Business Innovators Radio - Interview with Curt Stinson Licensed Partner with Engel & Völkers Tucson

Episode Date: July 14, 2024

With over 25 years of experience and over 4,000 transactions, Curt Stinson leads the most dynamic team in Tucson and is an expert at closing deals. 2018 Arizona Daily Star Reader’s Choice Award “Best Real Estate Team”, 2013, 2014, & 2015 Double Diamond Award, 2013 Top 100 Units award, 2015 Double Diamond award-Realty Executives International. Curt Stinson sold over 200 homes in 2016 & for the past 24 years, his team has been consistently one of the top teams in the Tucson area!Learn more: https://tucson.evrealestate.com/Elite Real Estate Leaders Podcasthttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/elite-real-estate-leaders-podcastSource: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-curt-stinson-licensed-partner-with-engel-volkers-tucson

Welcome to the Elite Real Estate Leaders Podcast, brought to you by Trailstone Insurance Group, bringing you interviews with the best real estate and mortgage professionals, empowering you to understand the current trends in the housing market so that you make the American dream your reality. Enjoy today's episode. Welcome to the Elite Real Estate Leaders podcast. Today we have with us Kurt Stinson, who's a licensed partner with Engel and Volker's Tucson. Kurt, welcome to the program. Hey, thank you for having me, Mike. I appreciate it.

You are welcome. We want to dive into everything you do and how you do it and why you do it and who you do it with. But give us a little bit of your story and background. How did you get into the real estate industry in the first place? I got into the real estate industry because my actually grandmother was a developer in Tucson. And I wanted to be like grandma. She was very successful. I decided early on, I decided in college, this is kind of the career path I wanted to go into. I got. into brokerage and selling real estate to get into development. And I then found out that I was very successful in the selling aspect of it and have been selling now for in the Tucson market, I've been selling here for just over 30 years. Wow. So really important question for you. Is Grandma proud of you?

Grandma was very proud of me. She is unfortunately passed away. but she is very much with me in spirit and got to see some of your successes. Yeah, exactly, exactly. And she was a great mentor. Yeah. So tell us a little bit about the Tucson real estate market. So you've got residential, commercial development, all of those aspects.

What is the market look like overall? And then where do you guys fit into that with how you're serving your clients? So the market in Tucson is very interesting. it like the rest of the country is definitely slowed. I mean, interest rates went from three to seven. So that actually put a little halt on the market, but not drastically.

I think mentally most agents are a little on the freaked outside about it. But I think in general, the market is stable and strong still. I don't freak out. I've been through the crash. I've been doing this for 30 years. I've seen the ups and downs and sideways. And inventory is still low.

We're still getting offers on properties. We're still selling properties. It's not the end of the world. Help people all the time. I said, you can always refy a rate, but you can't refy a purchase price. So it's, yeah. And so things are still moving and the world's not coming to an end. No matter who gets elected, the world's not coming to an end.

Yeah, that's a good point. And also it kind of takes, reminds me of how if you are a financial planner and the market, the stock market moves up down or all around, you know, you just say, hey, stay the course, because look back in time. You know, we're going to have some fluctuations. But when you stay in and stay steady, then you're going to reap the uptake. You don't want to make rash moves. So same thing in your market there.

Yeah, rates have moved. But in reality, there's probably a huge percentage of people that need to make a real estate transaction that that you're compelled to do it with or without the rates being preferable like we relocated here we are and we know real estate is a wonderful investment we sold our home we got to do something and the rates are what the rates are do you see that a lot as well oh you're exactly right Mike I see that a lot and and the thing that is a little frustrating is I keep hearing people over and over saying oh I'm going to wait till rates come down. Well, the problem with that is when rates come down, what do you think prices are

going to do? They're going to skyrocket. Then they're going to be priced out of the market. And so that mentality is really hard for us to help people get over. So they understand, again, you're into this rate temporarily. Let things, let interest rates drop and you can always refy out of it. but you can't refy a price. And I'm worried that a lot of people are going to be priced out of the market when rates drop. And then that's our biggest worry. That's my biggest worry. I completely agree.

Totally, Kurt. I think you're right on the money there. Go ahead, Mike. I was just saying that was a great. I was just going to make an analogy of like the Seesaw. You know, it's a huge word picture in your mind of if you push it down on one side is going to go up on another and up on one side is going to down. So something has to give.

you cannot get the best of both worlds. If rates come down, you're not going to have the lowest prices out there so that you can get a good deal. So it's the seesaw effect. Yeah. And I remember three years ago where the agent was just screaming and complaining and crying that I'm writing 20 offers to get one accepted. I'm, I can't get offers accepted. This sucks. This sucks.

This sucks. And prices are going through the roof and people aren't qualifying. Well, if rates drop, rates get down below. low six into the fives again, we're going to be right back at that. And I'm telling buyers right now, you better, you better get in now before it gets crazy like that again. And you know what else I've been hearing a lot of buzz about, especially in Arizona. And I'm really curious to hear your thoughts on it.

What about the luxury market? Because even here in Colorado and some of the other states we function in, the luxury market has kind of been suffering. but I'm curious to see who's buying. And I know just Arizona is so much different from everywhere else in the United States. So give us a little insight. Well, it's kind of interesting that you mentioned Colorado because I operate in, I'm a part owner of the Telluride office. Oh, good to know.

Yeah, of the Inglebrokers in Telluride. And so I have two partners in that. And my other partner, one partner lives in Telluride and then the other partner owns the Engelmokers in Denver. and my hopefully, my hopefully future son-in-law is an agent in in tell you ride. And I'll give my daughter a little shout out.

She's actually a Denver Bronco cheerleader. Oh, cool. Yeah. And so very proud of her. But the thing is, is Arizona is different. Your luxury market is very Texas sensitive and our luxury market is very California sensitive. And so people aren't flocking out of Texas. People are flocking out of California.

Yeah. And so we are definitely more California sensitive. And so our luxury market has been still very strong because they don't get loans, right? The luxury market, they aren't price sensitive. So I mean, I mean, interest rate sensitive. They want, they're going to buy because they want to. So in Colorado, it's a little different. The luxury market in Colorado is they don't have to buy.

They just want to buy. In Arizona, when the luxury market, most of the time the people are moving here and they're going to make this their primary. Now, there is still a huge, huge secondary market also, winter homes. But those people are coming out of the Midwest, Chicago, stuff like that. But again, California, we're very. Very much a product. I hate to say this. I hate to say this.

But we're very much a product of California. Isn't there a decent amount of international buyers too? I heard somewhere maybe? No, no, 100%. So it's interesting in the Phoenix metro market, which I am part owners of the Gilbert office up in the valley. The Phoenix metro market is they see a lot of a lot of Canadian. Canadians, a lot of Europeans, but a lot of Canadians.

In Tucson, we see a lot of Latin America. We see a lot of, we see a lot of Mexico, obviously. And if people don't think there's money in Mexico, they're totally wrong. There's a lot of money in Mexico. And we see a big influx of the wealthy elite from Mexico buying. So it's, yeah, so we do, we do definitely. get affected by the international market. And that's what I love about Engel and Volkers is we're one of Europe's largest real estate companies. We have 1,000 offices in Europe. We have about 400 in the Americas now.

So I capture a lot of that international global market. You know, that's, I really didn't know about the Mexico side. So I'm happy to hear this new information coming in. Now, I know Engle and Volker's is, you know, they're renowned in the luxury real estate market. it's all about kind of live Sotheby's. Can you relate the two companies and tell us a little bit more about Engel and Vokers on the technology side, really? Well, it's, it is, it is great. So I tell people all the time that Germans have re-engineered real estate. So one of the founders of Sotheby's actually works for Ingle and Vokers Americas. Oh, okay. So the founder of Sotheby's actually works for Ingle & Vokers. The number one agent for Sotheby's, globally for many years is actually our president, Anthony hit. So Ingle invokers is definitely, there's a big difference between Sotheby's and Ingoon

Vokers. And we get compared to Sotheby's a lot. They probably, yeah, they're probably our largest competitor. Sure. In Canada, Sotheby's had a big stranglehold on the luxury market. Ingoen Vokers has passed them in Canada. We are making very big inroads in the U.S. And I tell people, we're the shiny new object with much better marketing.

And we have our headquarters is on Park in 56 in Manhattan. Our global headquarters is Hamburg, Germany. Started 45 years ago, Dark Engel and Christian Volker started it. Christian Volker is still very much involved in the company. and it's just been, it was a great move for me. For me to own the Tucson franchise and to be a part owner in the Gilbert franchise and the Chaliery ride franchise has been phenomenal for me. And it was obviously one of the best career moves that I ever did.

All of that was really. Hey, Kurt, I was noticing your website has some rentals. And I find that curious because a lot of times real estate companies don't really focus on that. Is that a, what percentage do you find? of your clients that need a rental while they get their feet settled and then they look at making a purchase. So it's kind of interesting. Engelmokers actually promotes us to do rentals because in Europe it's such a common practice. In the U.S., it's not as common as it is in Europe because in Europe, when you're bestowed a house or you inherit a house, bestowed a house,

then it's really taboo to sell it. So they end up staying in families for centuries. And and they rent them. And in Europe, they do leases. And their leases are much longer. They're not year leases. They're five-year leases, 10-year leases. And so the commissions are very similar. In the U.S., we're used to one-year-lease, two-year lease at the most, right? That's unusual in Europe. So, Engel and Bokers, I don't do a lot of rentals, but when someone comes and they're relocating to to Tucson or the Phoenix Valley and they need help renting a home, we definitely will place them and help them and assist them in any way we can to find them the best rental possible.

I have a client right now that's in, that's renting a home. We're signing the lease today and it's 14,000 a month in rent. And he's signing an 18 month lease. Wow. Yeah. That is, is, like, said that's a whole different landscape than most people are thinking,

oh, I want to rent, so I want something cheap and low. But if you're needing that luxury realm, then that's the price point you're fine with. And that length of a lease sure does, you know, tie them into the community. And then now they know what they want. And now they're ready to move up. Yep.

And he's a CEO of a company. And he is, he's not sure how long he'll be in Arizona. He thinks that he'll be here. three to five years. He's going to rent something for 18 months while he continues to look for something that him and his wife and family really want. And so he had no problem paying 14 grand a month. Yeah. I think the burning question looking ahead is, you know, with the luxury market in Arizona, how do you see the market evolving? And then, you know, what role do you think Engel and Volcker's will play in that evolution? Don't worry about it. Engel and Volker's is a

It is very difficult to say. It is very difficult to say. It took me a while. So I think things are going to be kind of status quo. I don't think that we're going to see any huge changes. And throughout the rest of this year, I think 2025 is going to be pretty much status quo as it is today. We might see an uptick as rates, I think, will continue to drop. But I think they're going to drop so slow. I don't think we're going to see any drastic over-the-night changes. Agreed.

And no matter who gets elected. I just think that it's going to be, I think interest states are slowly going to come down, and I think the market is going to slowly pick up. Okay. But I don't think there's going to be any major swings. I honestly, I hope there's not. I don't want to be like we were three years ago with 20 offers and one getting accepted.

Right. But likewise, I don't want to be fourth quarter of last year when rates jumped a whole point overnight and everyone went dormant. I don't want that either. Yeah. So let people adapt to let people adapt slowly, but don't make major changes. And obviously our industry is going through some changes with the lawsuit settlements and how commissions being paid. And everyone is completely freaked out about that. And I really do believe it's not going to change our industry much. It's going to be we have to do a little bit more work. We have to do a little bit more communication.

But in general, we had to do more disclosures. That's fine. But I don't think it's going to make a huge change when it's all said and done with. You know, I think that's a huge point because a lot of times people get enamored with the headlines and the new changes and they feel dis, you know, out of, out of sync because it's like something new. But in reality, if you peel back through those layers, probably some of those changes are there to protect people. And so that's wonderful that you can rest in that. I was wondering when you're when you're working with a buyer or a seller in the luxury market, what is some of the biggest tips that you would give them in prepping to buy? or even prepping their home for sale because I would venture to say that's different than someone

selling in the $300,000 a $100,000 range. 100%, Mike. In the $300,000 to $400,000 range, when you're dealing in that range right now, that market's still so strong. People are still scrambling for affordable housing. So you timing is everything. So you take one of those listings and you put it on the market as soon as possible because you don't things to change on you. So the condition doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to be spotless.

Put it on the market. It still will sell because of price. Now, the luxury market's different. You want to make sure that you position your home right when it comes onto the market. You want to make sure that the photos are perfect. You want to make sure the drone photos are perfect. The twilight photos are perfect. The house is perfect. Because that's a buyer and a luxury home wants perfect. They don't want to do anything, right? If they're spending, if they're spending four, five, six million dollars, they want the home to be perfect. They want to move into it. They're not going to put up with, oh, I have to replace the flooring, or I have to fix this or do that or clean up this or do, they're not going to do it. Those move on to the next home. So that's,

that's the key. Patience in the luxury market to position the home the best when it hits the market. because you're going to get the most action in the first two weeks. So you got to make sure it's right. You have one chance to make a first impression and you don't want to screw it up. Because any mistake in that realm, a small shift is a big, big number, right? I mean, like, you know, if that first impression isn't made, you might have lost your big whale that might have been ready to buy, but, yeah, they just moved on. Oh, yeah, exactly. Exactly. And you better make sure you better make sure that your, your photography is spot on.

You better make sure your Matterports that you're doing the walkthroughs are spot on and edited correctly. You better, you're right, exactly. I mean, we have an offer coming in on a house. You got to realize the average home price in Tucson's like, let's call it 425,000, 425,000. I have a house right now that we just put on the market for 2.45 million. Okay, so that's a very high-end luxury home in the Tucson market. And I have an offer coming in tomorrow. I have an offer coming in tomorrow. The guy's sight unseen cash.

And he viewed it through the Matterport and is comfortable writing an offer. It makes me nervous, but he's comfortable writing an offer to buy the home based on our mataport and our photography. So you better make sure. You better, we reach, we used to before the internet, okay? I'm 54 years old. Before the internet, you, I mean, it didn't really matter. But now, pitchers don't speak a thousand words.

They speak millions and millions of words. Yeah. So it's so important. It's so, so important to make sure that it's position. When it hits that market and it hits the web and it hits all the syndication websites, you better make sure it looks good. And this client out of Santa Barbara saw the home, is moving to Tucson, doesn't want the home to get away from him, and is willing to write the offer. Wow.

That also goes to tip of the hat to you and your guidance, your team and the steps that you're guiding them to take so that they feel comfortable with that. Or else they would just kind of feel, again, just disjunct. So I think when all of those factors are working together, then that kind of a. offer comes in and they're not you know trying to you know change change things up or or deviate they're they're just following the process and I think that speaks volumes well thank you yeah and it's yeah and it's spend the money all right if a if you're used to spend in if you're used to spend $500 on photography plan on spending three four thousand maybe $5,000 right you got to spend the money to make the money and if you're working it in the luxury market they expect it yep

100%. Well, Kurt, I think this has been really helpful in eye-opening. I've really enjoyed learning from your 30-plus years of experience and some of the things you've seen and some of the ways that you guide your client. So if someone is interested in learning more about you or your team at England Volker's, what's the best way they can do that? You know what, Mike, the best way to it, it sounds weird, but the best way is to call me and text me, all right? I'm very reachable. I stay up very late. I respond to, I respond to text very well. I answer my phone. So the best way is to call me or text me, and I'll give you my phone number, and it's 520-954-5-80. And again, 5-20-9-5-4-5-8.

8-00. It's Kurt Stenson with Engelmokers in Tucson. You can find me on the web. You can shoot me an email and everything. But honestly, text or phone calls the best for me. Excellent. Well, Kurt, thank you so much for coming on. It's been a real pleasure talking with you. I appreciate you guys having me. And I appreciate the questions. Thank you. Thank you for listening to the Elite Real Estate Leaders podcast. Brought to you by Trailstone insurance group. To learn more about the topics mentioned on today's show or listen to past episodes, visit www.org.com.com.