Ever Onward Podcast

How To Sell Real Estate Though Social Media in 2025 with Laurel Hamblin | Ever Onward - Ep.41

• Ahlquist. • Season 1 • Episode 41

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What’s the secret to real estate success on social media? Laurel Hamblin says it’s all about mastering social media. Let’s dive into her winning strategies.
 
Laurel Hamblin is a unstoppable real estate professional shaking up the Boise, Idaho market. Starting her career at just 19, Laurel speaks about her incredible journey and the innovative strategies that have propelled her to success. Get ready to uncover the secrets behind her powerful social media marketing and the educational programs making homeownership a reality for first-time buyers.
 
Balancing ambition with authenticity, Laurel also dives into the personal side of real estate. Learn how she manages a young, dynamic team by fostering a family-like culture and the importance of staying true to oneself. This episode is packed with insights on building a successful career, navigating the ever-evolving real estate market, and the relentless drive required to chase your dreams. Tune in and be inspired by the future of real estate in the Treasure Valley!
 
Additionally for our Ahlquist Update, we have Tonn Peterson, VP of Development at Ahlquist on the podcast. Tonn joins us to reveal the intricate planning required for a major project on Ten Mile Road. With 18 months of community engagement and complex zoning discussions, Tonn shares how his transition from litigation to development has shaped his approach to problem-solving. Tommy and Tonn explore the exciting growth prospects in regions like Meridian and Kuna, with significant developments that promise to transform the local landscape.

Follow Laurel on IG:
https://www.instagram.com/laurel_hamblin/
https://www.instagram.com/thehamblingroup/


Follow Ahlquist on Social Media:

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/ahlquist/⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/ahlquistdev/

TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@ahlquistdev

X (Twitter): ⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/ahlquistdev

Meta (Facebook): ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/ahlquistdev/

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ahlquistdev?si=ejOXPKRqQjtsdVFE


Speaker 1:

Today on our Ever Onward podcast we have Laurel Hamblin. She is a highly respected real estate professional here in the Treasure Valley. She is 24 years old, got started when she was 19 in real estate and is now one of the highest producers agents here in the Valley and we're going to talk about the Boise home market new sales specifically and talking about her her in her 20s and kind of leading this next generation of leaders in the community. Really excited to have her on today. Before we have Laurel on, we are going to hear from Tom Peterson for our Allquist update. He is our VP of development here at Allquist and looking forward to hearing from Tom Tom Peterson.

Speaker 2:

I'm here Long night, last night, long night, yeah, long time in the making too, 18 months culminating in last night.

Speaker 1:

So for everyone listening on our update this week, big project at 10 Mile Road Might not know how much work goes into getting to last night. So 18 months of work and blood, sweat and tears, and then you go planning and zoning was last month.

Speaker 2:

That's correct. Yep, we did planning and zoning then. Last night was the second part of the city council we had we'd been there three hours the week before they continues and we finished up last night they continued because they kind of ran out of time yeah and then last night, I understand, there were a little fireworks there was some emotion, and that's that's the good part of these things.

Speaker 2:

I mean, we, you know, sometimes we get frustrated by it, but the truth is like to be able to come together in a public forum like that and everyone share their opinion. That's what it's about, but it got a little got a little heated last night well.

Speaker 1:

So big, big project for us. A lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of effort, a lot of planning, trying to do the right thing. Uh, you work with all the different jurisdictions, a little background and then you go before city council and I think last night the issue was over. Uh, traffic studies, which everyone's concerned about. Traffic, it's just the role of government and then the role of private citizens and who pays for what and how that works. Let me summarize A regional traffic study that studies the effects of people moving to Boise for the entire valley is probably not something we want to lead.

Speaker 2:

A little bit of an overreach To look at the Treasure Valley as a whole and say, hey, how does this one development impact the regional traffic on I-84? A little bit of an overreach.

Speaker 1:

As much as I'd love to study and pay for a Highway 16 study.

Speaker 2:

That'd be wonderful.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, there's a word for that, and it's called government.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, state and federal government at its finest, yeah, so we got through. We got through. Yeah, we got through. And the truth is I mean the honest truth is working with the City Meridian, working with ACHD. I mean everyone rolled up their sleeves and worked together on this and it's going to be a gem for the community.

Speaker 1:

So Tom Peterson, one of our partners here, background in litigation. I tell the story all the time. First time you came in you're like, hey, I think you're going to hire me.

Speaker 2:

And I like, hey, I think I think you're gonna hire me and I'm like tom, we try to avoid guys like you, like we do not want to be in a courtroom, remember. Yeah, I do, and that's been five years, five and a half, going on six years, yeah, yeah, which is a lot, but I'll tell you and I've told you this before, tommy, I had no idea the similarities between being in a trial room yeah a courtroom and being up and before city council, it it feels a lot the same yeah, both.

Speaker 1:

Both of them are unpleasant at times yeah, I mean you love it, though. You're good at it, and a lot of it's preparation right?

Speaker 2:

yeah, it is, that's exactly right. I mean, you prepare for 18 months for a two hour hearing, or you prepare for a year for a two-day trial.

Speaker 1:

It feels a lot the same right you probably get sick of us because you came in and it's been great because you've taken over the entire entitlement thing and there's all these other legal I mean you think of all the stuff you do day to day. It's different every day. Each project's different, whether we're in jerome or homedale now, or city of meridian or nap, and the other thing we get to do is we get to compare jurisdictions, right, whether we're in reno or another state even like, it's just always different depending on the jurisdictions, and it's interesting to see how they interact and react and codes are interpreted.

Speaker 2:

And a lot of different personalities and a lot of different moving parts, and it just, I mean, there's no one day that's the same. And so I. Sometimes my kids are like you know, what do you? What do you do, dad? I'm like exactly what I did as a litigator is just solving problems and trying to figure it out day by day.

Speaker 1:

Right, yeah, you probably get sick and tired of getting sidebarred by us, though no, that's the best part. It's like you're the go-to on anything legal, if it even starts with an L. We go in there and say hey, tom, what do you think? What's what? What's been best about the transition for you and leadership in general? I mean, you've been a leader your whole life. You fit right into what we do as one of our partners.

Speaker 2:

Has it been a good move for you? It's been. It's been the move of a lifetime, and that's not an overstatement either. I mean, what I've, what I've really enjoyed is, you know, taking the, you know the business background, the legal skills, but able to come in and actually actually build something instead of tearing something down Right. I mean, sometimes litigation is.

Speaker 2:

Hey, there's you know we're going to win, you're going to lose, but we're building something. We got to work together and, you know, as partners, we got to work together out in the community. We got to work together, just going home every day and being like hey, we, we, we accomplished something. We're building something that's rewarding. Super cool, you're really. You're really. You're really really good at it too. I've had some yeah, thanks, it's been fun, tommy yeah, if one thing that's been fun.

Speaker 1:

So one of the first things when ton was hired we were doing top golf and we had to buy the subdivision out on the other side of top golf where the nets are, or or we don't get, or we can't get the project done right. So it's like a zero-sum game. We've got to go get this, and so you went in knocking doors and we had some great experiences there. There might be some people that listen to this so we'll keep names out, but we got police called a couple times. Undercooked turkey delivered as a reward to the office.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, my favorite part about that whole thing we buy these houses and I don't even remember this, but we own these houses and we got to demolish them at some point. But I'll always remember coming back to the office and Tommy Alquist being like hey, I found these Johnny Cash records in one of the houses. They were sweet. Well, you owned them, so you owned everything in the home.

Speaker 1:

Someone left their old vinyls there.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, some sweet Johnny Cash.

Speaker 1:

I still have that. All right, ton hey, thanks for coming on, thanks for the update, thanks for all you do. We'll have you on and appreciate it, man.

Speaker 2:

Hey, thanks, buddy. Thanks so much for everything, thanks.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for coming on today.

Speaker 3:

Thank you for having me. This is going to be fun.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for coming on today. Thank you for having me. This is going to be fun. Thank you so much. I think you did you do some of this. I heard you did another podcast and I'm really looking forward. We haven't met for today, but you're got a lot going on.

Speaker 3:

Lots of things going on right now.

Speaker 1:

Yes, For and I'm really excited to talk about the housing market. So again, formal, bio Laurel works at Amherst Madison, where you have your own team there and do a lot of new construction sales in the housing market. And how is it going out there? Let's start there.

Speaker 3:

So we are grateful to be a really busy team. We primarily work with a lot of new construction. So I am a Gen Z real estate agent and so we're really busy because 30% of the buyers are actually first-time homebuyers.

Speaker 1:

So let's talk Gen Z. Okay, so, as being so, you're young 24. 24.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Oh my gosh, 24 and you've done a lot in a short time because you've got a team underneath you and you're killing it and you're Gen Z and your approach to this generation for selling homes. Talk about how it's different.

Speaker 3:

So I would say starting into my earlier years. So I was licensed when I was 19. So not very many people were, you know, in the market at that time. So I'd say new construction from resale I would say like, as prices have continued to go up, new construction CBH particularly offers like first-time home buyer incentives. So we've sold about nine of their homes this year because of the builder promos. So I'd say that's given a ton of buyers the affordability side to like get their foot in the door without having to turn out of pocket.

Speaker 3:

So I would say CBH is killing the market right now in terms of, like, their builder promos, but I'd say in terms of that they've been a really big hit, for you know what they're offering for buyers.

Speaker 1:

I think Corey and team seem like they're kind of always at the leading edge of all of that and and you know, thank heavens Cause we need housing right what are you hearing Like? One of the biggest barriers is just median home prices. I think we're going to pull up, maddie, do you have that that if you look at median home price in, that's the fed one. So so right now, um, what are we quoting as the median home price in the treasure valley? There, it is median home price right there. What is it?

Speaker 3:

I can't read it.

Speaker 1:

Recently I think there you go, right there 460, yeah, so so 460, and at interest rates that are, that are have been high, historically high you go back and look that they're like at a 20 year high, right yeah, is that hard for people qualifying? Is it hard for people coming up with down payments? What is? What is Gen Z thinking about housing right now?

Speaker 3:

I would say honestly, because the the buyer promos that CBH has done has been really beneficial because you can do what's called a 2-1 buy down. So they give you essentially like $20,000 and you can buy your interest rate down from, you know, 4% the first year, 5% for the next year and then 3% to 30% is about 5% to 6%, hoping that you can refinance by that time. So I would say they cover your closing costs with that amount and then buy down your interest rate, which is actually crazy low. So we've seen monthly payments, you know, 500 below what you would lock it in for, that 3 to 30, which is crazy Huge difference if you're kind of on a budget trying to figure that out.

Speaker 1:

So it's $500 in your positive right Is the theory then? Because, being as old as I am, you've got these times when, when we're predicting that they're going to go down right, the fed just cut rates that you get on essentially an arm that then you refinance when it comes down in a year or two, and that's kind of uh, that's allowing people to get in.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and typically what we would say for that is obviously, when rates come down, everybody that's been on the fence of buying. You know, naturally, with supply and demand, that's going to, you know, have prices increase. So we encourage a lot of buyers to like lock in the purchase price of the home. You know cause by then you know for rates drop, that gives you the opportunity to refinance and then you're not putting yourself in a position with multiple offers because you know a lot of the entry level buyers. You know if you're looking at resale, existing chances are you're going to see a home with an average of a mark, you know an offer or so. So it just reduces the competitive level that you have with new construction too. So there's a lot of like benefits that we've been pointing, like Gen Z, first time home buyers to new construction because you actually don't have that competition that you would with like existing resale.

Speaker 1:

That's great, and and, and, then talk, talk through. So just supply, I mean, I think, if you think about what's happened to Boise and how many people moved, here, and you know, we went back historically and looked at like, um, we, we kind of looked at like what, what? Well, first of all, interest rates. It's interesting to see where we peaked out at and how that compares.

Speaker 1:

The last time we were there was like almost 20 years ago so, but you go, before that it was always above seven percent. I mean it was like, yeah, we had this pretty unique time in history because we had the great recession right probably when you were born. Yeah yeah, 2000 baby so you had the great recession that came shortly thereafter, and then, after the great recession, everyone, like we, always talked about when's it going to happen?

Speaker 1:

Because, the rates can't stay this low. They're going to go up and if you look at the curves, historically it was going to go up. It just lasted a lot longer than we thought it would.

Speaker 1:

And then I think, right when it would have gone up, then we had COVID and so we've had these kind of exceptional times that have defined this, but, but, but I think the Fed, I think you would, you would say we, we've, we've accomplished kind of that soft landing. We didn't go into recession and now rates are coming back down right um they came down for a day, yeah, and went back up a little bit.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 1:

So talk to me because you deal with buyers, just the mentality of the supply thing, because if you're looking for a home in Boise right now, or you're looking to either rent or buy, for a lot of people buying is tough to figure out, and so do you see more production and more supply coming. What, what's your prediction? Uh like for 25?.

Speaker 3:

So what I would say is um, when we coach our buyers, just getting their foot in the door, it's giving them the expectation that that home is going to be an investment property for them. So in terms of like their real estate long-term goals, it's getting your foot in the door for a home. It's like more so moving ready, you don't have to put a ton of money into it and holding it. It's more so like we coach to buy and hold versus, you know, selling and then like really kind of hitting the aspect of like building long-term wealth. But I would say new construction makes up a lot of the market right now. You're seeing that I just pulled a property search for some buyers in Nampa, coldwell for new construction and they have about 119 options under $400,000, which is pretty cool because hitting that price point for them, you know obviously you're gonna get more bang for your buck if you go out to those price points.

Speaker 1:

So to say that again so in right now, 119 options on the market. Yeah, under $400,000 right now.

Speaker 3:

New construction in Nampa Goldwell.

Speaker 1:

Wow.

Speaker 3:

Pretty incredible.

Speaker 1:

So if you have that and you have some sort of incentive on the front end, you're getting down to a monthly payment of Like $2,300 to $2,500. And so if you look at that, compared to a two-bedroom apartment in most places you're still higher by a bit, but not you know, it's just. It's just. Do you want to invest in something that's yours or not? What about the mentality of the younger generations and new home buyers? Buy versus rent? Is that something you have to overcome?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, oh for sure, I would say. Um, a lot of people. I mean, really, real estate comes back to like education. They're shocked by the programs that are available, or, excuse me, available for first-time homebuyers, because you have Idaho housing that allows you to buy it on your interest rate, which really, I mean if you can go new construction, the buyer is honestly like not paying their closing costs. So it really costs them about $3,000 out of pocket to buy a house and that just covers, you know, your appraisal and then your inspection and then your half a percent down payment. So there's some really crazy options that allow affordability, you know, for buyers, but it's really a matter of giving them the tools and options for that. So it's all based on education.

Speaker 1:

Tell us a little bit about your marketing strategy, because I know it's different than traditional.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so early in my career, you know, starting as a 19 year old real estate agent, you know that's kind of where I decided I had the opportunity to build a business based on social media. At the time it wasn't really heavily marketed on Instagram. I feel like it's more so kind of new to everybody in terms of really building a platform and actively filming content for Instagram. So I would say I get about 90% of my business from online, from Instagram specifically. That comes from like referral agents outside of Idaho. I've received my biggest referral here in Nampa. It was a two build or sorry, two year build in Nampa. It was a $4 million listing that I got from an agent out of Montana. She'd been following me on Instagram for a really long time. So opportunities are so available for us on social media. I feel like it's very overlooked sometimes and you you probably will get some of your biggest deals from social media platforms. It's pretty incredible.

Speaker 1:

So how, um? I mean, it's just different, right? Cause you think about traditional marketing and reach and all those sorts of things, Cause I, you know, when I knew you were coming on, I looked I mean you've got a lot of followers, you do a lot of content that's related to your subdivisions and it's just this constant dripping of information. Yeah, is there? Tell us the strategy behind it, for those who don't get it.

Speaker 3:

Yes, okay, there's a lot of people that don't get it and it's totally fine, but I would say, like we are now in changing times and I think a lot of people would agree to that that marketing is so important. I would argue that it's honestly, a portfolio for people. It doesn't really matter what business you're in. It's you your Instagram profile, whether that's Facebook, linkedin. It's your portfolio online.

Speaker 3:

I joke and tell agents you wouldn't list a property that's not professionally shot. Same thing with, like, social media platforms You're not going to post non-professional content. So I would say, like that's so important in today's market, when you're building a brand, you better be paying for professional content and you know, in addition to all of your services and products. So I would say it's been such a significant compound effect in my business and for our team and you know the amount of business and you know money that we've made from Instagram is pretty incredible. So I'd say it's so important, I think, now more than ever, to build a personal brand. I don't know if you follow Ryan Serhant, but he's he is on Netflix selling Serhant or, sorry, selling Manhattan, but he is, I would say, an agent that I admire because he's so amazing.

Speaker 1:

Most of the stuff I know, because I'm so old, is from Matty. He tells me where to go and what to do, but yeah, it's incredible. And I think go back to brand. I want to dig in a little deeper. I think brand, said differently, is kind of who you are, what you represent, your values and if you can get that brand out there. That's how it carries a business right. So a lot of time and effort are spent on branding and sometimes you'd know well it's going to work or it's not going to work. But talk about authenticity and talk about the way you, your drive and how you translate that from who you are and what you represent into a brand using a platform like Instagram.

Speaker 3:

So I don't know if you know that I have a son. Did you know I have a son? Okay, so this is a huge piece of my why and my story. So I actually had my son in high school. I was 17 when Leo was born.

Speaker 1:

So his name's Leo, Yep Leo in high school.

Speaker 3:

I was 17 when Leo was born, so his name's Leo, yep, leo, leo the lion. So rather than going into college, my world kickstarted really early on, and so I was introduced into real estate. I didn't really know much about the industry, but I would say that is honestly the why to my career.

Speaker 1:

How were you drawn to real estate? It's an it's a completely interesting path, right.

Speaker 3:

For sure, definitely it's a hard.

Speaker 1:

It's a crazy story Totally. So you're 17. You have Leo.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so he was born in McCall. My dad's from McCall, so I've lived kind of all over the valley in Boise. My family's from Eagle, but I finished high school in McCall. Leo was born. I knew a small town wasn't going to be the life for me, and so my uncle is actually a coach at Keller Williams. So I started at Keller Williams. I was there for two years and then I've been at Amherst for almost three.

Speaker 1:

So that was kind of your intro. You saw him and understood that that was a way, a pathway, kind of a line of sight to a career you might like. Were you immediately drawn to it when you started?

Speaker 3:

So my career started actually was renovating a real estate office from. I was going to join a team at Keller Williams and was helping renovate the office. So I actually love manual labor and I'm actually under contract on two investment properties I'm going to renovate with my partner. But long story short, I started as an admin, got my license planned to be an assistant and just did not fit what I was looking for. I just felt the burning desire in my heart that I was like meant for bigger things and didn't really know what that looked like at the time.

Speaker 1:

And just how did you have the confidence to do that?

Speaker 3:

I think when you are a young mom and you have no option, I think that really pushes you past your limits. So I think when you're in my you know scenario, is faced with such large responsibilities at a young age, it kind of honestly turned into a superpower, because I didn't really have the time to like, worry about, fear, you know.

Speaker 1:

Were you always a confident person.

Speaker 3:

I would say no, I don't think, you know, going into new industries, I think it's hard for people to have the confidence until you get into the groove. But I would say there's definitely. I read a lot of books on personal growth and stuff like that, so I think it's a skill set that you have to learn, especially being in this industry. It's you know, it's a competitive industry too.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, but but still so you have this in with your uncle. You saw kind of the industry. You think, oh, I'm going to go be a support staff which is critical for the industry. But you immediately say I'm going to, I support staff which is critical for the industry.

Speaker 3:

But you immediately say I'm gonna, I'm gonna do something different.

Speaker 1:

I'm gonna figure this out. Yeah, that's, that's fascinating. So then then from there. I mean, you're only you're 24, so in a relatively short time.

Speaker 3:

You tell us about the beginnings here and how you started growing this so I again early in my age I was 20 and 21 and working with a lot of first-time homebuyers and I think I was starting to get burnout with that sphere because very high emotions for first-time homebuyers. You're dealing with a lot of hand-holding, which I love to do, but you know it can be a lot of burnout when you're doing a lot of you know transactions with these. You know younger buyers. I've always been fascinated with new construction. I have long-term goals for, like new construction for myself as well.

Speaker 3:

I love design. I think that it's always something that I've wanted to be a part of there's. You know I primarily work with a builder, but that was like a two-year process in the making. You know new construction takes a lot of time to come to fruition. So you're investing all your time and tools and resources, you know, until you get to going vertical. So it's you're putting in all this time and having faith that it's all going to work out and eventually you know when you put in the work it does.

Speaker 3:

But I would just say I've transitioned into new construction because I see the bigger picture in real estate for me and I've always been passionate about getting into development. For some crazy reason. I've always loved development and stuff like that, so I love to learn everything that I can. I read the book Rich Dad Poured Out recently and he just said something that stuck out to me like you're getting paid to learn, and I think that I'm so grateful to be in this industry because there's so many avenues that you can take and there's so much opportunity to be made.

Speaker 3:

Who's been one of your biggest mentors this early in your career. I would say I mean, obviously I'm at Amherst Madison because I admire Boucher and the team that he runs At Keller Williams. At the time I really admired Lisey's team. I think my vision for what I want our team to do with the new construction and existing sphere that we have.

Speaker 1:

By the way, that's a couple of names early on. I think, lisey Bishop, you think about what she's done here for 20 plus years. And her drive and motivation. I've had the pleasure of meeting her and her husband a couple of times. For some things they're incredible. And then Matt Boucher. I mean that guy's like.

Speaker 3:

I don't know what.

Speaker 1:

I don't know how to keep up with him. But, he's fantastic. So what do you learn from them when you see them and what? But he's fantastic, so what do you learn from them when you see them and what? What do you think they've done to be successful that you can take from them?

Speaker 3:

So I've had a lot of time at Amherst Madison. You know I was at the Boise location for two years. We're currently at Eagle. I just love that location. But what I would say is I mean it really takes everyday consistency to build a business, and voucher, you know, has a solid routine. He's there at eight o'clock, he gets his stuff done, like he really puts in the work. And I just it just goes to show it doesn't matter how far you are in the business, whether that's five years, 10 years, like you have to show up and get the work done and he puts in his time and I've seen that and it just it really takes a special talent to put in the drive and go, go, go, you know, for as long as he has.

Speaker 1:

We've said this on this podcast for, but it's kind of like lead by example and, when necessary, use words right, there's so much about an energy that a guy like Matt Boucher brings that it's like he doesn't even need to really say much. It's just like okay, let's go Right so that's cool, that's awesome. Um, what? What about building a team? Cause I know you have a team now and so you get going and you're like, okay, I'm going to have a team.

Speaker 3:

How has that changed the dynamic for you? When I first got into new construction, obviously I knew I was going to have to build a team, because there's so much transactions there's no way you can handle it on your own. I love having the culture that we get to create the culture around us, and having a really healthy relationship where we're invested in each other's personal growth. I think it's really, honestly, I think it's like a family for us because we are so invested in each other and we have the same goals. You know we I would just say it's really fun to create the culture that you have and it's I would say it's a unique opportunity. It's been really fun, so it's just special in my opinion.

Speaker 1:

So it's just special in my opinion. What, uh, what is uh? What attracts people your age to business and makes that culture something they want to be part of I mean, I'm part of part of the world for old people like me is trying to figure out you guys right, cause I do think it's. You know it's when you're dealing with people that have only grown up with a certain way, a certain way now.

Speaker 1:

I mean that you've grown up with access to a phone in your hand. You just see the world differently, the way you look at interactions and people are different. So, in your opinion, what attracts people to business, keeps them happy, keeps them motivated, and is it different for your generation?

Speaker 3:

I truly believe there couldn't be a more opportunity based in the world than today because of the tools and resources that we have, and with that, I think that that's, you know, on the flip side, has made my generation lazy because we have access.

Speaker 1:

You said it I know it's okay.

Speaker 3:

But then there's people that you know really want to put in the work and, you know, build a business, and so it just kind of separates from those that you know don't really have much going on. But I would say, if you are willing to take the opportunity and put in the time, there really couldn't be a better time to build a business in today's world with the resources.

Speaker 1:

Can I ask you something? Maybe say it a little differently. So I think, um, and this is my theory on life, I think, I think with phones and I and I you know, I have a 19 year old, I have a 21 year old, and then I have a 28 and 26.

Speaker 1:

So my older kids I watched not have phones until later, kind of through their years, and then my younger ones obviously have had one the whole way through. Yeah, they just have, and so um, so I worry as a parent and just kind of societal society wide, like how, how some social skills, like just human interaction, the way you greet and interact and build relationships and that's the old guy, that's like the get off my lawn Gran.

Speaker 3:

Torino. Thing.

Speaker 1:

But it's like just different than it is now off my lawn grand torino thing, but it's like just different than it is now. Your way is the future, though, right? So I what I'm trying to say is like if you can figure out how to do both still have those social interactions, connect with people yeah, have genuine relationships and also dominate on this new media interaction that people are digging. That's probably the secret sauce it is.

Speaker 3:

I would agree to that, for our generation at least, people that just don't have those soft skills, for lack of a better word. What do they do? I would say that's a great question in terms of. I would say I don't really spend too much time with other agents outside of Amherst and, to be quite honest, there isn't too many people in their younger 20s outside of Amherst and, to be quite honest, there isn't too many people in their younger 20s. So I would say, like for my personal family, like my son doesn't, we don't have tv in the house. The only time we have tv is actually for, like, the Dolphins games. My partner loves football, but I can 100% relate to you know the you know the technology side of things so you don't have a tv we don't.

Speaker 3:

yeah, we actually just got a TV in our house for the first time to watch football on Saturday and Sunday and I'm like I can't believe it's like three times a week three hours for this. But it's okay, like totally cool for the football fans.

Speaker 1:

Is he sad now that Tua got hurt?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, we actually were in Miami for that.

Speaker 1:

Oh, you were.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, we saw the full game.

Speaker 1:

You were at the game yeah, it was pretty devastating. Yeah, hey, how cool is their coach he is a killer, he's.

Speaker 3:

I think he's in his young 30s.

Speaker 1:

It's pretty cool I love his transformation this year being in miami, like the third year when he came out with his new goatee and his new glasses, curly hair. It's pretty funny I love listening to him do his interviews um, so it was the TV.

Speaker 3:

Was it a conscious choice on your part not to have Honestly, I think number one, Leo prior to like having a partner, he's been with me outside of business hours and because I'm such a go-getter we're honestly never even home. I would say Leo, like everybody at Amherst has met Leo at some point because he's come through the office with me and you know he just works on his homework or coloring or you know, as we come in and out we're just pretty busy. Or if we're like showing homes, you know, prior to having a team he would how old is leo now?

Speaker 1:

he's six, so he's yep six so he's kind of grown up with you side by side. How hard is that?

Speaker 3:

I think being a single parent is hard, but I think, you know, honestly, I'm so grateful that I put in the time early on in his life because you know we're under contract on two homes and we're building a real estate portfolio and my goal is to get these paid off so by the time he's old enough he can have a house, because these are things that, like, I didn't have when I was a kid. So I just think like I'm so grateful that I'm putting in the time now, because he's gonna be really grateful for when his time comes.

Speaker 1:

To some of your work ethic. How much of this is maybe not a question you were expecting, it's okay, but I like I know, for when you get around successful people and trying to dig in what motivates them, because clearly, laurel, you're like pretty exceptional. I mean you're look at what you've done and I mean you're 24 and you're killing it and but but how much? How much of your motivation is fear of failure and how much of it is kind of drive for success, and those are probably two different things. But I, I'm, I think I'm, as I get older, I'm okay with having a part of it be. Hey, I don't want to fail, I want to.

Speaker 1:

I want to succeed for myself and the people I love. How much of how much of it is on each side of that.

Speaker 3:

I would say I have like a syndrome of every, like what you just said. I think I want to be able to maximize my potential and I do fear that, like I'm never it's not enough, like I have the not enough syndrome, like have to close more deals, have to do all these big things, like we have already closed and pending 43 transactions this year. So you know, considering the market, I would say that you know the top team next to Bausch is McFerrin's team and did 55 transactions last year. So I would say, like I have such a high expectation can be a blessing and a curse, but like I want to set, you know, as a role model to other young people in this industry and even in, like my generation. I just think there's a shortage of leaders and like I wish there were more of us out there, you know, that could lead and pave the way.

Speaker 1:

So I think that it's one never enough, and you know more. So, wanting to lead by example for my generation too, With your generation, does anyone ever talk to you about balance? It's a tricky word for a long time for me, but, but. But how do you? I'll give you my theory on life. But, but balance, how do you, at your young age, with your mind, how do you like life, but? But balance how do you at your young age with your mind?

Speaker 3:

how do you like? What does that word mean to you? I would say my life, you know, and I I think that you know opportunity costs for a lot of people and entrepreneurs. You have to put in a ton of time depending on how you want to scale your business. And I I knew, going into this career to build a long-term business, I was going to have a life of very unbalanced and I was okay with that. This career to build a long-term business I was going to have a life of very unbalanced and I was okay with that.

Speaker 3:

I met my partner this year and we're getting married in December and he thank you, and he, I would say, has brought a lot of balance into my life to slow down, um in a healthy way, to, just you know, take advantage of, like family time, quality time, which has been really nice for me, to be honest.

Speaker 1:

Hey, take it for what it's worth. But I had a really good friend who told me this about no, probably seven or eight years ago, and I wish I would have heard it when I was 24. But he just said like because I always felt guilty about balance, Because I think I've always been very entrepreneurial and I was always working too much and like you look, and I think you but was it worth it though?

Speaker 1:

I think it was. I mean, I'm on the back end now, so you know my kids are grown. I've got three grandkids now. I saw that so cute. They're stinking awesome. I love them and you never get time back. So I think one of the lies I told myself was quality time is as good as quantity.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I think it's the thing of the lie you have to tell yourself when you're busy.

Speaker 1:

You have to say, hey, well, I'm a really good mom, a really good dad and I'm going to spend a lot of really good time with them. With that said, here's what my friend told me that I wish I would have known because it would have been a lot easier on myself. He said rather than think of balance in a time commitment, he said why don't you check yourself every morning and every night on your priorities? Yeah, and if you feel like you've lived up to your priorities and Leo's at the top of that list in the morning and at the night, regardless of how much time you spent with him, because it's going to be different you know you're going to have, you'll have these closings and then you'll have slower times. And you'll have these closings and then you'll have slower times and you'll have and as long as those priorities never change and you're constantly the ones checking yourself and your own heart, your own mind of hey, no, my priorities are right that that will let you off the hook.

Speaker 3:

Saturday morning flag football. Okay, we got on the calendar and.

Speaker 1:

I think. I think when you're really motivated, you need some things to get to just give yourself a break a little bit, right, cause you do need to work your tail off for sure. You need to work people, people that don't do this Um, they don't. I always say the world's filled with people that want to make a million dollars and there are very, very, very, very, very, very few people that have the grit and desire and will to work hard enough to do it. And that's just the way it is.

Speaker 3:

I agree.

Speaker 1:

And I think the flip side of that. I think you're around people where, if, if they have a passion and a why that is deep, whatever that is, and they have the drive and will to chase their dreams, I think we put artificial ceilings on those dreams and I think we shatter them if we can just let ourself go and be who we know we can be. So, um, it's really cool to talk to you about these things and thanks for being so vulnerable about it, but that's it.

Speaker 1:

That's an incredible story. So back to your team.

Speaker 3:

And can I ask you a question? So what advice would you?

Speaker 1:

no one asked me a question on this podcast.

Speaker 3:

This is great, I think what advice would you give to like younger entrepreneurs, Like knowing what you know now? Is there anything that you would share to give feedback for those?

Speaker 1:

Well, anyone that knows me knows I give I talk too much, so that's that's an easy thing. But I think for for most people I think as I get older, authenticity like just you can don't let like what you do be who you are, but let what you do be a reflection of who you are. It's kind of a really deep thing. So like, if you're motivated to create a life for Leo and for yourself and to be driven and real estate's what you've chosen, you probably would be successful in a lot of different careers you chose.

Speaker 3:

Maybe You've landed in real estate and it's your love.

Speaker 1:

But then it gets back to how do you treat people? Yeah, different careers you chose. Maybe you've landed in real estate and it's it's your love, but but, but, but it's. Then it gets back to how do you treat people? Yeah, how do you? How do you take care of relationships? Do you? Do you genuinely do things that are kind and give back? And can you look yourself in the mirror and say, hey, I'm, I'm, I'm taking care of my priorities, my list, my family, the ones I love, and it's not always easy to do everything, but my advice would be get a routine where you can constantly check yourself, Call it living arrows. In right, You're reflecting in instead of out, and be kind, and that's probably, and then work hard.

Speaker 3:

It's a good list.

Speaker 1:

It's a good list, but it sounds like you're doing all those things.

Speaker 3:

I'm trying.

Speaker 1:

How hard is it, being a young person, with a team? How old is your team?

Speaker 3:

So Tyson is my partner he is actually 32, and he's been in the business for 10 years, so he is kind of like my wingman. And Emmy is our marketing director and she's been in the industry for three years too. And then we've got a fourth gal. She's been in the industry for five years as well, so we're all fairly familiar with the industry. We all have, like a new construction background. So I'd say we are kind of just combining resources that we have to just maximize our new construction. We've got about 250 homes that are being built in the next now to five years, so three subdivisions total. We just sold our fourth one right now. Well, our first one. But so we're excited, I'm.

Speaker 1:

I really feel so all relatively young, all kind of with same motives get along well yeah, I would.

Speaker 3:

I we're like a family. I, yeah, I would definitely say we get along really well that's critical.

Speaker 1:

I mean because you spend so much time at work. We all we have a mantra here that if you can love being home and love your family and have that be an important part of your life, but if it feels like you're going to your second family, to go to work then we're doing something right. And if it ever feels like I don't want, to go to work.

Speaker 3:

That's not good that's not good.

Speaker 1:

good, we need to help. We need to help figure that out. So that's awesome. Hey, thanks for asking me a question.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, sorry, I'm allowed to ask a question.

Speaker 1:

You're allowed to ask a question. Um, so, um, okay, what is one of the what is so? What are what's a misconception you think in our market right now about housing? What are what's a misconception you think in our market right now about housing? If you say, like someone, like me, that's not in the industry every day. Just seeing what's a misconception you think people have out there about housing right now in the treasure Valley?

Speaker 3:

I would say a misconception would be. I mean, homes are moving relatively quickly Within this last week. Honestly, we just had two or three listings go under contract within this last weekend, which is pretty cool. I mean, they were on the market for about two to three weeks, which is pretty common in this market right now. So I'd say, within rates going down, you see a significant amount of activity within that short period of time. But I would say it's still moving.

Speaker 1:

So things are moving, things are moving and prices are pretty stable. They really haven't stopped, yeah, they really haven't settled too much, right, um? And then when you're buying um, when you're buying in the Valley here and with micron coming um, where do you see the growth happening and kind of naturally happening over the next five to 10 years?

Speaker 3:

I would say five to 10 years. Meridian is obviously blowing up. Cuna is blowing up. I'd say CUNA is the fastest growing city right here locally, all the development that's going up. We have a development off of Hazel Cross that's going to be going up of 190 units. Those will be townhomes. So I'd say the development from what we've seen on that side is Meridian is going to continue to blow up. Cuna is going to continue to blow up. Obviously those are the areas that have the dirt to expand. But I think that you know Meridian will essentially probably be the new Boise because you know that's going to be more so central to the area. I would say you know, as we continue to, build and Napa stayed really active right.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I would say yeah, Within the lower price points for new construction. They've got a ton of new construction going on up right there.

Speaker 1:

How is Highway 16 going to change things?

Speaker 3:

I think traffic is going to get a little crazy. But I would say Highway 16 is the one that's going up currently. I think that's going to be able to add additional traffic for people. I would say it's, but overall traffic will probably get a little crazy.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's going to get crazy. You've got to build some more roads. I went out to Micron today to show some guests we had in from out of town and we should have counted the cranes, but there's got to be 25 cranes up.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

And you just look at the magnitude of those dollars being spent.

Speaker 3:

It's a lot of money.

Speaker 1:

And what it's going to bring people here and folks that are going to relocate and the the stress on the job market and and the ability for people that make. The good news is, if you go back 15 years ago, all we talked about was livable wages and how we get our wages up and how people can afford to live, and now we've got livable wages, but costs have gone up right so it's still it's still hard for people to kind of balance all that, but I do think it appears that jobs are not going to be a problem for us here.

Speaker 3:

We have a strong economy. So I would say yeah, that's great.

Speaker 1:

One of the other things that just came out this last week that I wanted to talk about. I don't know if you saw the Wall Street Journal, but Boise, it was an article it was secretly that. Boise is the coolest city in the Northwest.

Speaker 3:

I didn't know that, but that's pretty cool.

Speaker 1:

So for your generation. This place is popular.

Speaker 3:

It's a hidden gem.

Speaker 1:

And you see people that are from here or moving here. Talk about. You know people in their 20s and how Boise fits them and why they like being here so much.

Speaker 3:

I would say for people that come here, they realize, you know, boise is a hidden gem. The city is so clean. It's a safe place to grow a family. Typically, when people come here, they see the Four Seasons and we're so close to McCall. You know we have access to really you know recreational activities, so I'd say it's overall, depending on that. You know we have access to really you know recreational activity, so I'd say it's overall, depending on that. You know lifestyle that you're in and the age of your you know your family. But I would say it's a really good place to raise a family, which is why I'm here with leo. Um, but I would say it's just safe, it's we've got good schools, it's a good economy. It's a really good place to raise a family yeah, I think I think your point the secrets it's a secret hidden gem.

Speaker 1:

It was a secret and now, all of a sudden, everyone I, uh, we also had some friends come, some people come and visit from reno last week and it was interesting just to um, we're doing some work in reno. So they came over and we spent um two days down in downtown boise and two of them had never been to Boise.

Speaker 3:

Oh fun Did they love it.

Speaker 1:

Oh my gosh. So they stayed three days. And when you're here and you've kind of watched it develop because I think back, it's almost 20 years ago- now that we did 8th and Main where Science Bank building is, and I think back to then. What was downtown and how much housing there was and things to do. It just was a different downtown then. What was downtown and how much?

Speaker 1:

housing there was and things to do. It just was a different downtown then and now you walk it and I think Boise has done a really nice job of their streetscapes. I mean it just feels so good and vibrant. And now there's all the housing downtown apartments and it feels good.

Speaker 3:

All the commercial that's going up right now.

Speaker 1:

Commercial and retail, and it all just vibes together so well that, um, when you, when you're just really proud of bringing them there and they're blown away, they're just like how did, how did this happen? And why does it feel so good? On top of that, I think you said something important but it's also safe. Yeah, right, um, I think we've done a really good job of maintaining that safety and and we're doing a lot of proactive stuff with homelessness and yeah, which is amazing.

Speaker 3:

It's so sweet, it's nice.

Speaker 1:

It's so nice and clean and they in the, in the days they were here, they just kept saying everything's clean, everything's taken care of, and how do your streetscapes look this?

Speaker 3:

clean and who?

Speaker 1:

cleans your street fronts more like well, the people that are down here it stays.

Speaker 3:

It's not like they're not throwing their trash on the floor. Yeah, there's.

Speaker 1:

There's one of these things like you, just kind of you respect your place and then everyone respects it too, and it's just really amazing and and we're really lucky to be here and have so many great things. Uh, going on, um. Okay, a couple other questions. Um, this has gone by really fast, okay. Um, what would you? What advice um would you give someone? You?

Speaker 1:

asked me that question, but like if, like you, go back, it's been you know what, what, what have you learned to date and what do you tell people that say how are you doing this?

Speaker 3:

I would.

Speaker 3:

My honest feedback to anybody is if you're willing to put in the work and if you never give up on your dreams I know it's kind of like cliche, but it's just the gravity of law.

Speaker 3:

Like, if you put in the work, you're going to see the results. And, honestly, if I think that if you want it bad enough, you'll figure out how to make it happen and if you don't, then you're going to find an excuse. So I'd say, for anybody that's passionate about you know, building a business or building, you know whatever avenue they want to go into, I think that you can make it happen if you really put in the time. So I'd just say, like you're going to have to let your fear go and just put in the work, have the faith. And you know it's like you're putting in the faith, you're putting in all this busy work and then you're just waiting for life to unfold and it's kind of like that hamster wheel. You're doing all the things but you just have to have the faith that it'll work out, and it typically does how early on did you know I'm going to be successful?

Speaker 1:

was it early on that you thought, hey, this is going to work for me?

Speaker 3:

I was 19 years old, sitting in my townhome when I first moved to Boise with Leo. It was just him and I and he was a little baby. Um, we had some really hard nights together, like we. You know, I was just trying to figure my life out as a young parent and I just remember thinking to myself that I was going to really do whatever it took to give us, you know, the life that I wanted. I think that at that time I really had nothing to lose. So I just like I've had this vision in my life, like I didn't know what that was going to look like, but I was going to figure it out to, you know, make it happen. So I just think that I've been so grateful to meet so many incredible people in this industry and I just think that you, it's up to you to pave the way and you have to make it happen. So I just think that I have had this crazy amount of faith that it was going to work out. And here we are.

Speaker 1:

It's been, it worked how many hours do you think you worked a week? You could ask.

Speaker 3:

Nick and Bowsher. I would say I am typically one of the first people to get there in the morning and you know I would typically be right around one of the last people to leave. I would grab a little Leo and we would wrap up the last of our emails and we would go home. We didn't really have a TV, we would just go home to be home. I wanted to work at the office and then when we're home, it's you know, we're there to chill out and have that balance. So I would say I've put in a significant amount of time and I would say about seven, seven days a week. So a lot, a lot of time.

Speaker 1:

There's no substitute, after all, the advice you can give, right, it's. It's that tenacious, grinding hourly, I'm going to work harder, right? Yeah, sometimes it sounds different because I get asked a few times, like I get asked on a panel not too long ago and they're like well, how do you succeed during good times, bad times, whatever? And I think for us and our company kind of my partners here it's kind of this mantra where you just won't be outworked Work is the equalizer, it's the great equalizer, right? Because you may be more talented than me, you may have more money than me, you may have a you know leg up in life that I don't have you may have all these other things, but I can still outwork you and I think that idea.

Speaker 1:

the other, the other thing that I like thinking about sometimes is if I'm feeling pain like it's, if it's hard, then everyone else is feeling pain too Right, and if I can, if I can withstand that a little bit more and figure out a way to work through that better than them, I'm going to probably end up okay, and sometimes that, uh, you just have to do that.

Speaker 3:

right, it's the grit, it's the grind right. Totally Makes it more rewarding, though.

Speaker 1:

yeah, you really, you really earned it we need to like sprinkle a bunch of you like all over a whole bunch of other people here you go, you can do it you can do it, that's great. Um well, hey, thank you so much for coming on. Oh, can I ask you one more question? Yeah, go ahead um within your social media, because I didn't ask you this earlier. We hit, hit on it a little bit, but do you do any traditional media or is it all social media?

Speaker 3:

So I would say classifying traditional media. So for me, I would say hard mail, billboards, radio.

Speaker 1:

That's a goal you still will do some of that.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so it's not like you're opposed to traditional media so actually, on 10 mile we have a goal to get a billboard there because we have our subdivision going up. But we do hard mail, follow our listings, um, when we do a pending and sold, and then our goal is to get a billboard there on 10 mile, okay so, in.

Speaker 1:

So for old guys like me, traditional media still okay yes, it's still.

Speaker 3:

You're doing both the things. You still have to do. Both is still okay. Yes, it's still okay. You're doing both of things. You still have to do both. Yeah, still have to do both. Alright, you're killing it.

Speaker 1:

Maddie, what else? I'm really lucky. I don't usually tell this story, but my daughter was like this beautiful angel and she went away to school and she met this kid and I'm like what the heck?

Speaker 3:

you can't meet someone that fast.

Speaker 1:

But my son-in-law is awesome and he's taught me beautiful angel and she went away to school and she met this kid and I'm like what the heck? You can't meet someone that fast. But my son-in-law is awesome and he's taught me more than I would ever learn about like media and what's going? On.

Speaker 1:

It's great so um he uh pretty lucky, pretty lucky guy to have him around and have him help us. But keep it up. Um, it's going to be fun to watch what you do. We'll be paying close attention and thanks for coming on and sharing so many pearls and your wisdom and looking forward to you like just killing it.

Speaker 3:

I'm excited. Stay tuned in the next couple of years We'll be a little crazy.

Speaker 1:

Great. Thank you so much for coming on. Thanks everybody.