Cape Cod: Selling High-End Homes in Vacation Markets with Tia Lilly

Understanding Cape Cod’s Unique Real Estate Market

[00:00:00] Ben Brady: Welcome back to another episode of Rethink Real Estate, and today we have Tia Lilly, who is the founder and broker owner of Property Cape Cod. Uh, again, it’s one of those areas that I’m fascinated with from a perspective of just going through there quickly on the way from Boston up to Maine. I don’t know it extremely well, but at the same time is that, you know, Cape Cod property is one of those things that most people make reference to the way that they’ve designed their home, whether it be.

[00:00:24] Ben Brady: Modern farmhouse or it’s Cape Cod style or whatever it is. Uh, it’s really interesting to understand the market. I think one of the things that also, that we take away from this episode with Teo is the fact that she went out on her own as an independent, opened up her own company, her own brand. Um, and also learning a little bit about her marketplace, the intricacies of having short-term rentals, being a second home market, not falling into the trap of becoming a property manager too quickly for these sellers for the future side of things, ’cause they’ll take advantage of you.

[00:00:53] Ben Brady: Again, a few really nice insights in it and also a great reference point to a wonderful area in North America. Hope you enjoy. Welcome to Rethink Real Estate. My name is Ben Brady and this is a real estate podcast aimed to deliver sales strategies, marketing tips, and business insights from industry experts and myself to build a listing focused business for the future.

[00:01:18] Ben Brady: Let’s get into it. Tia, welcome to Rethink Real Estate.

[00:01:24] Tia Lilly: Excited to be here, Ben. Thank you for having me.

Cape Cod Real Estate: From Upper Cape to Provincetown

[00:01:27] Ben Brady: Well, excited to, to talk a little bit about the area of which I think has had one of the most influential from my perspective, you know, in the properties that you see is that if you are in a property and you go into that listing presentation and you’re being walked through by an owner, I think one of the most common terms is saying, you know, it’s very Cape Cod style.

[00:01:53] Tia Lilly: Yes. Now

[00:01:53] Ben Brady: you actually are in the Cape. You sell real estate in Cape Cod,

[00:01:58] Tia Lilly: right?

[00:01:59] Ben Brady: So in essence is that you are right there in the thick of it. So welcome along to Rethink Real Estate. I’m really excited to talk about your particular market and your particular area, because I’ve been there. Uh, just from a vacation perspective, but not from a business perspective.

[00:02:14] Ben Brady: So you get to have a vacation every day? Is that how it works?

[00:02:18] Tia Lilly: I wish, but it is such a beautiful place to be though. Can’t complain at all. Um, what, where did you visit? Do you remember what, what part of the cape?

[00:02:28] Ben Brady: I think that, so, so, um, I’m gonna get it wrong. Okay? Okay. But, but I think that, um, does it ring a bell?

[00:02:35] Ben Brady: Like it’s like out, out on the far end, end of the cape. Okay. So what town would that be? Um,

[00:02:42] Tia Lilly: so it’s kind of like we’re at the, um. Cape Cod is a, it’s a peninsula. We’re at the tip of Massachusetts, right? Mm-hmm. So it’s almost like people describe it as a elbow. So when you first come on the cape, that’s considered like driving over that Sagamore or Bourne Bridge.

[00:03:00] Tia Lilly: It’s just magical. It’s just the air changes. So, yeah, it’s great. Um, it’s a very much a resort destination as well, right? So, but when you first coming onto the Cape over the bridge, that’s considered upper cape. So as you drive further, now you’re in midcap and then lower Cape and then outer cape. So further you go down.

[00:03:23] Tia Lilly: So it’s basically born sandwich to Provincetown. Right? And then you have the island. So you have Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard that are

[00:03:32] Ben Brady: off, brother. See? See that’s So the thing that I did wrong then is that. I was driving from Boston to Maine. Okay. And we, we sort of like made a detour and we only took a short time there.

What Drives Cape Cod Property Values and Waterfront Real Estate Prices

[00:03:45] Ben Brady: Um, I like, I guess that the thing that I’m so curious about is that, is there, with it being landlocked as much as what it is there, is that, what is the catalyst to keeping the property values as high as what they ultimately are?

[00:04:03] Tia Lilly: It’s all relative, right? So it depends on, it depends on what’s what, what the pro, when you say the property values are high, it’s very much a resort destination. So there’s a lot of people that own second homes, third, maybe four homes, but. Because it’s, it’s surrounded by ocean beautiful beaches. We have beautiful lakes and ponds.

[00:04:24] Tia Lilly: It’s just, it’s just a wonderful place. So it’s, we, it’s very seasonal. Mm-hmm. So we just hit our season now. We’re just, uh, uh, Memorial Day is officially the kickoff for Cape Cod Labor Days where you say goodbye to most. But, um, so. So it’s a lot of transition, people coming into their second home. So there’s a lot of like vacation home zoned here.

[00:04:48] Tia Lilly: Um, I noticed, and I can only speak to Cape Cod, but I do notice like where you’re out in California, I think in other areas, um, Florida Naval, there, the prices are much higher. Like depending on what we’re talking about for waterfront, we’re actually pretty, it’s a pretty aggressive, we’re pretty good pricing compared to the rest of.

[00:05:09] Tia Lilly: States, but, but the, what drives the price here in COVD absolutely, as you know, is, um, location where you are, the bodies of water and, um, what those, like, how you use the water that will, you can’t just take two different waterfronts, if that makes sense, or, you know, so it’s a lot to the Cape. It’s right.

[00:05:32] Tia Lilly: It’s, there’s quite a bit to it. Um, so to have, so I guess

COVID’s Impact on Cape Cod Second Home Market

[00:05:36] Ben Brady: that I, I guess that’s the question I’ve got then is that. Did you see in COVID a, a large quantity of people sort of move to the Cape and try and live on the Cape? Or did you just see more people trying to acquire second homes, or what did you see in the transition time?

[00:05:54] Ben Brady: Because if I was to liken it to a market in California that I’m relatively familiar with is the desert market. You know, that market used to be very cyclical. You know, in, in the winter you’d have all the snowbirds come in and you would have them. Purchase and, and that would be their season, so to speak.

[00:06:09] Ben Brady: And I definitely know that it’s come back a little bit more cyclical now, but it still is just, it’s pretty consistent throughout the year now. It’s no longer a seasonal market really. It’s a lot of people migrated there when it came to the COVID side of things and being able to work remotely. Have you seen the same thing happen with Cape?

[00:06:27] Tia Lilly: Absolutely. Um. Cities, bright Boston, New York. A lot of they’ve just prices skyrocketed. People. You know, it, it was probably like your area as well. Just 30 offers on one home, 200, 300,000 over asking no home inspections, no due diligence. Zero. We’re starting to see the effects of that. Um, so it’s gonna be interesting to see how it plays out.

[00:06:55] Tia Lilly: We’re starting to see that change. Um. As far as more inventory coming on the mark market, days on market starting to go up. I’ve kind of seen a pattern over the last year, but it’s really starting to sh reveal itself recently because it isn’t, you could predict it before, right before COVID. You could say it’s is, but it’s, it’s all changed.

[00:07:17] Tia Lilly: But I do think we’re headed, headed the other direction. I don’t think prices will go down, but.

Cape Cod Short-Term Rental Market: Challenges and Opportunities

[00:07:24] Ben Brady: Well, I’d, I’d be interested to understand also from a more, more market driven question, short term rentals. I know that certainly in parts of California, um, where, you know, say Newport Beach Peninsula, you can only get certain permits.

[00:07:38] Ben Brady: I know that in Hawaii, for example, that, you know, the hotels are just up in arms in the perspective of why are we allowing this to happen? Um, it’s a, it’s an interesting, it’s an interesting topic because the other thing that I’ve seen a great deal of people fall into the trap of is. Buying a property with a short term rental permit and that permit not being renewed, they paid paid money for that property, or the value of that property was based off the income it was making from a short term perspective.

[00:08:04] Ben Brady: Now they’re stuck holding a property that can’t get that anymore. So they’ve lost a tremendous amount of value. Are you seeing that in your market?

[00:08:12] Tia Lilly: Absolutely. So I love the short term market topic. Um, one of my favorites. A lot of during COVID, so right, they, they’re back to, you know, people are starting a little bit to, if it’s so-called normalized, go back to their, their way of life, so why not rent out their house?

[00:08:31] Tia Lilly: So we’re seeing a lot of that. So the supply is super high. The Cape is a little bit more laid back, I think, than most places. So we don’t see some of, well, they’re working on it to put structure in place, but now the supply for short-term rentals is so high. The demand people are still traveling about the country.

[00:08:52] Tia Lilly: I mean, that’s still like, Hey, let’s go. We, we are locked down for so long. They, they’re just not, it hasn’t quite come back to okay, the Cape Cod every year. So it’s very competitive and you need to have like a special property, a vacation property. So there’s a lot of controversy here. There’s a lot of people against short-term rentals, as I’m sure that you have where you are.

[00:09:14] Tia Lilly: Um, it’s something I talk to my team a lot about because in some regard, I think, uh, I’ll own that, that we are part of the problem and we wanna switch that and, and be more. We wanna, we’re, I’m driven every day by doing more for the community and, and helping and doing what’s right for our community. Um.

[00:09:35] Tia Lilly: There is a place for short term rentals, though you can’t go to a hotel with 17 people and stay in one area, and so there is a call for it. I just think where is, it should be guidelines as to where, not in neighborhoods disturbing quiet neighborhoods. So yeah, that’s where my, so I’m trying to find that fine line to.

[00:09:57] Tia Lilly: You know, find our way in our community. But it’s a hot topic everywhere, and yes, homeowners, to answer your question, are not getting the, the rental values that they hope to get.

Building a Cape Cod Real Estate Business: From Buyers to Listings

[00:10:07] Ben Brady: Yeah. Which is a reality. I, I think that there’s, you know, that like, you are a, you’re a destination. You know, based business in the sense that, you know, yes, like a lot of people find you from going there and visiting, you know, on vacation.

[00:10:22] Ben Brady: A lot of people find that marketplace by, you know, you know, Googling it at or whatever it may be. It’s like, kind of the same thing is that there’s an agent that I know of quite well in Hawaii. He, he owns the domain Hawaii property. sales.com and the volume of inbound that he gets, just from people googling that or looking at the different lifestyle.

[00:10:41] Ben Brady: I’m assuming that that probably works the same way in your marketplace. That it, a lot of people look at it from the outside and, and definitely desire to be there, but your journey in real estate there has been for 20 plus years now. Um, and you’ve got your own brokerage property, Cape Cod. Um, I’m really interested to talk, if we move it more back towards the real estate.

[00:11:04] Ben Brady: Uh, audience in the real estate agent perspective, it’s an independent brokerage. Um, you started it up and you’re the founder of it, and you are the broker of it. I’m really curious to understand a little bit more about your journey of becoming a broker in the Cape Cod market, but then also why you opened your own business and went independent.

[00:11:23] Tia Lilly: So, I built my business. My business was built on buyer agency. We always say listings lists a lot of what you talk about too on your show. Listings, listings, listings, which I wholeheartedly agree, but interestingly enough went the other way. Exactly what you just said. Had a website that pulled people from all over, wanted to buy a vacation home here and helped them find their vacation home.

[00:11:49] Tia Lilly: So I kind of found my niche there. I guess it was more in the luxury waterfront and, um. I started and I, I just wanted more control to be able to provide the service to them. Um, a lot of them turn into sellers, so like most of our business is 90, and this is my whole team. 95% of our businesses past clients are referrals.

[00:12:14] Tia Lilly: So. We, uh, so that’s a lot of what, just to be able to provide when you’re list, when you’re on the buy side and a list side, two different, two different looks. Right. I, I don’t know how much you do buyer agency, I was reading about where you’re from. I don’t think they have buyer agency. Right.

[00:12:33] Ben Brady: Not in Australia.

[00:12:34] Ben Brady: Not in Australia Zealand. But blew my mind. Certainly. Certainly in, certainly in California and the rest of North America where we operate, certainly. But yeah, no, we, we grew up with, it’s, it was one of the most interesting things to right. To go through your, I it’s, it’s one of those things I, I guess that when I first came through real estate, you were never able to represent a buyer.

[00:12:51] Ben Brady: So the long story short is that all we could do would make money was to list real estate. So that principle is bled over into our business now, but. You know, I can certainly see the benefit though, because the one thing that a lot of people like going through the transition of how real estate is evolving now, and I’ve spoken a little bit about this on the podcast already, is that there is pure benefit in the dual representation.

[00:13:14] Ben Brady: And I don’t mean that from a perspective of, of anything outside of the fact that when a buyer comes to you. Directly, and they don’t, they can’t have an agent. It’s your responsibility then to also nurture that buyer and actually then get their business back eventually as well when they go to sell that piece of real estate.

[00:13:31] Ben Brady: So kind of how you’ve built that business up. Whereas now, if you think about it, there’s like a, a, a process that we’ve been talking about within California. A lot of buyers, oh, sorry. A lot of sellers have been moving out of California to go external. So when an agent that is a listing agent. Then that that seller moves, say they moved to Nevada, or you know, they might move to the Cape, who knows, whatever it may be, is that they move, they kind of lose that connection with them and based on that local referral marketplace, unless they’ve got a big family network locally.

[00:13:43] Ben Brady: Because then if that buyer comes in and buys the property and they’ve got representation, that agent kind of doesn’t get anything else out of that. Transaction from the trail side of it, unless they prospect around that listing, you know, to really take advantage of that. So it’s one of those things that, you know, I think there’s a real clear benefit to maybe where the market’s going.

[00:14:22] Ben Brady: But you know, at the same time is that I think that there’s something to be said around the fact that you’ve been able to build a business based on just buyers in the very beginning. ’cause I’m assuming now you probably run a business that’s 50, 50, 60% listings, 40% buyers now maybe.

[00:14:38] Tia Lilly: Yeah, we’re a little bit more on the listing side now, which was my goal when I started it.

[00:14:42] Tia Lilly: So I said, let’s, especially during COVID, ’cause you know our time’s, how we make money too, right? And we can only put so much, it was only so many hours in a day. So it was so that we’re just starting to see that be more heavy on listings. And not to say that we aren’t on the buy side now that the COVID days are kind of, uh.

[00:15:03] Tia Lilly: Evening out. I definitely will see myself even working more with buyers as we go forward. It’s, it’s a lot of benefits and I think more the relationship too. It’s, yeah, it can be. Yeah. So, um,

NAR Settlement Changes and Independent Brokerage Opportunities

[00:15:17] Ben Brady: well, I guess, I guess that owning your own independent brokerage with everything that’s going on at the moment in the real estate industry, you know, with all the change coming down the pipeline or, you know, and whether, whether it.

[00:15:28] Ben Brady: Affects things. Does it, does it worry you in any way, shape or form as an independent owner?

[00:15:32] Tia Lilly: So excited. Okay. I think we should have done this. I mean, they tried to do this years ago. The cape’s always a little bit behind, but, um, you know, back when I got in, they did try to start having agreements with buyer agents.

[00:15:46] Tia Lilly: It just didn’t work out. We have a, you know, it’s, people are kind of set in their ways on the Cape, so it’s gonna be challenging to, I think there’s a lot of. You probably see it out there misconception, what it really means. This is a huge change in a way. It’s not really, to me, it’s not that big of a change and I think everybody will be service better.

[00:16:07] Tia Lilly: It’s just gonna be educating in what it really is for these changes and what it means to each person, whether you’re a buyer, seller or seller, realtor, broker. Whatever that may be. But, um, I think I’m almost alone. I’m not alone, but I, I know there’s a lot of anxiety around it, so. Sure. Sure. But I’m, I’m super excited.

[00:16:27] Tia Lilly: Yeah.

Starting an Independent Real Estate Brokerage: Tia’s Journey

[00:16:27] Ben Brady: Well, speaking of, speaking of just rewinding the clock a little bit, is that you come across as somebody that you know. Does it not a great deal worries them? Because it sounds like you feel like you’re in control of your own destiny being your own broker and having your own company. But did you start off with just opening up your own brokerage or did you start off working with somebody?

[00:16:46] Ben Brady: How did, how did the journey start?

[00:16:48] Tia Lilly: The journey started and I, I’m so grateful to them. I worked for a company that was more of an entry level company. They were, at the time, family owned, but large, and it was more of your everyday houses. So, which was great. I kind of cut my own niche within the company, but when I started wanting to sell.

[00:17:09] Tia Lilly: They wanted more. The presentation, I was even not happy. I’m very, we’re very particular, we’re very detailed. We like to present properties in their best light. We spend a lot of time preparing a property go to market. So that was where I, I thought faced a challenge. It was the marketing and I was creating my everything, doing my own.

[00:17:29] Tia Lilly: So I said, you know what? Why am I doing this? To start my own. And, and that’s where, and I love it. It’s just, it’s, you can think outside the box, you can be creative, you can come up with different ideas. You can try whatever you want. You’re not sometimes tied and you can help your clients more. ’cause there’s more flexibility.

[00:17:48] Tia Lilly: You don’t have to go through corporate channels to get approval to do something. So it’s, it’s where, that’s a lot of why I did it, to be able to. Service. ’cause I think around a lot of what’s talked about, I think we should be talking about more about what service and what, you know, what do we provide our clients and post to.

[00:18:08] Tia Lilly: Sometimes it’s a lot on the fees and so forth, but, um, I’d like, I would personally like to see more of that and services provided and elevate our industry because people need us. It’s important, you know, so.

Property Cape Cod’s Growth Strategy and Community Focus

[00:18:23] Ben Brady: Yeah. So I guess that, what does that look like for, are you happy running your own race at the moment?

[00:18:29] Ben Brady: Do you want to expand your business? Like, how does it look like from a future perspective with, you know, property, Cape Cod?

[00:18:36] Tia Lilly: We’re growing all the time. We’re growing, we’re expanding. It’s very slow. Um, we’ve pretty much on Cape Cod have been. There’s very few independent companies left on the Cape. That’s all corporations now.

[00:18:50] Tia Lilly: Um, I love it ’cause I see the every day. What gets me going is we are growing in a direction to, to be a resource to the community, to help, like our cause is enriching the quality of people’s lives. One connection at a time. That can be groups of people, it could be a. Family you’re working with. It could be, everybody’s needs are different and they’re people.

[00:19:12] Tia Lilly: So as a result, we sell houses, but it’s really all about the people. And that’s, I think, a part of, like, that’s what I love. I get to meet people from all over the world. They’re fascinating. It’s, it’s what drives me and it’s exciting ’cause you get to. Talk with different minds, and they’re just also so successful, done so much with their lives.

[00:19:33] Tia Lilly: So that helps you to grow. Just that’s how I learned is actually through my clients, is how I learned to get where I am today by listening to them and learning from them in some ways when I was brand new. So, um, but yeah, it’s awesome. I, I love it. I would, I want, I get called all the time asking to join the bigger brokerages and the corporations.

[00:19:56] Tia Lilly: But being independent gives so many, it’s, it’s just gives us so many options that we couldn’t do otherwise.

Key Considerations for Starting Your Own Real Estate Brokerage

[00:20:04] Ben Brady: What do you think some of the biggest considerations that somebody has to think about when they go into open up their own brokerage from an independent perspective, knowing they’re going into a marketplace that might be filled of those commercial brokerages, like you’re mentioning at the moment?

[00:20:17] Ben Brady: You know, I guess that what are the things that people have to think about?

[00:20:21] Tia Lilly: Well, I, I love it. It is a lot to think about and it’s also what, you know, like think with the end in mind, like I never really just answered your question actually, ’cause there’s so much to it. But what do you wanna, what do you wanna get out of it?

[00:20:35] Tia Lilly: Because you should think twice. There can be advantage of going with. Somebody that’s like-minded. I didn’t have that like-minded mindset. That’s what, so I’m kind of grateful for that. ’cause I never had any intentions of going on my own. I just wanted to work for a company. But I think if you, I think it depends on what you wanna get, but it is a lot of work and there is a lot involved.

[00:20:59] Tia Lilly: So I would weigh out that. I would say weigh that out. If it’s, if you can find something else that’s like-minded or if you really wanna do your own, then go for it. It’s a beautiful thing. So, um, but I would ask. It’s, it’s, it’s definitely, it’s fun, but it’s, it’s a lot too at the same time.

Property Management vs. Real Estate Agent: Finding the Balance

[00:21:20] Ben Brady: No question. No question.

[00:21:21] Ben Brady: But I guess, but I guess that bringing it back and sort of drawing it over to more, keeping it local in the market, I’m, I’m fascinated by the, the, the fact that. With such an iconic territory, um, that you are in, that there’s not more restriction around short-term rentals in general, or, or, or, or that, that, like, obviously they’re trying to organize it and they’re trying to, trying to do those types of things, but do you find yourself in a marketplace like that?

[00:21:49] Ben Brady: In a normal residential real estate marketplace where, you know, 95% of the homes are owner occupied and people are living in them as a primary place of residence, and when I say owner occupied, I mean living in them as a primary place of residency. Right. It’s very, it’s very different. To living in a marketplace where you are, you are dealing with short-term rentals, you’re dealing with, you know, probably long-term rental as well.

[00:22:13] Ben Brady: You’re dealing with, you know, obviously people that are living their primary residence. There’s just a plethora of different people that, uh, would be living in that marketplace. Do you find yourself playing the role of a property manager as well as an agent?

[00:22:26] Tia Lilly: Oh, most definitely. Most definitely. Yes. Yes we do.

[00:22:32] Tia Lilly: Um, we do quite a bit, especially for our vacation and some not, but our vacation rentals ’cause we also are in vacation rentals. So, um, it’s, it’s interesting ’cause it is a lot of different hats, I suppose, but it’s like we always encourage people. To look at what you want from what you’re like. Somebody coming, you coming to the cape, you wanna buy a house.

[00:22:57] Tia Lilly: There’s a lot of questions that have to be asked before you, just so you get the right. We, we get a lot of people for vacation rentals that come to us that I wish they never bought that house. They’ve already bought it. It shouldn’t have been went done. So, um, but it does morph into property management, if that’s what you’re asking.

[00:23:15] Tia Lilly: We do try to keep, uh, boundaries with that too. Yeah. Um, sure.

[00:23:21] Ben Brady: Well, I, I guess that, so, so with the boundaries that you keep, is that, do you offer those services as an additional fee or do, or, or do you just do it as the hope to get the listing back eventually?

[00:23:33] Tia Lilly: Um, I see. For, you mean for people buying or whether it is, um, it depends, but we usually have a fee associated.

[00:23:41] Tia Lilly: We don’t do it a lot because of the, um, it’s a lot. We do not set up for that. So we do try to stay in our, in our. In our lane, but we also will do anything for a client. So whatever they need, we, we do flex style to each client, so we’re able to do that at corporate, at the corporate level or the corporations.

[00:24:02] Tia Lilly: There is no, there’s just no way you can do that. Yeah. Like I have an agent, she oversees this gorgeous house on, um, in Dennis, on the water. She’s their, she’s their girl Friday. She does everything for them, but they pay like they over, they do constantly do projects. She gets paid a percentage off the projects and they don’t rent, so.

[00:24:24] Tia Lilly: Right. Right. But I’m super, you gotta be really careful with that too. Yeah. Because you gotta know what you’re doing and you don’t wanna.

Cape Cod Real Estate Market Forecast: Next 12-18 Months

[00:24:30] Ben Brady: And you don’t wanna fall into the trap of, of getting 10% of $20,000, you know, just for it to really take up it and soak up all your time. But, but I guess that, that’s the other thing that, you know, I think that from your marketplace perspective, that I’m curious about.

[00:24:45] Ben Brady: What do you think are the hot pockets for your area in the next 12, 18 months for people to look at either good deals or, or, or, or areas that you think are going ahead or projects that you think are going to enhance the market?

[00:25:00] Tia Lilly: It’s a great question. It’s something I ask myself a lot too. Uh, I, I’m, I’m in, it’s, it’s gonna be interesting to see where, where it goes.

[00:25:09] Tia Lilly: We’re definitely seeing our higher end properties at a, already, at a more days on market, right? It’s been like that for a year. Um. I think the biggest market over the next 12 to 18 months will be between 800,000 and 1,000,005 in there. That seems to be, unless it’s really a, a low price, but we still haven’t seen the effects of COVID too, where you stay in your house like, and you didn’t.

[00:25:36] Tia Lilly: A lot of people were, we have like two markets here, Ben, so there’s like the second home market and there’s the year round everyday market. We haven’t seen the effects yet of the year round, everyday market. I think a lot of people probably didn’t pay their mortgages, so we’re gonna see some of that coming out over the next.

[00:25:56] Tia Lilly: Right. That’s must my thought. I don’t know if I’m right on that, but,

[00:25:59] Ben Brady: okay.

[00:26:00] Tia Lilly: Um, you don’t think we are? Yeah.

Luxury Real Estate Pricing Trends in Second Home Markets

[00:26:03] Ben Brady: Are you seeing with the luxury stuff, ’cause it’s interesting in the second home marketplaces is where you usually see the cracks first. Correct. If a marketplace, so for example, if you know things are a little tight and there’s a little anxiety around where are things going in the future, most people will remove, will sell their second home.

[00:26:21] Ben Brady: It’s an easy thing to do for them because they’re not living in that residence, so therefore let’s just put it on the market and see if I can get my price. Are you seeing a big gap in between that at the moment? Are you seeing a gap between prices or is it just taking longer to get that same price?

[00:26:37] Tia Lilly: Um, I’m gonna make sure I understand your question, so, um.

[00:26:44] Tia Lilly: When you say a gap between prices, you mean what we’re seeing coming on a, like what the price point of what we’re seeing is that

[00:26:51] Ben Brady: well, what the seller, what the seller’s putting their property on for a list price and saying how this Oh, I what you mean? I see what you mean versus what the market’s willing to price

[00:26:56] Tia Lilly: what you’re getting, what they’re actually getting.

[00:26:58] Tia Lilly: I, I got It depends. It really depends on, they’re still getting close to asking or 90 something percent of it, unless it’s something, but we get a lot of it. We get a lot of, it’s. You have to stifle through. In our spring and summer market, a lot of people test the market. Sure. And they wanna go out at higher prices.

[00:27:18] Tia Lilly: I think just in general, some of the prices out there are super high. I just. Don’t see the value for the price they’re asking. I’m just saying, generally speaking. Sure. Um, I think it’s gonna be another situation where you’re gonna hear, oh, we’re down. The prices went. They didn’t really go down, it’s just that they were priced so high, it’s gonna appear to the public that it went down.

[00:27:45] Tia Lilly: Sure. But if you look at what they bought it for as long as it was in the last couple years, but if you look at what they bought it for and what it appreciate, it still did very well what they’re gonna sell. But we’re tight here. Buyers, there’s buyers are out there, but they’re not jumping like they used to.

[00:28:01] Tia Lilly: So you gotta have something to offer for them to, to really step forward.

[00:28:05] Ben Brady: Great. Well, I think starting with price. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course. Indeed, right?

[00:28:09] Tia Lilly: Yeah.

Real Estate Business Growth Tips: Books, Podcasts, and Continuous Learning

[00:28:10] Ben Brady: Well, I think that sort of, as we wrap up and come to the, the conclusion of sort of our interview, what are the, what are the, what are some of the things I just usually we share some, some t um, you know, some.

[00:28:20] Ben Brady: Strategies, some books, some podcasts, some things in life lessons, whatever it may be. Life hacks, so to speak. At the end of the podcast here, is there any source that you are going to at the moment from a perspective of favorite books or favorite podcasts or you know, is there anything that you are doing at the moment in order to sort of keep yourself on top of things?

[00:28:42] Tia Lilly: I read a lot. Um, I try to read a lot, keep up on that, and constantly looking at the different, um, it’s, it’s a great question. I think it’s really a variety, just keeping up, but not getting too immersed. You also do need to, you know. Not overread into things, but um, to stay up to date. I just keep, I, it most, it’s for the most part, reading, listening to podcasts like yourself.

[00:29:08] Tia Lilly: Um, I love the ideas. You get a lot of ideas, especially the Cape. You don’t, we’re a little bit more like this is how we do things and we don’t go outside our box. So that’s one of the things that I enjoy about the podcasting is to be able to hear people like yourself. ’cause uh, it’s fascinating what you do.

[00:29:26] Tia Lilly: That’s what made me start thinking about things a little differently for some of my higher end listings here. So, yeah. Yeah. Which I never, you know, you learn

[00:29:35] Ben Brady: constant Yeah. Constant learning and constantly being open to, yeah, constant learning.

[00:29:39] Tia Lilly: Exactly. Trying to take in anything you can. So,

[00:29:43] Ben Brady: and it’s so fun.

Advice for Opening Your Own Real Estate Brokerage

[00:29:45] Ben Brady: Go ahead. Sorry. Any, any tips? Any tips that you would give anybody that’s thinking about opening up their own brokerage at this point? From an independent perspective or just in general?

[00:29:55] Tia Lilly: Well, I would say I would to open, I would say, you know, one, ask yourself why you wanna do it. If your heart’s super into it, go for it. It’s, it’s, it’s, it’s just in some ways the best sense of freedom in other ways it’s. You work, you’re, you, you work a lot, so Yeah. But you love what you do. Go for it. Um, I would, I mean, I’d say this to anyone and I, uh, it and whether you’re new experience starting your own brokerage, where’s your clientele and who are they?

[00:30:28] Tia Lilly: And have an idea who that is and a plan when you go out of how, how to reach out to them so that you’re not. You’re not just, it, it’s, it’s very competitive out there just to be seen, I think, you know? Yeah. Hence, why live doing podcasts? Just to raise our hand. We’re here, you know, looking also for like-minded people, but, um, just know, your, know your target audience and how are you gonna reach out to ’em when you start out on your own.

[00:30:54] Tia Lilly: ’cause you wanna have a stream of business. And if you already have that, that’s great. You’re a step ahead. So,

Why Work with a Cape Cod Real Estate Agent

[00:31:01] Ben Brady: well, again, it’s been a, a, a great. Understanding of your marketplace because it’s one of those ones that you look upon from afar and go, oh wow, that must be glamorous. But it comes with, its sounds like it comes with its own problems, just like any marketplace that you need to navigate.

[00:31:17] Tia Lilly: You, Navi. Oh, I love it though. It’s, it’s good to come in here. Definitely to have a buyer agent if you’re buying on Cape Cod and if you’re selling, ’cause there, it’s d the Cape is very different and it’s different from town to town, village to village. So it’s super beneficial. It’s not straightforward. So yeah.

[00:31:37] Ben Brady: Well, if anybody’s looking for anything in your marketplace, now they have a resource to do so, or they have an excuse to pop by and say hello when it comes to visiting, because, uh, ’cause there certainly will be a few visiting over the time. But, uh, yeah. Tia, thank you very much for joining me on Rethink Real Estate.

[00:31:51] Ben Brady: It’s been beneficial for everybody, I hope, and, uh, and looking forward to your continued success.

[00:31:56] Tia Lilly: Thank you so much, Ben. Thank you so much for having me on your show.

[00:32:01] Ben Brady: So about 75% of our audience hasn’t liked followed or subscribed to our podcast. It would mean the world to us, and it would help this podcast more than you know to expand our reach if you were to like, follow or subscribe on any of the platforms that you are watching or listening on.

[00:32:16] Ben Brady: Thanks again.