Short Stays, Big Dreams: A Travel & Vacation Rental Podcast
"Short Stays, Big Dreams: A Travel & Rental Podcast" dives into the world of short-term rental management, the stay industry, and travel, offering insights, expert interviews, and actionable tips to help you maximize your rental business and explore the latest travel trends.
Short Stays, Big Dreams: A Travel & Vacation Rental Podcast
Revolutionize Your Real Estate Game: Mastering Luxury with Military Precision
Discover how military discipline transforms into real estate prowess with Steve Romanello, our expert guest who transitioned from managing rental properties to conquering the South Florida luxury market. Steve's compelling journey from the challenges of military life to becoming a top player in high-end real estate offers valuable insights into personal resilience and professional commitment. His story is not just about overcoming obstacles but about embracing them as stepping stones to greater heights, and you'll gain firsthand knowledge of how dedication and mindset are pivotal in this competitive field.
Explore the thrilling dynamics of the luxury real estate landscape, especially in Fort Lauderdale, where high-net-worth individuals are drawn by much more than just sunny skies. Tax advantages, a scarcity of waterfront properties, and a rebound from the pandemic have created a unique market ripe with opportunity. Steve and I unravel the strategies behind setting ambitious financial goals and pursuing them with unwavering confidence, even when the stakes are high. We also examine the global economic influences steering investors toward real estate as a stable asset in turbulent times.
The art of marketing and relationship-building takes center stage as we discuss the significance of high-quality digital campaigns and fostering genuine client connections. With political and economic shifts bringing international buyers to South Florida, real estate professionals must leverage technology, including AI, to enhance customer experiences and operational efficiency. Steve emphasizes the transformative power of passion and positivity, encouraging listeners to embrace these qualities as they navigate the ever-evolving real estate market. This episode promises to equip you with the insights needed to thrive in luxury real estate, highlighting the crucial balance of strategy, technology, and human connection.
Go. Hey, welcome my beautiful people. Today I'm super excited because I have a special guest, a longtime friend, someone that I've known for a long time, and we're bringing him on here because I really want you guys to hear his expertise as it relates to the luxury real estate market, specifically in South Florida. So, without further ado, let me introduce you to Steve. Steve, tell us who you are and what you're about.
Speaker 2:Hey, fernando, good to see you. Yeah, so, as you said, my name's Steve Romanello. I'm a realtor here in Fort Lauderdale. I've been licensed since 1999. Came to Fort Lauderdale in 1992. I was in the military at the time. I was transferred here, grew up in New Jersey, spent time all over the country, different duty stations, ended up in South Florida in 92. Got out in 96. Got into real estate in 1999 and been enjoying South Florida ever since.
Speaker 1:So so, and Steve, what year did I meet you? Was it like 2000?
Speaker 2:I don't remember what year I met you. It was 2000, 2011, 2010, 2011,. Right in there, yeah 2011.
Speaker 1:And a quick side note before we get into this when I met Steve at the time, I was running and I was still coaching in a CrossFit gym which I still own. But the interesting part is, when I first met Steve, I looked at him and I'm like this guy looks like Sylvester Stallone. This guy is like a movie star. So we started calling him Hard Rock Steve. But that's a side note. But, steve, let's get into why I actually brought you here on. So tell us what inspired you to pursue a career in real estate, specifically getting into the luxury market to say specifically getting into the luxury market.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so, as I was saying, I got out of the military in 96 and spent 10 years and changed so it was basically starting over so tried every job market, every blue collar job you could do, and I was working two and three jobs at a time doing what I had to do to get by. I met a really good friend of mine who I was working with and he was getting into real estate. So he was talking to me about it so I decided, hey, maybe that's something I could try. I did, I enjoyed it and eventually I transitioned into real estate and that's how I got into it.
Speaker 1:Awesome. Now, real estate, it's a broad. There's a lot of vehicles or avenues within the real estate market. I know that you have been very successful specifically in the luxury market, so can you you know? Did you start in the luxury market? Or, if you didn't, you know what was that journey, that transition like?
Speaker 2:Sure.
Speaker 2:So when I first started, I actually started doing rentals. I worked for a rental company, so I was hustling, doing what I could to find people, find apartment homes. And real estate's something you either have to be 100 dedicated to it or, if you do it part-time, as a side hustle, you're likely not going to be successful at it and you're really not going to do your clients the best service, because it's something you have to stay on top of Right. So that said I. When I started, I was, I was working two jobs, as most realtors do, and so you can get going. So I started out just doing rentals and then, as people learned, I was in real estate. I started doing you started doing condominium sales and single family home sales and just kind of worked my way up. Now, as I was saying, real estate is something that you have to be 100 dedicated to. So you met me. We met like 2010, 2011. I was going through some personal life challenges at the time, so I knew I couldn't focus like I needed to. So I actually stepped out of real estate for about four years, four or five years and did what I had to do, because I didn't have the mindset or the ability to do what I was doing anymore.
Speaker 2:And then my second career kind of started in 2015, 2016. And I took all the knowledge I had those first 10, 11 years. I was already starting with that and I was able to use that to help me move forward into the luxury markets. So how do you do it? I kind of have like an analogy, like if you want to go ahead, and if you're going to go ahead, and if you're a fisherman you want to go catch mahi, you're going to go with the mahi, all right, if you want to catch sailfish, you're going to go. Look for the sailfish. Well, as a realtor, you can choose to market yourself in any normal community and you can do that.
Speaker 2:What I chose to do on the second half is take all that knowledge that I had about real estate. I felt very comfortable and confident what I was doing. Estate. I felt very comfortable and confident what I was doing and I would market myself and spend times in the areas that brought the most money the las olas isles, harvard beach, rio vista, coral ridge and it's just time, consistency. I would make those contacts, make those sales and I and I moved up and then, once you establish that clientele. The most important thing is to stay in touch with them, because 90 of my business is referral business or repeat business.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that answer and I'm going to second what you said and I'm glad you mentioned it. I firmly believe if you want to see success or you want to be successful in any vehicle it could be real estate, it could be me in the short-term rental industry you have to be singly focused and Steve, steve Just mentioned it and he's, he's living proof that that you can't do things our time. You can do things half-assed and and expect to be successful. So, so I'm glad you brought that up because that's that's huge and I'm, and you live and prove that. You know, once you focus, you saw success. So tell me you know what share with me a, a, something or memorable highlight within your career? That's, that's unique, uh, to the especially like the luxury market.
Speaker 2:Well, I think really it was probably what I call the second half of my career, as I was explaining when I, when I reintroduced to myself and I was like you know, I want to take a second here just to say something too like, regardless, if it's real estate, regardless of what you're doing, you know, sometimes life throws you curve balls and you know, the quicker you saddle up, the better for you. But it doesn't mean you can't get going in a direction you were going, or you can't go where you want to go. You just got to get the right mindset, put your head to it and do it. And that goes for real estate or anything. It doesn't have to be real estate, it could be any job or any goal you have. You know we limit ourselves more than anybody else, right? No one can stop you. The only person that can stop you is you. So, anyway, I'm just going to say that once you, once you figure that out, you know whatever you want to do, you just go out there and make it happen and put the effort and the time and learn, be humble, learn, um, and move on.
Speaker 2:So what was, I guess, memorable for me was when I did get back into it. You know, knowing I, you know the market had changed a little bit, but still, you know, the product knowledge is still the same, right, you still. So as long as you catch up with the product knowledge what's the inventory, et cetera you could talk intelligently about that. So I would say, probably six months to a year in when it started churning for me, I just felt good that, hey, you know what I am good at this.
Speaker 2:It was just the satisfaction of being able to step into a higher market and not being intimidated because someone's worth $100 million or $200 million, or I work with people who are worth over a billion dollars. For that matter, you have to remember one thing I'm just selling them real estate, so I might not be able to talk intelligently about what they do and how they got to be a billionaire, but if you want to talk real estate in South Florida, I have all the product knowledge in the world, the statistics, and that's what makes me valuable, or any real estate agent valuable. They're not coming to me because they're like, hey, this guy I want to have a beer with. They're coming to me because they want to buy a property. They want to know about the property. They want to know what to watch out for, and so us, as experts in the industry. That's what they're hiring us to do.
Speaker 1:Listen, I freaking love that answer and I love when you said that you weren't intimidated, right? You know, I speak to a lot of people and a lot of people really limit themselves and it's a limited belief that a lot of people have within themselves. And I tell people this that in real estate or in the short-term rental world or in business in general, the effort it takes to, let's say, make $100,000 is the same than the effort it takes to make $100 million. The difference is a lot of people are intimidated by that big number Right of people are intimidated by that big number right, and that's what I love to actually just said, because it truly is. The limiting factor is the individual and you said to yourself I'm not going to be intimidated just because this guy makes more money. In fact, he should be intimidated by me because I have the product knowledge that he wants.
Speaker 2:Yeah, basically, you just want to have the tools in your toolbox right to do the job that you're being hired for. So you know what I found, especially dealing with people in the higher price range. Their most valuable asset as you probably know this, I know, you know this their most valuable asset is time. So they want information, they want the right answer. If you don't know the answer, find the answer out, but they expect you to kind of know it, right, but anyway.
Speaker 2:So the more product knowledge you have, don't try to, you know, you know, bs them. Just be straightforward, give them the information, listen. You know to what they're asking. It's very important whether it's a luxury property or not. You have to do that, but but but these people are successful and on the next level and they they have an expectation and they, if you don't do it for them, they'll hire somebody else. So just have the product knowledge and speak comfortably and confident about to answer their questions. You know, in in Fort Lauderdale, the market's very specific. We're like one of the largest boating communities on the East Coast. So a lot of these rich people come with their yachts and their boats and they have a lot of specific questions and you need to be prepared to answer them.
Speaker 1:Awesome. So and you kind of touched on this, but can you tell me what? What trends are you seeing in the real estate market?
Speaker 2:OK, well, so you know, fort Lauderdale has continued ever since. We've always had more people kind of coming and going, but that we had. We kind of saw a spike, uh, back in uh 2020 with the virus Uh, I should say after the virus uh, because people had moved to South Florida and record numbers to try to escape some of the uh uh, some of the States that had stricter uh policies in effect. So, uh, we were a little bit more liberal down here in Florida with our freedoms. So we already have no federal tax, we have the great warm weather, we don't have snow, so we already had that going for us. But then, when you threw in the fact that, hey, we went through this virus, covid, and we were a lot less I want to use the right word here we weren't as totalitarian as, say, california or Illinois or Maryland or New York, people were like, hey, look, I don't want to be, anyway, I won't go down that rabbit hole. But that caused a lot of people to move here.
Speaker 2:Still Now, fort Lauderdale, where I work, there's only so many waterfront homes, you know, supply was was the same and demand shot through the roof. So we saw a huge increase within a matter of six months on prices of luxury properties. I'm talking like 25 percent, 30 percent increases in just you know, six months. Luxury properties that used to take a year or six months or a year to sell were selling before they were built, or we would have multiple offers on properties in excess of $10 million, which was unheard of prior to 2020. And since 2020, the prices have continued to march up.
Speaker 2:We did see a little leveling off with the increase in interest rates. However, the buyer for a 10, 15, $20 million property isn't necessarily getting a loan. They'll get one if it's cheap money. If they can get a $10 million loan at 2%, they were going to do that and I've seen that happen. But they still have the ability to buy. So we did see a little bit of leveling off and we continue to see a slight upward trend, but not as the same rate as 2020. But the luxury market down here isn't going anywhere fast south. It's going to run stable to an upward trend because there's only so many of the properties available and so many people are coming here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's interesting. I knew like, for example, with me I don't really rely on banks anymore to do purchases and I wasn't really thinking about that luxury market that interest rates don't affect as much as it does in a state residential market. So that's interesting. You mentioned that, and so let me ask you this question in terms of economics, ted so the recent increase in interest rates and inflation in the economy has that had a major impact, minor impact, or what kind of impact has that had on the state market in terms of sales?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So that impact. What I see with that is people, when you have like the market, and people are starting to feel like, hey, is it getting a little bit, you know, is it overinflated when you see internationally, like what did we have China, russia, some of these other countries, some of the Arab countries not using the dollar as the as the standard anymore, the talk of going to digital currency, which scares the hell out of a lot of people, right, as it should. So what we've seen with that is a lot of people are pulling their money more diversified into hard assets like real estate. So, instead of having my money making 10% or 15% if they could get that even not sure if there's going to be stability in the stock market or other investments they're buying hard assets like land and houses. Buying hard assets like land and houses, which are a little bit more recession proof than, say, you know, you lose 40% in your 401k. That may, might not translate to your property the same. So having a hard asset when the dollar is looking a little bit or was looking a little bit, like it might not be the standard anymore.
Speaker 2:We saw people put a lot of money into real estate, which again helped gave us, gave our market a boost down here and we've seen some record sales down here. Just recently, this year, most recently, we had a $70 million sale in Fort Lauderdale highest ever. Prior to that there was a record $40 million sale. So, the like I said, we're not seeing a slowdown. And another reason for that a lot of people who are let's just pick California, for example who had a beautiful property in Malibu they still have a property there. But now what they did is they made their primary residence Florida. So the $20 million property they had in Malibu. They said you know what, I'll buy a $20 million property in Florida and I'll just have a $5 million property. So they kind of did a flip flop. So they still might have their second, third or fourth homes, but they're saying, hey, you know what, I want to make my primary home South Florida and for all the reasons that I that I just mentioned, yeah, I'm a prime example.
Speaker 1:My basis, my home basis, south Florida. Now I got properties in other areas of the country, but you're right, my home base is here and it's for multiple reasons, but taxes being low. Now, you mentioned national. You know Russia, but you know, let's talk about the international buyer. Have they influenced the luxury market in South Florida?
Speaker 2:Well, they have More. So a couple of years ago, we saw a lot of people coming up from South America Venezuela Again. When you have a country, an international country, and the government's not stable, those people want to leave. They want to put their money somewhere where they feel like they're not going to lose it. So I remember back in 2021, I had a good amount of South American buyers you know a lot from Venezuela who were coming up and are like, hey, I want to buy this, this and this. I'm like, let's go, you know. And so they wanted to move their money again, right, I'm like let's go, you know. And so they wanted to move their money again, Right, Someplace that's stable, you know.
Speaker 2:So, but yeah, you do have any buyers international are just going to influence the market, because any time you have more buyers Right, that's going to drive prices up because you have the competitions increase. So we do get international buyers here in South Florida and that adds to the national, local buyers. And the more buyers we have, the better for the sellers and the property owners, because more competition for the property means a higher price or closer to full ask price.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's, for me, was the perfect storm, right, Because you mentioned what was happening during COVID. You mentioned the instability of countries like Colombia, like Venezuela. I mean, I saw the same thing. I mean, in 2021 and 2022 were my highest grossing years in terms of revenue across the board, and it was because of that. So what happened during, especially? You know we talked about COVID, but also what happened politically, right, Colombia, for the first time in a long time, elected a socialist president.
Speaker 1:As a result of that, wealthy people left Colombia and came to South Florida and purchased properties. You know, Venezuela has been. The flight of money out of Venezuela has been consistent and I say the same thing even domestically, right, we saw the max exodus of states like New York, California, Illinois, and they came to South Florida or Florida in general because people don't want the government to take their money. Anyways, I won't go down that rabbit hole, but let's switch gears and talk a little bit about the role of marketing. Lorena, if you want to jump in here and you know, ask Steve. Some of you know questions in terms of marketing as you understand it.
Speaker 3:Lorena, you are mute, Sorry. So in marketing we understand the trends, we understand how you know like the tools works, but in many agencies we don't understand actually how the luxury market works. So this is why we want you here, because we want to understand how important is marketing, especially digital marketing, in the luxury real estate.
Speaker 2:Sure, absolutely. So. Obviously people could look at properties in Fort Lauderdale from halfway around the world. So, whatever you're presenting them there, you want to make sure you invest in the best, the best photography, the best video videography, and you want the information crisp. You want a good presentation and you want the information crisp. You want a good presentation.
Speaker 2:A lot of times again I'll see when I see a house listed not necessarily luxury, usually that's pretty on point but you'll see people using their cell phone to take pictures and take videos and that's okay. But when you're trying to sell 10, 15, $20 million home, that's not going to cut it. First impressions are everything. So spend the money, get the, get the, the right pictures, the right photography. Do nighttime shots, daytime shots, uh, the right videographer to make the person feel like, hey, I'm in the house, I can see myself living here, so that's really important. And then the second part is you just got to touch them with that.
Speaker 2:So I've compiled, you know, over the last almost 10 years now I have, I have mailing lists. So if I have a, if I have a property, I want to target a three to $5 million buyer. I have a list for that. If I have a five to 10 million, I have a list for that. If I have a property that's listed at over 10 million, I have a list for that. And so and it's another way to stay in touch with people hey, this is, this has just been listed. Uh, this, there's going to be an event tonight, uh, or or in a couple weeks. I'd like, I'd like you to come, if you can make it, and that, and those buyers could be local, they could be across the country or they could be, you know, halfway across the world. Um, so it's very important and, um, yeah, that's, that's what we do perfect.
Speaker 3:Uh, can you explain a little bit how you do your social media? I mean how you market, how you go and target your audience, because this is a different audience.
Speaker 2:I mean yeah. So so I uh, lucky enough, I've joined compass uh, a couple, a couple years ago, and compass is very technological they're. They're very, uh, uh you know, into ai uh, for example, and uh, you know I it's been a transition for me because I'm more of an old school. When I got into real estate, you know it's been a transition for me because I'm more of an old school. When I got into real estate, you know, we carried around, I had a pen and pad and I had a book. We didn't even have the MLS yet.
Speaker 2:So you know, that's one of the reasons why I switched to Compass. They're a technological company, so they're very good with social media on their platforms, so I utilize them a lot for social media. It's not my personal strong point, but the people at Compass are kind of experts in the field. So, again, where you work, now some people can do that and work at companies, and if you're good, you could do it yourself or hire outside people to do it for you. But either way, however you do it, you just want to make sure whoever's doing it for you, you want them to know what they're doing.
Speaker 3:Perfect. Can you share any tips for compelling digital presence that you are applying right now and working for you?
Speaker 2:Any tips as far as what?
Speaker 3:For example, creating a good kind of content creation, digital stuff that you are putting in your website that people can share with you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, again, that's not my specialty. I really rely on my company for that, so I don't know that I can offer. They're really good at it, but I don't have anything I could. That's not my focus personally, and that's another thing you have to keep in mind. Right, you have to know what you're good at, and that's part of you know whether you work by yourself or you have a team you want. You want to hire the best people around you to free up your time so you can do what you're good at, whether that's getting business or closing business. If what you're good at whether that's getting business or closing business If you're one of those people who are good at everything, that's fantastic.
Speaker 1:But if not know what you're not good at, and hire the best people to do the things that you need to get done. Let me interject that now because that is probably one of the biggest golden nuggets you just gave the audience, One of the biggest golden nuggets you just gave the audience. I preach this a lot. You need to focus on what you're good at and you need to hire the rest to someone else. And Steve just explained it perfectly right. He's not good at social media. That is the responsibility of someone else and he understands that his primary strength is going to be that product knowledge and the sales side of it.
Speaker 1:So if you're out there and you're thinking that you can wear all hats, people, I'm telling you that is one of the biggest mistakes any business person makes. You cannot and you will not be successful if you're trying to wear all hats. So thank you for sharing that, because that's hugely important. I personally learned that myself early on in business, when I first got into business. I tell the story all the time when I first started my management company, I made zero money. But I made zero money because I was spending money on hiring people, on marketing and hiring people to do that, because that's not my expertise and in the long run. You know it turned out to be one of the best decisions I made. Uh, but again can I wear our hats, so thank you for showing that. Any other questions on the marketing side.
Speaker 3:No, I think that is. It's good for now okay.
Speaker 1:so, steve, we're to close with a couple more questions. Give me one quick second and I want to shift gears a little bit and touch on what it takes to be a successful realtor, specifically in the luxury market. So what skills or qualities do you feel are essential if you want to succeed in the luxury real estate market?
Speaker 2:Well, I think the skills are the same, regardless of the price point. You have to have that product knowledge. It is very competitive in a luxury market. You can't be, you can't let it affect you emotionally, because you're not going to win every listing You're not going to. You have to focus on you and just make sure that when you do have your client, you're doing the best job you can do for them to get that repeat business, get that referral business. And and for me it's like I don't, I don't consider myself a salesperson because I really believe in what I'm selling If that makes sense like I'm not trying to sell something to you. You're saying you need something and I'm going to show you the best fit. You want to be here in this community, this specific community. I'm going to tell you what's available and, out of these three, four or five uh, so available properties, what the benefits are to each one, and then, and then you, based on information, you make a decision. So, uh, really, again, I can't emphasize having the product knowledge Right, and I've dealt with this. I I'll give you a quick story here.
Speaker 2:I sold a house about four years ago in Harbor Beach, a nine million dollar house, and the people are from, from Missouri, that were down here specifically looking for a house. They were down for the boat show, but they wanted to buy a house where they were down here, here, specifically looking for a house. They were down for the boat show, but they wanted to buy a house where they were down here. The gentleman walked into my open house, a nice guy, him and his wife. I showed him around and he says to me hey, we have a realtor. I said, hey, no problem, I always cooperate. I was happy to do so. Well, the realtor they had was from Missouri. So she linked up with another realtor in Fort Lauderdale who was a commercial realtor.
Speaker 2:Anyway, let's just say I did the whole transaction. They didn't know what they were doing, but you just have to be ready to step up to make the deal happen. You can't take it personally in that spot. You have to. Don't make it about you. Make it about the client at the end of the day. Hey, look, we're here. Look, don't get me wrong, we're all here to make money.
Speaker 2:But I want my client to be happy. I want a good transaction. I'm not here just for one deal, I'm here for a relationship for the rest of my life with that person. It's not just hey, I sold you this $9 million house, I don't want to see it. I mean, I've done deals with people that I've sold property to five years ago that I've sold. They've moved twice already because they have an affinity to do that down here. For some reason they'll go from a house to a condo, back to a house. They introduce you to their friend. Their friend buys another house. They sell their house. So it's really important.
Speaker 2:The biggest reward to me is when I hear people say unsolicited Steve, I love working with you, you're the best. I'm not asking you to write something down for me. Or I've had transactions where it's been a really tough negotiation and at the closing table, when we're done, to have the client come up to me and say, steve, you know what? I can't thank you enough. You always have my business for the rest of my life and if anybody needs a house they're going to you. That's rewarding to me because I know that I did a good job for them. So service is what really sets you apart. You know, I think so, especially when you're dealing with that high end market. You want to have the service. But in order to give that service, you have to know what you're talking about. You got to stay current, you do that, and if you feel genuine and just be genuine with somebody and don't look at it like I just got to get the sale, I need the sale work for the relationship. So I think that's what I try to focus on.
Speaker 1:Love that. And you just hit a key point, which is building relationships. So how important is that and how important is networking within the industry, and I'm going to add on to that. You know, what advice do you have for doing an effective job in building that relationship and networking? Yeah?
Speaker 2:So you know it's you want to. Obviously, if you're going to keep that relationship going, you do need to go ahead and make contact from time to time. And if and if that could be something as simple as hey, I uh, you know how's it going? Uh, joe, uh, I just want how you been, I want to let you know. You know, this house just sold down the road from you. Uh, in comparatively to what you had, you know, a year ago, it's up this much. Or, for example, if I have a buyer, here's a better example.
Speaker 2:I love doing this because there's a lot of limited inventory, sometimes for the specifics that these million dollar buyers want. So sometimes the property won't be on the market what they want. So I'll be like well, wait a minute, I just sold so-and-so a house a few years ago and this house would meet that person's requirements. And I'll call them up and I'll say hey, how you doing, we're talking, how are you enjoying the house? Hey, let me ask you a question If I had a buyer who was willing to pay the right price, would you consider selling? I know it sounds crazy, but in this market. And they'll be like well, you know, we're kind of happy here, but you know what kind of number are we talking about. And then when I throw the number at them, you know sometimes you know it moves the needle and they'll be like you know well, if they come up to X, I might do that. So that's, that's just another way to show and make your past buyer or seller feel good that hey, I've just made X a lot of money, I have some. I mean this, just this real world scenario just happened. Like a year ago I had a buyer looking and, um, my client, I had sold my house for eight million and he would have paid 12 million for the house. But my, my buyer that I sold to, was so happy there. He said, steve, I appreciate it, but we're just so happy here. But you know, I talked to him since he's like, really, he's like that guy was gonna give me 12 million, he would here. But you know, I talked to him, since he's like really he's like that guy was going to give me 12 million, I go, he would have gave me 12 million. You know we put them someplace else eventually, but like your house worked for him the location, the size, the water frontage, and that's what we find right A lot of times in the luxury market you need so much on the water, you need a certain size, so there's not too many of those properties that meet the bill.
Speaker 2:So anytime you're able to tap past clients with demand, it's another good way of staying in touch with them. Or you invite them to a broker open. Hey, and I did this last year too. I sold a house back in March on Las Olas and the year prior I had sold these nice people from Chicago another house. I invited them to the broker. I say why don't you stop by? I got this brand new house. I want you to check it out. Just stop by and have a drink and they'll come by. I'm not trying to sell them the house, but I'm just trying to like to, you know, to keep them involved, if you will, on what's going on.
Speaker 1:I love that and that, my friends, is what separates Steve from others in the industry, and that you know and let me ask you that on that note, because I think that really separates you from a lot of people you know, can you add something else that you do that keeps you ahead of the competition, and especially in an industry that's constantly changing?
Speaker 2:Right. Well, I do want to first say too, there are, like the people you know, like my peers, that I work with, they're all razor sharp, but you know, so like. But then I think it drops off and I think one thing that we all do, including them, is you know, you're you're constantly aware of what's going on, what are the new things? I drive to neighborhoods three times a week. You've got to be all the latest information, whatever's going on, and you have to stop and talk to people. You want to be the first one to know hey, I'm thinking about selling this house. A developer's coming here. He's going to be building a new property. You want to be the eyes and ears, because that's the most valuable thing you bring to anybody is information they don't know about. Anybody can go online and say, hey, I saw this house on Zillow, but if I could tell you, okay, but what you can't see on Zillow, or X, y and Z, this is what's going on. You know if there is there work going on. Are they putting underground utilities on the street? Are they raising the seawalls? Have they rezoned the area? Can you now build townhomes? Where you had a home? Did they? Did the setbacks change? Are they dredging the canal? So all the information.
Speaker 2:And it's funny too, because I get some buyers sometime and they're like you know, what do you need a realtor for? You don't need a realtor. Well, I'm not going to sit here and plead my case to you, but it's like what do you need a heart surgeon for? Why don't you just go to a pediatrician, right? Well, he specializes in heart surgery. Well, I specialize in real estate and, more more specifically, I specify in this area. I, you know so. So that's so the level of service and knowledge that you bring. For example, if you, if you have a realtor who works in Coral Springs or who works in West Palm Beach, they're just not going to be on top of the same information that a local realtor who is full-time, who is a luxury realtor, who knows the ins and outs of what's going on in that neighborhood. That buyer you're going to bring, or that seller, you're going to be able to bring the best information so they can make a good decision, the best decision oh hey, maybe I should buy there. Oh, this is all I want to get them before everybody finds out about this. So information, um, specifically information that's not readily known, uh, and just your expertise. I think that's just what people do and they're in it every day, not just me, but all the like, all the cause.
Speaker 2:I have a lot of respect for my peers that I work with every day. They're out there and it's you know, we see them all the time. You do deals together, right. So that's another thing too. You want to be able to have relationships, good relationships with your peers, because you're going to be working with them over and over again. So it's always good to have that camaraderie. Hey, you know, we're all friends, we're all working for the same listing, for that same buyer, but you know we all work within the guidelines and then we let that person choose. Hey, you know, sometimes it's just a personal connection. You know you all have the same level of knowledge maybe, but you know I connected with this person or I connected with that person. So all you can do is be ready and put yourself out there and be genuine.
Speaker 1:I love that. I love that, let's. Let's. Let me answer this question, because you kind of touched on it and that was working with your peers. You talked about Compass and and their, their technology that they use. So what role do you think the emerging technology, like virtual reality or or AI, will play in the future as it relates to the luxury market?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So again I would say and only because I've been to classes and seminars at my company they are huge on AI and I'm not trying to plug Compass, I'm just you know they. So the AI that they have. What we do is, you know, we load our database up of our clients and the AI will literally tell us who's most likely looking to buy or sell coming up, hey, you need to call this person and I don't know how AI does it, but they have a very high success rate Like, hey, you need to call this person, this person will likely be ready to sell in six months, or this person is likely ready to buy something. And so what I does, with which I'm not good at, they could take that person's name and they can go ahead through the Internet and find everything out that I could probably find out would probably take me two years. They could do it in two minutes.
Speaker 2:And I don't know what they do or how it works. I can't explain it. But to answer your question about AI, I think it's going to change drastically as far as helping realtors get business. Basically, to know where to put their, where to fish, their where to fish, what's going, you know when. Who to talk to. When to talk to them? Who's likely to buy that? That's how I see it, interacting from a guy who's I'm not tech heavy, so that's just my best explanation no, no, no, and you hit the nail on the head.
Speaker 1:In fact, I just did a video discussing how to enhance or create a better customer experience, how important that is for businesses, and in that video I went in-depth on AI, on virtual reality, augmented reality, because that is the future. I am fortunate that I started or got into AI early on, you know, by luck, through a friend of mine who was actually using that in his business, and I incorporated that into my business. And you're 1,000% right when you say what normally would have taken you maybe weeks, if not much, to accomplish, ai can do it in seconds. So I mean, we use it a lot in my business. Now you mentioned that you companies use AI to tell or show the realtors where to fish, which is phenomenal. Tell or show the realtors where to fish, which is phenomenal. But I really think that the use of AI is better, or better said, using AI is better to enhancing that customer experience more than anything else in the industry today. Experience more than anything else in the industry today. Yeah, you can get data and that data can help you find word of fish, but, more importantly, ai can help you, once you've found that word of fish can help you enhance that customer experience. It makes that customer feel like their spell, makes them feel like their needs are being met. There's a lot that you can do, so I'm using it and by all means, steve, promote yourself.
Speaker 1:This is about. You know, I would encompass eXp, but if I was being interviewed, you best believe I will be preaching and selling EXP to the highest end. So don't be afraid, don't be shy. Promote yourself, and I'm going to be. You know those that know me and know us. They know I'm one of your biggest fans. I tell people all the time, if I were a, yeah, I see every, just because I know how good you are. You know we used to joke around and I tell people all the time you know, if you want, if you want to rain, man Kosti, that guy knows first, he knows area better than most people. So I'm going to sell you. I'm going to applaud you for your work, your hard effort, your dedication to your profession. We need more people like you worldwide, in every profession, but specifically in the real estate market, because I firmly believe that 90, not 90 plus percent of real suck they're horrible and even more professionals in the industry.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I agree, but you know what? Just because this is a pet peeve of mine, this might not be appropriate for the podcast. But, like you said, 90% suck maybe, and I'm not going to disagree with that, but whoever's watching this, whether you get into real estate or whatever you do, no one's making you choose what you want to do. If you want to go ahead and be an accountant, if you want to work in a bank, if you want to work in a grocery store, if you want to be a lawyer, nobody's making you do that. If you want to be a doctor or nurse, I don't care. In fact, nobody cares. You care, you chose it. So just show up and do a good job. Show up ready to work and do a good job.
Speaker 2:But if you're not happy, then figure out why you're not happy, but don't look for someone else for the answers. Right, regardless of what you do, you go oh, I'm not good at this, I'm not good at that. Well, you're not good at that because you're not applying yourself, because you're making excuses instead of putting in a time to get better, and maybe, maybe you have to put in some time to say hey, maybe this isn't for me, maybe I'm going to try something else, but there's too many victims in the world today who complain about why they don't have things, but they don't want to go ahead and work for them. That's all I got to say about that, so I'm sick of jump on that battle.
Speaker 2:I'm sick of seeing the forces when I go out in the world.
Speaker 3:Everybody's upset, Everybody ah, this is a fight, I'm over it.
Speaker 2:Man, I'm like come on, please Stop complaining. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1:And here's what I'm going to say as well. First of all, you people in general, you guys really hold on one second. What's the matter? Callie is being a pain, come on, you want to be in a podcast? Be in a podcast, say hi. What I want to say is people need to surround themselves with people that are like-minded um, like-minded and everything, because you need, you know, you need, uh, to be well-rounded. My god man, be with people that are literally be with people that are going to make you better, right I?
Speaker 1:I call Steve a friend because I really believe I get a lot more than I give him right. He gives me energy. I learn a lot every time I talk to him. In fact, I got into the real estate business because of Steve. So that's one point. The second point is that you're 100% right. I don't care if you are a janitor, I don't care if you work at McDonald's, I don't care what you do. You're doing that because you chose to do that. So be as good as you possibly can. I read a book I can't remember the name of it right now as you possibly can. There's a. There's a. I read a book. I can't remember the name of it right now, but in the book they have a case study of five multimillionaires and these five multimillionaires had average jobs, but they did above average work. Exactly, exactly, yeah average work.
Speaker 2:Exactly, exactly.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:If you're a company owner, if you're a boss, why am I going to give you more responsibility or more money if you can't do the job that's assigned to you? But if you're doing your job better than anybody else, you're like what else you got for me? Oh, I need you to fill in. Oh, okay, I'll do it. Can you come in? I'll help you out? Hey, did you do that? I already did that. What else do you have? If you're doing that, then me as an employer, as a boss or as an owner, I'm going to say hey, you know what? This guy's an asset, this girl's an asset. I don't want to lose them. Hey't get done. And you're making excuses. You're going to get what you reap. That's all. That's what I think.
Speaker 1:Let's land this plane, steve. The last question I got for you what advice would you give someone interested in getting into real estate, specifically in the market real estate? What advice would you give that person?
Speaker 2:Well, again, I'll try to stay specific to luxury, but it's pretty much it applies across the board. You got to make an investment in yourself. You know you have. You've got to learn the board. You got to make an investment in yourself. You've got to learn the market.
Speaker 2:Product knowledge is 85%, and then selling skills and selling attitude is another 15%. It's all important, but you can have the best selling skills in the world if you don't have the product knowledge. So, know the product knowledge. Use the best marketing pictures, videos that you can um, be sincere, be genuine, uh, and and and and. Learn that information. Be the expert right. Be the expert in the area you're going to sell. Now, you know I, I refer people to. You know, uh, across the country. I can't sell California, I can't sell Santa Barbara, I don't know anything about it, but but here in Fort Lauderdale I'm the expert right. So you know, be the luxury specialist in your area.
Speaker 2:If you want to expand that, expand that, you can do that. But just you, just always, you gotta be one step ahead of everybody else with, with what's going on in the area. Any, any, any news, anything, anything that's not readily available to anybody makes you more valuable. So the more information you have, the better, better you are. And also, you know, you, you, you will spend a little bit more money on marketing. It's different, right? If you have a hundred thousand dollar listing, you're not going to spend 5,000, 6,000 necessarily. You know you might. You might not do a mail out for 7,000. You might not throw a broker party that costs you 10,000, you know which I've done, you know, but I do that on a $9 million property, you know. So I have no problem doing that. So you just have to be set up to do that, you just have to know. With this, you know, comes a little bit more increased financial input on your part, you know, but the reward on the back end is worth it. So just be set up for it.
Speaker 1:Awesome, Lorena. Any closing thoughts You're?
Speaker 3:on mute. I think that everything is good. I like the advice, thank you.
Speaker 1:Thanks, Lorena All right, steve, I greatly appreciate you coming on. For those of you that have not subscribed to this channel, subscribe, subscribe, subscribe. I'm going to have all of Steve's information down below. If you're looking for, or you're in a luxury market, you're looking to buy a property in South Florida, I'm telling you you're not going to find a better realtor than Steve. Thanks, man, you're not out there, yeah, steve. Closing thoughts.
Speaker 2:No great Great spending time with you. You know I do. I enjoy talking about real estate. It's South Florida market strong, Not going anywhere soon. More people are still coming here and leaving. It's better to buy real estate and wait than to wait to buy real estate. I'll say that Just go out there and buy, Don't time this.
Speaker 1:It's by saying and so it's really saying I tell people all the time the same thing I love that, I love that phone. So, anyway, love you guys, I'll see you in the next one, steve, don't, don't uh disconnect there, because this video has to download.