Real Estate Show interview with Tiffany Wilkerson, John L Scott

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Real Estate Show with Tiffany Wilkerson

Alice Lema: [00:00:00] Well, hey there, Southern Oregon. Welcome back to the Real Estate Show. So glad you could join us again on this weekend before the holidays. Everybody's getting ready to spend time with their friends and family. And today we're so happy to have Tiffany Wilkerson from John L. Scott Real Estate.

She's the general manager of Ashland, Medford and Eugene. Tiffany Wilkerson is our fearless leader, and she's gonna come on the show and help kind of wrap up talking about what's happened in 2022. It was such a big year. So many things happened coming out of the hyper accelerated housing market. From last year and into the beginning of this year and all the interest rate changes, we still have the war going on. Lots and lots of inflation and economic uncertainty, but here we are at the end of the year and people are still successfully moving, buying and selling houses. Actually in a somewhat easier fashion now [00:01:00] cuz the market's not quite quite such an arm wrestling match to, to get a house.

And the sellers are doing well because they still have plenty of equity even though the prices are down a little bit. We are still up for the year in all three counties. So we're gonna talk to Tiffany not only about what happened in 2022. Have some predictions and some discussion about what's coming in 2023 and just some other John L. Scott News in general. So it'll be fun to have Tiffany Wilkerson join us here in just a minute.

Let's take a quick second and talk about the local statistics. Always a fun part of the show, so, Jackson County this week is still days on market about two months. We're at 51 average days on market in Jackson County.

Josephine County is cycling at 58 days average on market to sell a home. And Josephine County, yeah 58 and Klamath County is 51, so everybody's still [00:02:00] hanging around that two month mark. Just a reminder, four to six months is considered more normal. Neutral two months is still a little bit fast, but it depends on what price point you're in because some of the higher price markets are a bonafide buyer's market. And the lower price point, you still might have to arm wrestle a little bit, but it's not like it was six months ago or a year ago where everybody was overpaying, not having inspections, you know, all that. All that going on, it's now a little bit easier and it's easier for everybody.

And the sellers now have more inventory to choose from. When they sell, they have a place to go, so it's actually becoming a little more normal. So that's it for the stats. Let's bring Tiffany Wilkerson on here right after a quick break from our sponsors. We'll be right back.

Well, welcome back to the Real Estate Show folks. Thanks for joining us. I'm Alice Lema. I'm a broker here in beautiful Southern Oregon with John L. Scott Real Estate, and today we get to [00:03:00] talk to one of my favorite people in the whole world, Tiffany Wilkerson, the general manager and Chief Buba at John L. Scott. Hi Tiffany.

Tiffany Wilkerson: Hi, Alice. Thank you so much for having me. I love the show.

Alice Lema: Well, thank you. We're so, so blessed to have you at our helm here at John L. Scott, and it's so good to have you here, kind of at the end of the year. It's been such a volatile year. Why don't you give us your perspective on, on just what it's been like since January?

Tiffany Wilkerson: Well, I think there's a lot of different perspectives and ways that we can look at it. You know, we know, the market in general in life is, is uncertain. And you never know what it's gonna look like. I think beginning of 2020, for instance, you know, when we experienced Covid and, we weren't sure what that was gonna, you know, what kind of impact that would have on the market.

We had no idea. And I think a lot of us were, had the same similar feeling as we do now. You know, every, everything was uncertain. How is this how is this gonna pan out? What, what, what are you gonna see in the next couple months? And, However, what did we end up seeing? [00:04:00] 2020 and 2021 were some of the best years in real estate that we had seen for quite some time.

I think historically we've always seen a 10 year cycle where every 10 years we start seeing adjustments in the market and we start seeing some really interesting patterns occur. And I think ultimately what we're seeing right now, again, is that 10 year cycle taking place. So there is some market corrections right now.

I think you know, in the past years, especially in December, we've always seen a much slower market. But it's just how you look at it. No matter what, people are gonna have to move, no matter what people are gonna have to relocate. You know, the top five reasons people are moving right now are clearly real life situations, jobs, families income, different things that might factor into that.

And so there's opportunity for everybody if they need to enter the market. It just depends on, if you're a buyer or if you're a seller and what that looks like. So I think overall there's a lot of ways that we can support our clients and support the community and educate them properly.

Cuz you read the news and you see everything on tv and of course [00:05:00] we're gonna see doom and gloom. And I think we also saw that in 2020, but that ended up proving us wrong. So moving into 2023, I think, I think we're gonna see a decrease in mortgage rate, interest rates. I think that you know, come March and April, I think that there's some opportunity for people, especially buyers investors, I mean, they need to be taking advantage of these low pricing that you're seeing here. And again, it's like that fun saying, date the rate, marry the house.

Alice Lema: That is such a great saying. And you know, it's so interesting the pandemic did confuse the market and it confused a lot of us and it kind of messed with our normal rhythm, especially Southern Oregon. Cause we're somewhat seasonal. So where are we in the 10 year cycle? Are we, where are we in that?

Tiffany Wilkerson: You know, I think right now we're in the, in the 2020, or excuse me, 2022 was where we saw the market adjustment, you know? Okay. Adjustment and everything. So I think now what we're gonna see is the market start to correct itself. Okay. [00:06:00] So, you know, we saw, we saw a major adjustment, and now we're gonna see the market correct itself. So, I mean, you have to also think about, what that market was like for, agents and our clients and the community in 2020 and 2021. I mean, we're talking multiple offers, 60, 70, $80,000 over price. You know, the asking price, we're seeing people waiving inspections. I mean, things that honestly we would've never recommended as real estate professionals were occurring.

And so it had to correct itself eventually. There was going to come a time where things needed to be adjusted. And I think right now we're seeing a very, you know, intense adjustment. You know, especially going into December and January. And then beyond that, what we're gonna start seeing where it's gonna start correcting itself.

So I think that, you know, personally, what I think is gonna happen is I think come March and April, I think we're gonna start seeing interest rates getting back into the fives, which are gonna allow opportunities for buyers. But really they need to be looking at this as an opportunity where, okay, you know, if I'm a buyer, You know, what am I looking at here?

You know, lower pricing on homes not dealing with multiple offers, [00:07:00] and obviously more inventory to choose from as opposed to the past couple years. I mean, really what people should be doing is looking at the current market in comparison to 2019. I mean, that's where you should look. The difference between you know, what's actually happening and what's not. And when you look at those numbers, I mean really, especially our office, I mean, we're right there if not performing better than we were in 2019.

And the part that's interesting is during the shutdown and people

were having all these multiple offers and way over paying and giving up their inspections and fighting tooth and nail, yeah, for not hardly any houses. And now here we have houses and everything's on sale and even the sellers, you know, the sellers could benefit from the market right now because it's not as frenzied. People have time to think about the house they wanna buy. And it just is a little bit more normal. But it's interesting cuz people are kind of dragging their feet and this is like the time to do it.

It is, you know, You know, I hate to, you know, quote this, but I'm going to, I mean, Warren Buffet once said, you know, you [00:08:00] hold on. How, how exactly is his phrase?

Alice Lema: He says, when everybody's running out of the room, you run in or something like that.

Tiffany Wilkerson: You know when others are fearful? Fearful, yes. Yes. It's fearful. You know, you, you know that same, what, what I'm trying to get at, I wish I knew the exact verbage right now, but you know, I mean, buyers, it's okay to, you know, or excuse me, it's, it's okay for sellers to put their homes on the market right now.

I mean, it's perfectly fine to buy and sell at premium pricing, you know, I mean, there's a lot of opportunity and often what you'll see is that they end up with the same net seller equity. And you know, the other thing that people are just not really talking about right now, but really need to be mentioned is how much equity people have in their homes.

We're not looking at what we saw in 2008, 2009. I. A lot of people have a lot of equity in their homes, and they're also sitting on really low interest rates, and so I think ultimately people are not listing their homes because they're fearful. I think it's because they're sitting on such an incredible interest rate that, you know, the idea of selling and then buying something different. You know, they might be a bit more hesitant about it. It's still happening. I [00:09:00] mean, just last month, Alice, like our office alone, closed almost 130 transactions and we closed almost 60 million in sales volume.

Alice Lema: Wow. Wow.

Tiffany Wilkerson: Things are still happening. Things are still, and I think it's just really important, and I cannot, you know, emphasize this enough that if you are in the market, if you're a buyer or you're a seller, you just need to talk to a real estate professional and get the facts and, you know, It's really important that, you know, there is a place and a time for opportunity and for you to be successful in whatever you're trying to achieve.

Alice Lema: I think that is such an important point because the elements of the market are actually more in the favor of sellers, in my opinion right now because they have a place to go. Mm-hmm. And yeah, so the, the very few people during the shutdown who were leaving one direction and going to a different market, or not going to own a home at all anymore. That's a very small percentage of who could really benefit from that hyper-inflated market. This just feels more calm, it feels more even. [00:10:00] And it's less friction for sellers. And people are not overpaying cuz that messes with appraisals and Yeah and plus they get cold feet. How many times do people overpay and then they cancel their transaction?

Tiffany Wilkerson: Yes, exactly. I mean, I hate to say this, but there's, there is a lot of people calling in and, you know, had bought a house maybe sight unseen in the last couple years.

Alice Lema: Oh, that's right. They were doing that too.

Tiffany Wilkerson: Yes, a lot. And so I'm getting a lot of the, you know, hey I, you know, am lifting up my bathroom, tile and they found something under there and they weren't super happy about it. And so then, you know, but they realized, oh, well I also waived all my inspections. So, you know, they're ultimately now looking at what can we do and what is my solution. And as a buyer in today's market, you do, you've got a lot of advantages. And I also think that, you know, they really need to get over that idea of these interest rates.

I know some people might be kind of factored, or at least priced out of the market cuz maybe they just can't financially afford, certain mortgage payments and that, you know, we need to take that into consideration of course. [00:11:00] But ultimately there's a lot of different options out there. You know, working with a lender and talking about what that looks like to get pre-approved, lockdown rates, you know, or a lot of sellers right now are offering owner carry options too.

Alice Lema: Yeah. That's coming back.

Tiffany Wilkerson: Loans, I mean, yeah, there's a lot of different interesting things that we just haven't seen in a while. And there is options, you know, to make, you know, their dreams come true by buying that dream property that they at one point, wanted.

Alice Lema: And I really like what you said about if you are in the market at all or want to be, there's so much opportunity. That's not being talked about in the news, and it has to do with the good mortgage rate you have on the home you have, with all the equity you have. I'm watching people sell their home, get another one, and their mortgage is about the same.

The, so it doesn't matter like what the rate is. I mean it does, don't get me wrong, but you have to do the entire math problem. You have to finish the arithmetic because I bet you'll find out your [00:12:00] payment's not gonna be much different, and then you're gonna get the house you want.

Tiffany Wilkerson: Exactly. Yes. I mean, there's a lot of people we are, we're seeing a really, really huge increase in retirement, which is very interesting right now.

Alice Lema: Oh, really? Let's, well, let's talk about that.

Tiffany Wilkerson: Yeah. So I think ultimately this is kind of factored into a lot of different things. I think that anybody with, you know what, what I saw when I was pulling some statistics was anybody over the age of 65 we're seeing a huge increase in their retirement. I think a lot of that factors into maybe them seeing a dip in their 401ks. You know, or you know, what that might look like, you know, in terms of the, how the economy is performing. And so when they start to see that, they might be considering, well, I was thinking of retiring in two or three years, but it might make more sense for to retire now. And so they're kind of expediting that process. A lot more, increase in, you know, Medicare and seeing what the, you know, enrollments have all really taken up like a huge amount of I guess applications that we've been seeing across the board.

And I think what we're seeing is people downsizing now. Okay, well, you know, I'm gonna retire this year and so I'm gonna go ahead and downsize and so I'm gonna sell my [00:13:00] house and then get into something much smaller. And so, but yeah retirement just here in Jackson County was up 18.9% last month.

Alice Lema: Last month, that is so interesting. Because we do have a lot of older people, semi-retired, looking to retire. Yes. That live here and. Wow. We'll have to watch that. We'll have to track that.

Tiffany Wilkerson: Yeah, I mean, I think just downsizing or they wanna be closer to their family now. I mean, a lot of different reasons why people might relocate and sell. But again, you know, it's just seeing like what the trends are and you know, again, real life real estate.

Alice Lema: So, mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . Yeah. It's, it's not the speculation market, it was, where you just sell your house and go, go live somewhere else. I guess wait for the market to change. So now the market is changing, but people are, I think not looking at the whole picture and the opportunity that's here, because if you can get one of these great prices of one of these houses that's being discounted. And the seller's still making money because they [00:14:00] have appreciation. They just don't have as much as they did six months ago. Exactly. But they still have, they still have plenty and they still wanna move. Gosh. And then you don't have to overpay as a buyer.

Tiffany Wilkerson: Yeah. You have, you got a lot more options, a lot more inventory, and you got, you, you know, you got some negotiations again, you can still come in. So again, it's another reason, you know, to connect with a real estate agent because this is your opportunity to now negotiate. Sellers are motivated if, if a house is listed right now on the market, they are motivated. You know, and you can work with them and come to an agreement between both parties.

Alice Lema: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. . And we're watching offers being accepted. 10, 15, 25, $50,000 under Ask. So you just gotta get out there and write those offers.

Tiffany Wilkerson: Yep, I agree.

Alice Lema: We're talking to Tiffany Wilkerson, the general manager of John L. Scott. Ashland, Medford, Eugene. She is the captain of our ship. We're so happy to have her. We're gonna have to take a quick break here to say thank you to our [00:15:00] sponsors. We are gratefully brought to you by John L. Scott, Ashland and Medford. Thank you so much, Guy Giles, Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, and our local Rogue Valley Association of Realtors, also known as RVAR. When you hear us say our RVAR , we're not just making sounds, it's our local Rogue Valley Association of Realtors.

This broadcast is gonna be repeated tomorrow, Sunday at 6:00 PM So stay tuned for more information from Tiffany Wilkerson, from John Al Scott Ashland, Medford, eugene will be right back.

Well, hey, Southern Oregon, welcome back to the Real Estate Show. We're so happy to have you. Today we're talking to Tiffany Wilkerson, the general manager of John L. Scott, Ashland, Medford, and Eugene, but she is our fearless leader. Thank you for being on the show, Tiffany.

Tiffany Wilkerson: Thank you, Alice.

Alice Lema: So talking about the market and how some of us feel that it's being misunderstood, that people are waiting for a big crash. But it's hard to watch all the [00:16:00] economic indicators and still look at the data and then tell people, but we're still up in our prices from last year.

We're still selling houses. How do you help explain to people whether they're buying or selling how to incorporate that, that information they're getting from the newscasters, and and compare that to what we're really seeing here in southern Oregon.

Tiffany Wilkerson: Well, I think it's important to take note that while the economy will obviously have an impact on the real estate market, the real estate market is very different than most other industries being as that we are very much geared and or we are affected by supply and demand.

And so, you know, it's something similar. There was a really interesting story that was presented at one of our office meetings a few weeks back, and it was about Disney. And that, you know, we were seeing, you know, a huge decline in prices and, you know, various things across the globe with really big corporations.

Well, you know, and they were obviously taking, you know, into consideration what the market was doing and specifically the [00:17:00] economy. And when asked, you know, will Disney Land and Disney World and everybody be, you know, decreasing their prices? And the response was, no. And, and you know, we are affected by supply and demand and there is still a huge for, you know, the parks and, you know, everything along those lines. And it was, it was, you know, that's just kind of, you know, a little snip snippet of what that was like. But it was a really interesting article because it really did play into the similar, way that the real estate market is impacted.

And so, again, you know, While our inventory is increasing, especially in certain price points, just even looking at Ashland specifically in our county and other areas, you know, you got over a million dollar, over a million dollars. You're looking at 9.5 months of inventory, but still really anything under 500,000, you really still only have about three months of inventory.

So you know, while it is definitely increasing than what we've seen in comparison to last couple years, you know, I've been really doing my due diligence of trying to compare everything to 2018 2019 and seeing really what that looks [00:18:00] like for the market and seeing what that cycle is gonna look like.

And I think that, you know, especially if we see interest rates decline, which I do predict, coming in about March, April, I think that we're gonna see the market just starts to correct itself and shift, and we're gonna be right back in it. So we're gonna see this slowdown. You know, I, I, we, we predicted this, oh, there's gonna be two, three months where everyone's gonna completely panic.

But the thing is completely panic. And, but at the same time, You know, just connecting with people and seeing where they're at financially, but also mentally. And a lot of people are making moves and kind of what you and I were talking about is I call, we call it real life, real estate.

And there's always the reasons, you know, diamonds, divorce, you know what is it diplomas you know, all these different reasons, death, unfortunately, you know, things that occur in life that will force people to buy and sell and relocate. So that's where we are. We're diving into real life real estate.

And so, you know, we're still seeing a lot of activity. We're still seeing a lot of, transitions in the market. And because [00:19:00] you have to, you know, people still have to buy, they still have to sell, and they still, need a, a real estate professional to guide them through that process because it's not gonna be the same for you.

It won't be the same for me. I mean, it all ba is based on income and how much equity they have in their home, and you know what that looks like. But there's a lot of opportunity out there and business is still being had.

Alice Lema: you know when you were mentioning the real life real estate, that is such a great way of of framing it. We we're seeing a lot of divorces since, oh, it's, we reopened. Are you hearing a lot? And I'm not like trying to focus on somebody's bad news, but it's like we normally have a certain amount and then like, but right now all the agents are talking like everybody's readjusting their life. And that has to do with their house .

Tiffany Wilkerson: Yeah. No, I think, you know, it's unfortunate. I wish I, you know, had a, a better, thumb on, you know, really what's going on with that. But you're, you're right, Alice. I mean, like I said, we saw, we're seeing a huge increase in retirement. We're seeing a huge [00:20:00] increase in divorce rates.

And let's just be honest for a minute, you know, take into consideration what the last couple years has been like. Yeah, for a lot of people, and I think, you know, there's been a lot of turmoil, there's been a lot of stress, and I think the market and the economy right now, while you know, the real estate market might be being impacted in one way, that doesn't mean all industries are being impacted the same.

And I know that, you know, we might be seeing a lot of job loss. I mean, let's look at Facebook and let's look at these big corporations that are laying off hundreds of thousands of people. And so, You don't know what that's gonna look like and how that impacts somebody in their personal life. But again, you know, kind of going with along those lines, we're training and I'm training our agents that you need to connect with people right now.

And, I mean, this is, this is a great opportunity, especially during the holidays, but even if you don't celebrate the holidays, even if you don't celebrate Christmas or anything like that, Hey, you know, hey Alice. I just, you know, I haven't had a chance to talk to you in a while. I just wanna see how you're doing.

You know, we just get so busy throughout the year and this is the one time, you know, for us to be able to really take into consideration, you know, to call your clients, call your family, call your friends, [00:21:00] and just touch base and have a genuine conversation with them. That's just, I think that technology, and you know, this, the, the devices we have and social media and all the negativity that we're constantly surrounded by, people crave human connection.

They really, really do. You need to be able to, and I think that for years now, we've been really void of that. And it's like reestablishing it, I think is a lot harder than some people have anticipated. We just had our holiday party and it was wonderful. You know, I guess our year end celebration and it was wonderful.

It was so good to see everybody again and we've been slowly incorporating a lot of different events and our, you know, our office is getting busier and busier and where all of our Tuesday meetings and everything are, you know, packed. But at the same time, I think it's taking some people, you know, some time to get acclimated again to being around people and being in large groups and, you know, just kind of feeling, you know, that kind of, that vibe and understanding like how to have a, a genuine conversation with somebody and look them in the eyes and hear their voice and see their mannerisms and their expressions. It's, you know, it's tough. [00:22:00]

Alice Lema: Yeah. And it's important. And it's been three years now. Yeah. Since, you know, we've had this option of, of being with each other and, and spending time with each other, and a lot can happen in an adult person's life. And that frequently means they need to make some changes in their location or where they live. And it's not like the real estate agents are, are pounding for business, but this idea of going back and just humanly connecting with our community just reminds everybody that we're here to help. We're here to serve.

Tiffany Wilkerson: Yes, we are. And we have a great organization just within our office. The Medford Earth Angels is an organization, a nonprofit that was developed, you know, way before my time by the great Jimmy Delarato and his wife Mary West.

And. What it is, is it's actually a a board compiled of a lot of our agents that are actually here at John L. Scott. I think there's about seven or eight of them. And they do some incredible things for our community and currently every, every Thanksgiving and Christmas, what they do is families in [00:23:00] need right here in Jackson County.

They have presents. And you know, we, we take up our whole upper floor of our training room and there's tons of gifts that come in and every family has a number and every family gets a box, like, you know, like a banana box you know, just filled with just stuffing and Turkey and potatoes and onion, and I mean, they're just packed with, stuff pie. And then in addition to the boxed food meal that they get, they also have a list of how many kids are within every family. And so then upstairs we get a bunch of volunteers and our agents come and support and just help wrap everything up.

And then every family has a number. So what they do is they'll come by the office. And we have kind of this assembly line and we're, we're bringing things down and a family will be able to drive up and maybe they have number nine, right? And so then they get a box of their food. And then number nine is also associated with, you know, two or three children. You know, one boy, two girls ages. And so they get the. Matching presents that go along with that family. And I mean, and just, just being a part of something like that, or at least just witnessing all the time and the effort that goes into [00:24:00] supporting, I mean, over a hundred families, possibly even more.

I know it's grown every single year is such a cool thing to see and there's such a need for it. But it really, I think the biggest thing that I love, it's just the compassion that, you know, it shares and I think every one of our agents end that day while everyone's exhausted by, you know, just the event.

it's so good and it's so heartfelt, and I think everybody, you know, just has that moment of, you know, wanting to support, you know, those that are in need and it just, you know, make their lives better, at least for a day.

Alice Lema: Yeah. And a lot of the agents help fund that. Yeah. Earth Angels out of their commission checks. They also volunteer and they do other donations. So, yeah. And that's quite a few, that's grown to, to a hundred or 200 dinners that are donated just to our local, our local folks. That's wonderful.

Tiffany Wilkerson: Yeah. And again, I'm really glad that you, you mentioned that Alice. It is, it's the Metro Earth Angels is funded by a lot of our agents who have over the years, contributed percentages of their commission checks to the [00:25:00] organization. And they've, like I said, they've done some really wonderful things. And, and it's not just this year, you know, the end of the year event. They've done, you know, taken care of health costs for families. Our agents can submit applications for somebody that they may have met, you know, throughout.

Alice Lema: Oh, on behalf of somebody?

Tiffany Wilkerson: Yeah. Oh, okay. And you know, I know they've boughten cars for people, single mom.

Alice Lema: Oh, that's lovely.

Tiffany Wilkerson: Yeah, it's, it's amazing. They've done some really, really, really beautiful things and I think it's really cool to see, you know, what that looks like.

Alice Lema: So, and I think they stepped in pretty, pretty heavily during the fires as, did the Rogue Valley Association of Realtors. Yeah. So we have been through so much in, in just a few years. I mean, if you stop and think, you know, and now we're trying to like, go on as normal.

Tiffany Wilkerson: That's what I'm saying. I mean, honestly, you know, Alice, you gotta look at it every single year. And you know, it's like you have, the covid and the fires. you know, be honest, all the political things that we were seeing and, you know, with just everything in the world. And I think at some point, you know, you, you [00:26:00] become, just exhausted by it. And it's very hard, to come out of that kind of a funk. And so, I mean, I, I personally, I, I do, I try to stay very positive with not just agents in the office, but also my family and my kids and, you know, just come from a place of being helpful and supportive and just be kind.

The biggest thing, honestly, is just be kind to people, you know, touch base with them, smile, send a, send a warm note, a text message, a simple phone call, you know, whatever that looks like. But I think agents really have a benefit of, you know, Not only having a reason to reach out, maybe for the market and the industry and what's happening, but really just connect, just, just talk and check in with people, you know?

Alice Lema: Yeah. To see how everybody is after all of this. Yeah. It doesn't cost anything to be nice ever.

Tiffany Wilkerson: No, it doesn't . It doesn't, and it, and it's needed more than ever right now. And, and I really, truly do believe that very much.

Alice Lema: And how so John L scott had a really good month last month and we could brag a little bit. How are we doing this year?

Tiffany Wilkerson: This year we're still looking pretty good. So [00:27:00] we have, I think I was working on some of the statistics here. We are roughly around 2,700 transactions. And we have closed almost 1.4 billion in sales.

Alice Lema: Wow. Wow. Just John L. Scott.

Tiffany Wilkerson: Yes. And just Medford, Ashland and Eugene. So just our offices. I think something that's pretty cool, you know, and we ranked again in the top 500 for companies nationwide.

I mean, that is incredible. I'm not about John L. Scott, like the company or the corporate, you know, office. I'm talking about our franchise right here in Southern Oregon ranked in the top for five years.

Alice Lema: Oh, I'm gonna cry. That's amazing. Not only cuz we're just a northwest, northern California company. Yeah. And now you're saying just the Medford office is helping that many people buy and sell. Well that's crazy. Yeah. That's amazing.

Tiffany Wilkerson: And especially in like a year where I was mentioning he was getting corrected, you know, this year we're seeing, you know, that intensity adjustment that Lennox, you know, our CEO talks about a lot.

Alice Lema: But really, you know, we've had a very, very good year. We're on track, you know, for. [00:28:00] Another record, and I think it's incredible. That is amazing. We're talking to Tiffany Wilkerson, the general manager of John L. Scott, Ashland, Medford, Eugene. Lots and lots of great stuff. Do not touch that dial. We've got more with Tiffany right after a word from our sponsors. Don't go away.

Well, welcome back to the Real Estate Show folks. I'm Alice Lema, I'm here with Tiffany Wilkinson from John L. Scott. So Tiffany, John L. Scott. I don't think people realize the backstory of this company .

Tiffany Wilkerson: Yeah, I know. Well, especially here in southern Oregon, cuz you know, we are, we're, we're a big company, right? I mean, we're not the biggest company anymore in terms of agent count, but we're definitely the most productive. So in terms of per agent productivity, our agents average anywhere from 14 to 16 transactions, which is incredible a year.

Alice Lema: Yeah. And I think the, the national average is way lower, isn't it? Oh yeah.

Tiffany Wilkerson: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Like two or three. So I mean, yeah, no, our agents.

Alice Lema: So two or three, two or three for a year national average, John L. Scott agents 14. How many.[00:29:00]

Tiffany Wilkerson: 14 to 16 transactions. So our per agent productivity is incredible. And a lot of that is a testament to their experience, to their knowledge, to their professionalism.

Alice Lema: Well, and the training, the training that John L. Scott offers is incredible.

Tiffany Wilkerson: Yeah. A lot of accountability. A lot of good training. We got some incredible coaching. But I think the biggest thing is honestly, our, our John L Scott's been in business for almost a hundred years. I mean, that's something you gotta take into consideration.

And while our, I guess company might be founded on maybe traditional values, which is, you know, relationships and connectivity and, you know, living life as a contribution as our motto. I think it's really important to note it because, because it works and people, you know, again, I mentioned this earlier in the show, people create, crave human connectivity and they really wanna engage and, you know, be around each other.

So we at the office have built an atmosphere. You know, social events and working together as a team and not necessarily in competition with one another. You know, I, I was interviewing one of our agents not very long ago, and she said something [00:30:00] that was so interesting you know, a question had been asked to her.

Well, I'm sure you probably go side by side and go into listing competitions with others, John Scott agents, and how do you, how do you handle that, you know, if you guys are offering something similar? Well, she said something along the lines of, you know, I'm either gonna be a good fit or I'm not. And a lot of it comes down to personality.

And a lot of it comes down to, you know, whether or not we can connect and I'm the right person for you. And if I'm not and you find that this other agent is, I think it's just incredible that you're interviewing another John L Scott agent. And cuz no matter what, no matter whom you choose, you're gonna be in good hands.

And I think you know Exactly, exactly. And taking that approach. Just, you know, that family feel and being supportive of one another and helping each other, you know, throughout, you know, our careers is really a big testament to, I think, why this company is so successful. You know, I love Tuesday mornings getting up there and just music playing. Got Jim and I and you know, you know, doing our little song and dance and really just seeing all the smiling faces and the you know, [00:31:00] comradery and the conversations and the laughter. And I just think it's so cool, you know, for all of us to come together, especially in good times and in bad times, and get through things together.

And I think that the training that has followed suit is you treat your clients the same way. Be there and support them. And so the company morals in general, I mean, John L. Scott is a third family generation own company too. So Lennox Scott, Jay Lennox, so the John L. Scott, the L stands for Lennox. So his great-grandfather went by John L. Scott, but he prefers to go by Lennox. And what I think is really, really neat is under Lennox is actually, he's got some daughters, Stephanie and Savannah, and I hope I'm not missing one. But you know, it's, you know, I've had an opportunity to meet them and, you know, especially work alongside her.

She's up and coming. She's just, she's innovative and different, and I love seeing, you know, the growth of the office and the support of that family feel. I mean, we're only located in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, in the very, very, very northern tip of California. Siskiyou County, like very northern [00:32:00] tip. And, but we're one of the founding members of leading real estate companies of America.

So while we have this Pacific Northwest vibe and this feel to our company, we are nationally, not just nationally recognized, globally recognized, because throughout luxury portfolio.com and the Wall Street Journal, I mean any of our listings that are factored over 900,000 automatically fall into that category.

So our agents have the ability of providing their sellers with reports of listings that have been shown in Asia, in Europe, and just these, you know, beautiful areas. And so we have the resources, we are leaders in technology, but we really, really, the, the main thing that we primarily focus on is a company is supporting one. Friendships and genuine relationships, and I, and I think that's incredible.

Alice Lema: Mm-hmm. and being a consultant, and that is one of the beautiful things about this business model that, that John L. Scott has. And a lot of the, the real estate companies have to be a real estate agent now you are a helper, you're not a salesperson, and you're there to to get somebody from where [00:33:00] they are to where their ne need to be with the least amount of stress as possible. Cuz even on a good day, it's, it's hard to buy and sell houses. And then now you have this weird world that we're living in. Absolutely. But it's, but it's still happening. It's still getting done.

Tiffany Wilkerson: You know, I've said this before, you know you're working with sometimes nine, you know, 90% of most people's personal assets and you know, it's a very, very personal transaction. And I think that's some, you know, sometimes what, you know, we as agents need to focus on primarily is while we have a job to do and, you know, we are gonna be the professional and guide them throughout, you know, everything that, you know, they're currently dealing with.

We wear a lot of hats, , you know, we are their therapist, we're their counselor, we're their real estate agent, we're their lender. We're, we're all the things, and I think that really comes into play with how are we approach. Are we relatable? You know? When I'm working with agents on marketing, I'm a, you know, I've got a big marketing background.

A lot of it is, you know, well your stats are there, you know, you've got [00:34:00] the numbers, you've got the proven experience under your belt, but, but who are you? Like, how can somebody relate to you? You know, what are your interests and what are your hobbies and how can that relate to them? Because I think somebody is going to feel the most comfortable working with somebody that they know has their back, and has integrity, and is honest and loyal. And so those are some really important traits, you know, with agents that fortunately we definitely have here at John L. Scott.

Alice Lema: Yeah. We also have a really big and hardy support staff. Yeah. And they care deeply about every transaction, every agent, every client. Can you speak a little bit about the staff at John L scott?

Tiffany Wilkerson: Yes. They're wonderful , so we do, we've got an incredible support staff. We've got two listing coordinators, staff manager. We have an in-house accounting team. We have transaction management. We have an incredible front receptionist who's bilingual, speaks multiple languages in both Ashland and in Medford.

We have sign guys and that I think is some one of the coolest things. But we actually have guys that will go out and put your yard signs [00:35:00] out for you and they'll also take them away and they'll put out directional. And you know, on occasion when they hit that sprinkler line, cuz they didn't mean to, they're also the handyman, you know, or if they blow over, they'll go out and put 'em out there.

They'll go way out of their way to support, you know, our agents make sure they're out, out there on the field, you know, they're getting what they need. But first and foremost, I really do think one of the biggest assets to our company is our marketing tech team. We have an incredibly robust,

Alice Lema: oh, it's so extensive. Yeah. Amazing.

Tiffany Wilkerson: It's full on media company back there. I mean, we're talking custom brands, billboards, vehicle wraps, commercials. There's a recording studio. It's called J L S S O Studios. For them to be able to pop in there, film a couple things and get it out there. I mean, just having the resource of being able to say, You know, just email in and can I get a couple things done?

I got a listing. I can't really figure out how to sell. They'll run Google advertisements. I mean, and it, and it's just an incredible, really robust team. They have three graphic designers, a videographer. We have a marketing kind of admin that handles all three of our print vendors. You know, [00:36:00] making sure that everything's just constantly running smoothly.

And the project queue, we have custom website designers. I mean, so our agents are supported in so many different ways because, we want them to focus on their clients. You know, when, whenever I'm hiring a staff member and like I said, there's about 18 staff members here, just internally.

Alice Lema: That's remarkable.

Tiffany Wilkerson: It's, it's incredible. And, and they all do such a fantastic job, and they're all really close friends too. So, but again, they're, you know, their main focus is, you know, to support the agents who sell real estate. And you know, it's, it's just a great vibe.

Alice Lema: Yeah, well for such a local company, we really, we really pack a, a big wall up in the technology department and also in the caring department. So yeah, we're very thankful and proud to, to be working for John L scott. Great.

Tiffany Wilkerson: Yeah, it's a good, it's a good company and honestly, I'm looking forward to 2023. I'm ready.

Alice Lema: Well, we'll have to have you back on so we can talk about that. Have a beautiful weekend, folks. Bye now.