Chris Burell with Compass of Greater Atlanta

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Stone Payton: Welcome to the High Velocity Radio show, where we celebrate top performers producing better results in less time. Stone Payton here with you this morning, and this is a very special episode of High Velocity Radio. It’s part of our real estate series. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Compass of Greater Atlanta, Mr. Chris Burell. Good morning, sir.

Chris Burell: Good morning, Simon. How are.

Stone Payton: You? I am doing well. Have really been looking forward to this conversation. I’ve got a ton of questions. I know we won’t get to them all, but I think maybe a good place to start is how you and your team, how you would articulate your mission purpose. What are you really out there trying to do for folks, man?

Chris Burell: Sure. Stone I’m happy to answer that. So really, Compass is a residential real estate firm, and we also handle new development along with some commercial transactions. But our mission for all of those that we serve and also for our agents is to help everyone find their place in the world. And that’s really both from a real estate standpoint, but also from that that belonging for everyone. Everyone wants to belong and have a place in this world for themselves.

Stone Payton: So what is the back story, man? How did you get into into real estate? Describe that path, if you would.

Chris Burell: For me personally, it has been an interesting path, but a short synopsis of it was that I actually started out working for the Social Security Administration here in the greater Atlanta Metro in their human resources department. And after some time there, I just was not finding it fulfilling what I thought my purpose was. And so I turned to real estate almost 20 years ago, obtained my license and started sales with a brokerage here in town. And later on, that led to me taking a role on the leadership side of the brokerage as their training director. And from there, I took over a sales office as a sales manager, and then I moved on to a boutique firm here in town where I was actually the managing broker and the qualifying broker here in Georgia for that firm and grew that firm substantially over time. And Compass came a calling and said, Hey, Chris, you know, we’ve seen your leadership and we’d love to lean on you to continue to grow the Compass brand here in Georgia. And so I had the opportunity in July of 2021 to join the Compass family here.

Stone Payton: Fantastic. Okay, man, get us caught up on your perspective on the fall housing market here in Atlanta. What are your thoughts?

Chris Burell: Lots of thoughts running around, lots of rumors, shall we say, in the news. But, you know, I say that real estate is always local when it comes to what’s going on in the market and what we’re seeing in this fall market, we are seeing a decline in the fury of the buyers that we had in the past year, two years that we had experienced. So we do see sales are down depending on the local neighborhood. Those could be down from anywhere from 15 to about 25% this time compared to this time last year. What we are also seeing, though, is an increase in inventory. In last year we were in a circumstance where we needed inventory. There weren’t enough properties listed on market for the buyers who were in the marketplace. So it’s been interesting to see this. On one side. We do see less buyers in the marketplace, but on the flip side, buyers who are in the marketplace have a really good opportunity because there’s more supply out there from the seller side. You know, of course we saw large increases, double digit percentages in increases in their equity and in the sales prices year over year for the past two years. And this year we have seen that begin to slow down some. We’re not seeing those large increases. But knock on wood, we’re also not seeing any decreases in sales pricing as well.

Stone Payton: All right. Let’s get to crystal ball out. What do you think going into Q1 of 2023? What are you expecting?

Chris Burell: Q1? We are going to have a slow. Or market if you’re comparing it to the last two years. So from the standpoint of the Atlanta market, I do think listeners should expect there to be a slower market from the frenzy that we were having during the pandemic. But what I want to point out is that we knew both inside of the industry and outside of the industry that the two past years during the pandemic were outliers, right? We had extremely low interest rates. We had a huge demand for housing, and we had a lot of demand where people were moving who have always lived within metro Atlanta. They were either moving up to to a larger home or they were selling their large home and downsizing. And right now, I think what you’re going to see in 2023, the buyers that are in the market, they’re not buyers who are just taking advantage of circumstances. Right. These are going to be buyers who need to move for whatever reason they need to purchase a home. You’re also going to find that sellers that are in the marketplace are sellers who are realizing they have to sell their home for one reason or another, whether it’s a job transfer or perhaps they have changed points in their life where they need a different living circumstance. So I think what you’re going to see is a more level housing market, meaning, you know, last year people were literally going into a home and then putting it under contract within 15 minutes of seeing.

Chris Burell: And now you’re going to see more of a general market where buyers have time to look at the home, come back and visit the home, think through that, and then negotiate with the sellers a fair and reasonable contract instead of one of these contracts that, you know, we had a lot of buyers going. I think I just bought a house because we’re moving so fast. We’re now, you know, we have people able to breathe. And that’s also a benefit for the sellers because a lot of times the sellers were having to accept an offer based on 10 to 12 offers. And so their stress level was up as well. And now I think sellers are going to have an opportunity to do their math when they receive offers and to really think through which offer is best for them. We still are seeing some multiple offer situations depending on the neighborhood and if the home is priced right. So I do think that will lead into next year, but I definitely want to manage that expectation that we will see it down from the last two years of frenzy.

Stone Payton: So what are you enjoying the most? And you obviously find the work very rewarding. You’ve been at this a minute as as the young folks say. What’s what’s the most fun about it for you, man?

Chris Burell: You know, there’s there’s two aspects that I am extremely passionate about in this business. The first, I would say is the client experience. And regardless of how many times you have bought or sold a home, there is this amazing joy when you’re at the closing table and you realize you have achieved another chapter in your life, you know that you’re either selling a home with substantial memories of your lifetime that you’re handing over to a new person or family that’s going to take care of that home. And from the buy side, that you’re accomplishing another dream you had. You know, I’m still incredibly humbled every time I see that that sparkle and that excitement in a buyer’s eyes after closing. It’s just something that you have to experience. And I hope that lots of different people are able to experience the second component of my passion and why I continue to do this every day is my agents. When you are a manager in real estate, in your brokering and in managing agents, it is so such a reward to watch that agent grow over time and to truly take their skills and to serve their clients and to build their business over time. Many of whom came from industries that they never dreamed they could accomplish. Some of the income goals and some of the goals in their life, in their old industry. But they come to real estate, they become passionate about it, they’re able to be successful in it, and they’re able to achieve those dreams. And to me, watching them grow and achieve those goals, that’s just that’s the spark that keeps me going every single day.

Stone Payton: Well, I can hear it in your voice, and I know that our listeners can as well, that that is a part of it that you just thoroughly, thoroughly enjoy. One of the things that I’m beginning to learn as we do this series Focus on on Real Estate. It’s a far more collaborative profession than I ever anticipated. I know, you know, I know there’s competition and you have to find a way to differentiate yourself and all that. But but, but it’s a very collaborative environment at the same time, isn’t it?

Chris Burell: It really is. You know, I have the opportunity to also serve at the Atlanta Realtors Association as one of their vice presidents there. And so I work with agents and managers from all of the many companies. And, you know, I have so many great friendships and mentorships that I have had over the years within this industry. We are competitive. Don’t get me wrong. But we also know that this is a human connection industry and that, you know, at the end of the day, we all want what’s best for our clients. And I think when you go into it with a grateful heart and you realize that ultimately we all want the same thing, which is to be able to serve our clients and to see them happy and satisfied with their transaction, you begin to realize that while we live in a big city, it’s really a small world when it comes to our real estate community. And I can’t tell you how many friends that I have that work at many different companies and that I’m in contact with on a regular basis because that’s just the way the industry is here in Atlanta. And I’m so grateful for those friendships and partnerships.

Stone Payton: So early on, when you made your way into this arena, did you have the benefit of one or more mentors to kind of help you navigate this terrain?

Chris Burell: Oh, my goodness, I did. I had some great mentors. I had an agent who had been in the business for quite some time, Rodney High Note, who really was the one who encouraged me to get into the business and felt that I would be good in sales based on what he knew of my demeanor and what I wanted in life. And then as I got further into my. Career. I look at some of my mentors, like Lewis Glenn, who was the president and CEO of Harry Norman Realtors when he was here in metro Atlanta. I look at Martha Hayhurst, who is my my current regional vice president, who also was with me in prior brokerages. And I just think about everything that they showed me and showed me the importance of the relationships. You know, you can learn the nuts and bolts. You can learn the laws around real estate, but what you can’t always learn without experiencing it and having those mentors is this idea of what it means to build a relationship, what it means to invest in a relationship both with your peers in the industry, but also with your clients and with your customers. And then for me, I’ve also been influenced by a lot of leadership development and I enjoy executive coaching. And so John C Maxwell, Bernie Brown, these are also great mentors for me that I lean on and listen to their podcasts and to their their books on on tape. So all of those are really mentors that have woven this great fabric around me of knowledge and experience that I’m able to share with those and hopefully build leaders among my peers.

Stone Payton: So now that I hear you talk about this, I’m not even a little bit surprised, but I am impressed that I mean, you are a practitioner and you’re like, certified with this Maxwell outfit, right?

Chris Burell: I am. I am. I was fortunate to be in his class of the first 500 that he certified back in 2011 is a leadership coach and speaker and motivator. And it has added so much value to my life, but it has also been such an amazing tool for me to be able to use in my roles here in real estate, because I look at our agents as entrepreneurs who own businesses, who choose to align their business with our brand. And I don’t ever discount that. That’s a great honor and it’s a great responsibility. So, you know, John C Maxwell teaches leadership and teaches that, you know, you have to be able to inspire and motivate others. You don’t get to tell them what to do, but you have to be able to inspire and to lead by example. And so I hope if you ask any of my agents or clients that I’ve touched over the years that they would say that I’ve been able to do that for them in some way.

Stone Payton: What would the benefit of that experience and your practical experience base in the trenches doing this every day? I’d love to to share with our listeners, get your perspective. Maybe a couple of pro tips on this, this whole idea of recruiting, selecting, developing, creating and sustaining the kind of culture, the the leadership side of what you what you do, maybe some of what you’ve learned. And even if you’ve kind of landed on a couple of disciplines or or habits when it comes to getting results with and through other people. Man.

Chris Burell: I would love to. I think the first thing that comes to mind is this word. Listen. For all of us. I think we’ve grown up in a world where we’re so quick to have something to say, something to talk about, and we make a lot of assumptions. And what I have learned for many years now is that if you’re willing to listen, first and foremost, people will tell you their story and more importantly, they will tell you what they need and what their challenges are. And if you are listening and truly listening, not listening to answer a question, but instead listening to hear where that person is, to hear where that person is coming from, you begin to understand that the people that we come across who cross our paths every single day, that those individuals have a story of their own and have experiences of their own, which bring them to the moment in time when they are with you. And so we cannot assume that they have had the same experience that we have. And so when it comes to talking to a recruit who’s thinking about joining Compass as an agent with us here in Atlanta, you know, I start the conversation by wanting to know about them, wanting to know what their challenges are in their current business, wanting to understand how we here at Compass can help them grow and solve those challenges that they’re facing when it comes to a client that maybe is in a difficult transaction and their agent has come to me to ask me to jump in and assist in the transaction. You know, a lot of times clients are emotionally in turmoil at that juncture.

Chris Burell: And for me, it’s very important to be able to first listen to them, to listen to their concerns, listen to their frustration, to hear them and hear what they’re saying so that then we can drill down and and come up with solutions together to navigate and get to a better place in that in that negotiation. So either audience that you’re looking at, I go back to this. You’ve got to listen. You’ve got to understand that everyone comes to the table with different experiences and different things going on in their life. And then the other aspect of leadership that I have learned through all of my life is that you have to live a life of gratitude. You have to be able to be grateful for every moment and to be grateful for every person who crosses your path in business and in life and understand that you, your words, your actions influence people every single day. Some you will never know the level of influence you’ve had on that person. But if your actions are good and coming from a good place of intent, I have also found that people trust you. They’re willing to follow you as a leader, and they’re willing to put faith in what you say and believe in you. And to me, that is the most humbling part of the leadership circle is when you have gained someone’s trust and you have to honor that. So I don’t know if that answered your question, but that really is my philosophy and what has has held true throughout the years.

Stone Payton: Well, not only did it answer the question, I think I’m going to carve out that clip from our interview and I have it on my desktop. That’s man, that is strong stuff. What a marvelous way to kick off a Friday morning. And this has been terrific. Thank you so much for investing the time and the and the energy to share your insight and your perspective with us. But let’s not leave it there. Let’s make sure that our listeners have a way to reach out and connect with you or someone on your team, whether they are interested in buying or selling a home or perhaps they’re interested in joining the team or learning more about Compass and why that may be the the home for them if they’re going to if they’re going to be in this industry. So whatever you think is appropriate. Let’s make sure it’s easy for them to connect, man.

Chris Burell: Chair. Stone Well, I offer the services of our more than 500 plus agents here in metro Atlanta and beyond. We cover from Blue Ridge all the way down to Peachtree City. So if you are a client out there who is interested in purchasing or selling, I encourage you to visit our website at w w w dot compass dot com. And there you can seek out properties, you can seek out agents, and you can also find the leadership listed there. So you’ll find my contact information along with the other managers that are here at Compass. And the same goes true for any agent out there listening who would like to move their career to the next level. Always happy to speak to them and they can reach out to us through that Compass dot com website as well. So I appreciate that opportunity to share that information.

Stone Payton: Stone Well, it’s my pleasure. And Chris, let’s do this again, man, because things change. You know, the landscape changes a little bit if you if you’re up for it, let’s.

Chris Burell: Let’s.

Stone Payton: Strangers Yeah, well, this has been marvelous. All right. Until next time, this is Stone Payton for our guest today, Chris Burrell with Compass of Greater Atlanta and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying we’ll see you in the fast lane.