on the team. This is where we think you can go with it. So I decided to join the team. I stuck with them until the end of 2018 beginning of 2019. When I branched off as a solo agent, with the idea of making my own team at this point, I don’t think I’m going to do that because I do enjoy being a solo agent. And I’m at the point where I can handle everything that’s coming my way. And I’m I’m really, truly enjoying being a solo agent. And I did enjoy being a team as well. I don’t want to say that being on a team is a bad thing. And there’s so many pros to it.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Yeah, what are some of the pros and cons of team versus solo agent that you figured out?

 

Sarah Allen 

So I would say a major pro of being on a team is that although you have a commission split, which a lot of people say is a con, you don’t have to pay for a lot of things out of pocket. So a lot of marketing, material lockboxes signs, business cards, photos, you have a built in transaction coordinator, you have a built in coach with the team leader depending on the team that you join. So a lot of these additional expenses that you would have to take on as a solo agent aren’t there, which gives you the opportunity to truly, truly lead generate and truly do what you need to do as an agent because all that back office stuff is taken care of one of the biggest cons that I hear His commission split. But if you really break down the cost of doing that, as a solo agent, agent and the commission split, it’s right about the same. I also think it depends on where you want to go in your real estate career, I had a different direction. And that’s why I became a solo agent and I am happy with that decision. I have a little bit more say in what I want to do and add a little bit. It’s just me. So I have a lot more say in how I want to run things, how I want to do things and handle things. What systems I want to follow, you know, what, what back office systems I want to do with, you know, website design, or CRM, I get to have that opportunity to use my own. So that would be a huge plus as well. Yeah.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

How do you get clients now?

 

Sarah Allen 

So for the past two years that I have been a solo agent, I heavily depended on Zillow for premiere agents, I am now not doing that I did have a great time when I was with them. I don’t want to say anything negative about that. But I do feel like I can really work on my database. And I think the biggest thing was realizing how much money I was leaving on the table by not focusing on my database and my sphere of influence as my top priority. And those are majority of them are free leads, it’s reaching out to them, following up with them sending them a card here, and they’re going that extra mile, which is something I love to do, and really seeing that return on the investment that you’re giving to the people you already know. So that is my number one lead source. I also do a lot of agent to agent referrals, which is why I have a strong social media presence. That’s a way for agents to actually find out who I am and see see what I’m doing. And so sphere of influence database agent to agent referrals. And I would say those are my top two.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

So your first few years, did you do a bunch of ads? It was Zillow premier? Was that your primary? You know, leadwise?

 

Sarah Allen 

I had a lot of team leads when I was on the team. And then I switched a solo agent. And it almost felt like I was starting from square one again. So I said, Okay, well, what do I hear being the number one lead source and that was Zillow at the time, and it’s good golly, did they charge quite a bit of money for those premier leads. But again, they were they were very profitable for me, I had a very good return on them. But that profit margin was getting smaller and smaller based on the amount of leads I was getting for the cost of them. So even though I had a great profit margin, it wasn’t as much as I really wanted. So I thought, okay, I really need to readjust how I think things and how I do things. Again, that’s following up saying what system really works for you. And if that’s set with the goal that you have in mind. And I said, Okay, I’m gonna change things up and really focus on the people who do know me and trust me and want to work with me or who have worked with say already.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Yeah, it’s kind of a great blueprint for somebody as they’re getting started right at the beginning, you’re going to need help to get extra leads. So you can go, you can reach out to your database, you can reach out to the people you know, and start telling when you’re an agent. But then you can, you know, pay for leads through advertising or through like Zillow, or op city, or some of those services that really kind of hand them to you get to start making some money and learning that process. But now you’re saying, but now it’s been three to four years, you’ve done a lot more transactions. So now you can reach out to those people ask for their contacts. Now, you’ve been in real estate for a long time, and you’ve been networking now your sphere is much larger. So you’re at a point where you’re saying, Okay, you’ve been paying for your leads, which is really helpful. But you’ve left instead of having a team lead, right? Or instead, instead of paying somebody else, your bigger commission, you’re paying sales for that. In 2021, for transactions, you got any closings yet?

 

Sarah Allen 

I have. So I have a closed and pending as of right now. I have two more closings next week. So I’m set to complete the goals that I wanted to complete, which was close to 40 transactions this year. However, speaking with my coach, we have readjusted that to doing 50 transactions, which is wild to me, because that’s double what I did in 2020.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Last year, you did 24. Right? And so now you already have eight.

 

Sarah Allen 

Yeah. And you know, I did have at that time, a one year old, two year old, so it was a little bit more difficult because my son was at home with me all the time. And so was my daughter. I’m not using them as an excuse in any way again, because it was my best year yet, but I didn’t allow myself the opportunity to really sit down and time block and regenerate like I wanted to do. And I’m happy. So happy that I actually didn’t do that because I got the opportunity to really bond with my kids in a way that I haven’t done in a little while. This year, on the other hand, my son’s in daycare, my daughter’s back in school and I’m ready. I’m ready to rock.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

You’re ready to hit 50 transactions. I think you’re definitely well on your way. So what’s your favorite social media, you know, version right now? Instagram, Facebook, YouTube?

 

Sarah Allen 

So right now I am huge on Instagram. However I’m really trying to grow my youtube channel because I absolutely love to do video I am not sure why but I love being in front of that camera. So I’m incorporating that into my marketing strategy. I’m also doing Tick Tock which is so funny to me because I’m going to be 32 next week and I’m like, tick tock. I feel like I’m too old for that. But you know, I think any, any way you can adapt to what’s what’s happening around you what the marketing trends are happening in your industry, the better you’re going to do. So I’m all about adaptability. And that’s what I’m trying to do on my marketing strategy strategy. So, Instagram would be number one, YouTube number two, tik tok. Number three.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui  

Awesome. So what’s your favorite video you’ve done so far with YouTube?

 

Sarah Allen 

Oh, boy, well, I have this series called Prescott uncovered. And it is going around to different business owners and chatting with them about why they chose Prescott. All about their business and why they love living here. And I really do enjoy doing those videos, I did just post one actually, I just made one it’s coming out on Wednesday, I do something called the 928 update, our area code is 928. And it’s just little market updates and market trends that are happening in our area. And that one was talking about buying the ugly house. And it’s we have so many buyers who say they want a turnkey property. And there’s not a lot of that in Prescott. But you can have a really great return on your investment if you do buy the ugly home and live in it for a few years remodel the bathroom. And you know the kitchen, the ones that areas that give you the most return, and really see your profit grow from that. So that was a really fun video.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Yeah, YouTube is such a fun new way to market and the people talk about it is evergreen content, so the longer it’s out there, the better it is. Right so you’re in a video now about how to you know how to choose a neighborhood or how to buy the ugly home or why to buy the ugly home or how to get your offer accepted any of that stuff. The the more people see it, the higher it goes up. And eventually 2, 3, 4 years from now those YouTube videos, you know, create the leads for you. I love Instagram. It’s so fun. You get to go back and forth with people I get to have conversations with listeners. People message me, I message them. Like we have full real conversations and develop friendships through there. But I think YouTube is also that a pretty really cool way to create that long term evergreen content that just shows that you’re the you’re the authority in the space.

 

Sarah Allen 

So I started doing that probably last year was when I really dove right into YouTube. Another thing I wanted to bring up about YouTube is a lot of people don’t realize it’s the second largest search engine other than Google, and Google owns YouTube. So when people are researching, YouTube videos will pop up in your Google search. So it’s it’s a great way to get SEO and to drive people to your message and your business.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Yeah, yeah, we’ve interviewed several agents that have done a really good job at kind of spelling out how to do that. And I think the I think for anyone in real estate, I think a YouTube page is something they should be investing in, especially as a specialist of their area. I think that is, that’s really great. I’ve got kind of some fire round questions that we ask everybody. So one is what’s the number one way you survived in 2020? And that can be with business or personal but what what was something that you did that really was key to thriving in your biggest year ever? What was one of your keys to surviving?

 

Sarah Allen 

I didn’t stop, I really tried to adapt to what was happening. And I wanted to give that message to clients that were still coming in and the clients that I did have that I was taking this seriously, that our market has not shifted in any way. And it’s gotten better specifically for sellers. And that I just wanted to keep pushing myself and not be the agent that got swallowed up or be the agent that said I was going to take a little bit of time off and then six months later, and you’re like what the heck happened, I didn’t have income coming in for the last, you know, four or five months. I just didn’t want to do that to myself. So I really just kept going and pushing myself changing the way did things and the way I view things and kept moving forward. Another thing was just again, spending time with my family and realizing that they are my why that is why I went into real estate so that I could provide a life for my family. And I didn’t want to keep saying, Oh, well, it would be nice. You’ve got to work for it. You really have to work for it. And I don’t want to be the person that said I didn’t work for it. So that was that was probably my biggest push in 2020.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Yeah, I like that. So what’s the number one thing you learned in 2020 about people or real estate or anything else? Any change in mindset?

 

Sarah Allen 

I would say, you know, without getting too political, really Prescott did not see it like metropolitan areas did. And the type of clientele that was coming here really gave me a different idea of how to market and what type of client is coming. So I think it was an eye opening experience to realize what type of clientele enjoys Prescott and the avatar County. And also, I think I also learned that I am a hustler I, and it’s okay for me to say that, because I did work my butt off to kind of get where I am. And 2020 was a big part of that.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Yeah, you’re right, there are so many places that like cities that had to be focused based on that one or another, like so many cities that the marketing had to focus on. Either people wanting to move there to be safer or people wanting to move there to be more open. People were moving to Florida and other places, so there’s a lot of places that the market definitely shifted for based on demand. And some were, hey, this was a promasker city. Some people want to move away from there, and everywhere else and knowing your client and what they were looking for, in 2020 probably made a big difference. One of my big lessons was just the need to realizing to have to pivot and a backup plan. Yes, to always have a backup plan or talking to agents about like, you know, start investing in some real estate or some rentals or in some other businesses too. But I like yours of saying, Hey, no matter what, just keep going, just just don’t quit know your market and be able to look around you to say like, how, how can I market to what’s happening right now? I like that. So what about your number one way to succeed in 2021?

 

Sarah Allen 

I would say, you know, our market here in Prescott is pretty saturated with agents. So it’s, I would say finding your niche and really focusing on that niche and marketing yourself towards it, I have decided to really dive into more video, as I mentioned earlier, and it has gotten a huge return just even the short amount of time that I have been doing it. And I just really want to focus on that, because that’s something our market is not doing here in Prescott. And I think it could bring a lot of value. So that’s something that I personally am going to be doing. And maybe it’s doing a an evaluation of where your market is and saying, Okay, what are we missing? And is that something that I can fill? Just shotgun method, just find an opportunity and shoot and see if it sticks.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Yeah, I think that is good advice. There are more agents now than there were and there are less listings. So you got to be able to find your niche kind of get that business. People are saying, you know, how do I get my offer accepted right now? So you’re a buyer’s agent, you represent mostly buyers. We have people emailing me almost daily, saying I’m writing offers, there’s 20 other offers, how do I get my offer accepted? What advice would you give to somebody trying to figure out how to get their offer accepted when there’s 20 other people offering on the house?

 

Sarah Allen 

So I am a huge proponent of you know, move quickly, if you find a house that you really like, we got to be the first ones there, we have to be the first ones to submit the offer. It’s got to be a strong offer. And you have to let your buyers know that right off the bat, we are going above asking, we’re most likely waiving an appraisal. And we are moving quickly and also communicate with the listing agent. They probably get bombarded with calls. But that’s okay. I’m going to reach out to you, I’m going to let you know that I’m submitting an offer. I want to receive notification that you received my offer. I want you to know that I’m a buyer’s agent, I work with buyers all the time, I write clean offers, and then I’m going to see this through to the end, you know, a proven track record, if you will. And you know, speaking with the lender, if it’s financed, sometimes you don’t have to do a waiver of appraisal in an offer because the home might already be waived from the appraisal based on what the lender says. So have those open communications, have your lender, contact the listing agent, send a follow up email like hey, they’re already through the underwriting process or whatever they need to do to already be a step ahead of the game.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Yeah, that’s great advice. I like your answers on that. So, let’s see, any predictions for this year, like any things you think might change, or is it gonna be more of the same? Do you think that anything that you’re seeing is gonna change in Prescott?

 

Sarah Allen 

Yeah, let me get my crystal ball here. I would say honestly, I think it’s going to stay the same about the same level of craziness that’s that happened in 2020. It’s going to continue into this year, at least in our market center. And I would say that we are seeing a few more listings popping up and that’s probably because we have a lot of hungry agents out there that are saying we need to get more listings, need to get more listings, which is fantastic. I think that’s great, especially for buyer’s agents. So I am seeing a little bit of a shift and more listings coming on, I would consider the idea or maybe throw this out there. We’ve heard of forbearance with loans and mortgages. And we might be coming into that timeframe where that forbearance is no longer there, and the the homeowners have to pay that difference, or now start paying, and maybe they’re still not in a position to do so. So that could be another reason why you’re seeing more listings pop up, or that you will see more listings pop up, because they need to sell. And so that’s just something to keep in mind that I’ve kind of kept on the back burner, just as Prescott is moving forward.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Yeah, I mean, the way we’ll see more supply come online is if new stuff gets built, but I also think there’s going to be a, you know, I was traumatized a bit back in like, 2007 2008, when the world crashed, and I was traumatized by like, what would happen next, and all of a sudden, a lot of people had to adjust. People hadn’t paid their mortgage for a year, and it took like a year to get foreclosed on back then. So they could say, Oh, I can get a lesser paying job. And I can move into a house that’s $1,000 a month instead of $3,000 a month. That’s very hard for them to do. But I but I remember that was a shift that changed, where they finally got to the point like, Hey, I can’t afford it, I can move in to something smaller and do it a little bit different. One of the benefits back then was there was less expensive jobs to move into. So the so hopefully, I think that’ll be the big change. I think they cannot keep pushing the forbearance back much longer, I think definitely people will want to sell. The cool thing is most of those people in forbearance do have equity, it’ll be like a piggy bank that they get to tap. And they will be looking for the agents that can help sell that and maybe even as buyers when buyers are out there listening, trying to figure out like, hey, what can we you know, there, there isn’t really a list of people in forbearance, but maybe it’ll be more direct offers to people that are saying, like, Hey, I, I’m thinking about listing my house, you’re like, cool, I already have a buyer for that house or write letters and things like that. So yeah, I think that that’s, that’s, I think that that’s probably a prediction that sometime this year, we’ll see more inventory Come on from people that are realizing they need to downsize to really change. You know, the Sarah, it’s been great talking to you, you know, broker agent of the month for Arizona, through the broker agent advisor program, I can totally see now why you got the award, by your four years in and making some big changes and so much advice today that you gave to our listeners, any final thoughts that you would want to tell everybody?

 

Sarah Allen 

I would say something that I didn’t kind of tap into, which is really important to me, and that I did say I have a strong social media presence. But if you are going to go into social media, and try and use that as a lead generation source for you, be authentic, be yourself. Be professional, obviously. But don’t be afraid to show people who you are, because people have to trust you to do business with you. And if they don’t know who you really are, they’re not going to want to do that they’re not going to want to trust you. So I would say that authenticity is is the number one thing that I would say, if we’re going to dive into that, don’t be afraid to be that person.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

I love that Sarah, if people want to reach out to you, agents are going to want to reach out to you, they’re gonna want to ask you for advice. They’re going to want to come talk to you on social media, what’s the best way that they should come find you?

 

Sarah Allen 

So I tried to make it very simple on all platforms. My Instagram handle is @sarahallenrealtor you can see right here, and that is Sarah with an H. If you did, did go to Instagram, you will see all that information there. And I will I will do my best to respond.

 

Aaron Amuchastegui 

Awesome, well, thank you for coming on the show. Real Estate Rockstars, thanks for listening.

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