The Norris Group Real Estate Podcast

Market Shifts and Local Opportunities with Brent Lee | Part 2 #934

• The Norris Group, Craig Evans

Share episode

In Part 2, Brent Lee dives into market trends, the impact of interest rates, and the importance of mentorship and culture at Tower Agency. He also shares personal reflections on balancing business, family, and community while offering practical advice for both agents and clients. Joey Romero guides the conversation through key topics such as pricing strategies, adapting to market shifts, and the role of mentorship in fostering a supportive office environment. The episode also highlights Riverside’s future growth and Tower Agency’s commitment to building strong client relationships and deeper community engagement.

Brent Lee is a Southern California–based real estate broker, entrepreneur, and community leader. As owner and broker of Tower Real Estate Agency, he has built one of Riverside’s most respected independent brokerages, known for its agent-focused culture, high-performing team, and data-driven results for buyers, sellers, and investors. Beyond real estate, Brent serves as President of the Riverside Unified School District Board of Education, where he has championed initiatives to improve academic outcomes, expand career and technical education, and build stronger school–community partnerships. He is also co-founder of The Pick Group of Young Professionals, a leadership network fostering civic engagement and collaboration among Riverside’s emerging leaders. Through his work in real estate, education, and community development, Brent is dedicated to building a stronger, more connected Riverside for future generations.



In this episode:

  • Market trends shaping buyer and seller behavior
  • How interest rates influence deals and creative financing strategies
  • Local insights on Riverside’s real estate market
  • The role of mentorship in shaping Tower Agency’s culture
  • Balancing business success with community and family commitments
  • Brent’s reflections on personal and professional milestones
  • Practical advice for both real estate agents and clients




The Norris Group originates and services loans in California and Florida under California DRE License 01219911, Florida Mortgage Lender License 1577, and NMLS License 1623669.  For more information on hard money lending, go www.thenorrisgroup.com and click the Hard Money tab.


Video Link

Radio Show

Narrator:

Welcome to The Norris Group real estate podcast, a show committed to bringing you insights from thought leaders shaping the real estate industry. In each episode, we'll dive into conversations with industry experts and local insiders, all aimed at helping you thrive in an ever-changing real estate market. continuing the legacy that Bruce Norris created, sharing valuable knowledge, and empowering you on your real estate journey. Whether you're a seasoned pro or a newcomer, this is your go-to source for insider tips, market trends and success strategies. Here's your host, Craig Evans.

Joey Romero:

The Norris Group is proud to present our 18th annual gala. I Survived Real Estate at The Nixon Presidential Library on Friday, September 12. Since 2008, our event has raised well over a million dollars. This year, we'll be raising funds again from Make-A-Wish OC and IE. Individual Tickets are available now. To get your tickets, go to isurviverealestate.com click the link here in the card. We would like to thank the following platinum sponsors, uDirectIRA Services, The San Diego Creative Investors Association, DouglasBrooke Homes, MVT Productions, Realty411, and DBL Capital. Welcome back, everyone. Let's get to it. Now, you represent buyers and sellers. So how do you change the advice that you give buyers and sellers based on the situation that they're in?

Brent Lee:

Asking a lot of questions, right? So I think that, as a real estate broker or as a real estate professional, our job to find out our client's, "why", right? Why do they want to buy? What do they want to sell? What are their goals, their timeframe? I think it's just about asking lots of questions and really figuring out what is going to be in their best interest. And I think if you do that, you're going to be a great, a great real estate professional. So I don't think there's any specific differences. It's just really trying to figure out what their"Why" is, and really kind of drill down so that you can provide good advice.

Joey Romero:

And you can apply that to both sides of the sale.

Brent Lee:

it's not my job to make decisions for my clients. That's not my job. My job is to provide information, ask questions, so that they can make the best decision for themselves. So I was in that like, especially when I'm dealing with on a buy side, when a client wants to make an offer, like, 'Brent, what would you offer for this house?' And I'm like, 'Well, I can't answer that question for you, you know. I can tell you what the house is at fault around it. I can say, how long do you think you'd be in this house? How secure are you in your job? Is your family plan on growing?' All of those things to help you make a good decision, but I can't make that decision for you. Same thing on the listing side, probably the question I get most that I will refuse to answer is, 'What should I list my house for?' It's not my house to sell. It's your house to sell. Again. Here's the information. This is what I think the market was there, but it's your house. You get to sell it for whatever price you want.

Joey Romero:

How should I frame this question? Because a lot of people get stuck on what their house was worth. Do you find that it's hard to get people off of that number, or is it, you know what? Hey, I'm going to hit you with the data, and we're going to price it right. Because what I've heard from all the agents is, if you price houses right, they will move.

Brent Lee:

Oh, agree, agreed with that. So I think every once in a while, I'll get a client that is stuck on a number. But I think with the amount of information that's accessible to a consumer now, it's not as big of an issue. I'd say 90% of the time when I'm meeting with especially a seller, they already have a price in mind, and they're usually pretty close to what they think it's worth. You know, those AI tools out there that kind of give you an idea which house is worth signs of front yards and, you know, apps that they can access to see what those houses are listed for and sell for. I think the consumer, because of access to information, has a pretty good sense. Every once in a while, you'll get, you know, a client that is a little bit stubborn, or, you know, has ideas about their house as it's great because they took great care of it, or, you know, they put this really nice air conditioner and roof on it 10 years ago. It's like, okay, like, every house has to have an air conditioner on a roof, but got it. I'm taking notes.Again, this is the conversation you asked. Lots of questions. And I think at the end of the day, most of the time, the client comes to this conclusion of what their house is truly worth in the market. But kind of like I shared on my last answer, I always I want all the power to be in their hands. Okay, whatever you want to offer for this house, I'll put it on the piece of paper. Whatever you want to list the house for, I'll put it down on the piece of paper. But at the end of the day, if you're a buyer and the seller doesn't like your offer, they're not going to sell it. So same thing, if you're a seller and you're offering your house to buyers and the price is too high, and so buyers don't want to pay that price, then the house isn't worth that much, right? So unless you want to buy your house for that price, the market really is going to determine what the price is for a home. And I think most of the time the client comes to that conclusion.

Joey Romero:

To piggyback on that. So in Florida, we're seeing that homes that are on the lower end of the pricing spectrum move really fast, and homes on the high end of the spectrum are still moving as traditionally, they do, but that middle market is the one that has been most affected by rates and uncertainty and all that, is there a type of home or pricing structure that is moving faster than others that you see in here, locally?

Brent Lee:

Yeah, I think the trends that you're seeing in Florida are pretty similar to the trends that are happening to that are happening in California, but in particular in California, what I'm seeing, price, of course, price matters, but I think it's more on value. I think customers are really sensitive to the value that they're getting in home. So like, of course, home has to price right, and if it's priced right, then it's going to get some look. But for a home to sell and sell in a reasonable amount of time, you have to demonstrate good values to not only price but condition. So what I'm seeing is, regardless of price, if the home is priced fairly at market, and the house is in good condition- turnkey, doesn't need a lot of updates, doesn't need any repairs. It's going to move. It's the homes that even if it's priced fairly, if it needs a lot of work, even if a customer wants to buy that house, they don't have the ability to do so, because we're seeing really cash starved buyers right now. They have enough money for the down payment and closing costs, maybe, but very few have the money for down payment closing costs and renovation. So houses that need work, unless they're priced below market, I think, are sitting on the market longer. Big houses is under 600,000 if they're in good condition, they're still moving pretty quickly. And then house is over a million bucks. If they don't need a lot of updates or repairs, they're moving too. But I think really it's the value question. If good value houses are moving, if it's just an okay value it's going to take longer to sell. And kind of want to put an asterisk on that. I think we've all gotten spoiled in the last, really 10 years, where there just was a shortage of listing. So buyers were willing to buy just about anything. Now, inventory has kind of climbed up, and affordability has been an issue. Buyers finally can be choosy. And when I first got into the business, it wasn't uncommon for us to sit on a market, 60, 90, 120 days. But over the last 10 years, that's like, what is going on, you know? So I have agents coming like, 'Oh my gosh, Brent, something's wrong. I can't get this this house sold'. I'm like,'Well, how long has it been on the market?' Like, '32 days.' I'm like, 'That's not a long time'.

Joey Romero:

That's it. People complain about interest rates are saying we're right at what it's supposed to be.

Brent Lee:

You know, 30 days is now 60 days. 60 days is now 90 days. So, I mean, it's a different market. Takes a little bit longer to sell, but not that long.

Joey Romero:

Well, I think it's having an effect even on investors, not only just, you know, your typical retail buyer, you know they're having to really be careful with their margins and and you know, one of the things that's affecting your margins is going to be holding costs. So if I got a hold for another 60 days, on top of what I kind of, I'm used to, it's really making them evaluate, like, how good a buy are they making? Now, are you running into more creative deals lately, where they have to, you know, talk about concessions, or maybe some sort of unique financing?

Brent Lee:

Definitely concessions, right? So I think that that seems to be like the new normal, especially on the lower end of the market, where you know buyers just have less cash on hand. So you're seeing a lot more sellers taking on buyers closing costs are willing to offer help to get the house closed. Sometimes that's done through a rate buy down. So, the seller pre paying for a year or two, kind of a delta in the interest rate to kind of make a little bit more affordable for the two years. So the seller is willing to give a little bit the buyers kind of banking on interest rates coming down in the next two years, or equity going up so they could, they could refi. So definitely on concessions. Also, you're not seeing every time the seller getting their price, you know, 100% what's the sale price ratio? Or 105% list sell ratio? It's dipping below 100 now.

Joey Romero:

Yeah. So 97, 98 right?

Brent Lee:

Yeah. Sellers are being more negotiable on their price, especially that it's been sitting a little bit.

Joey Romero:

Well, not only that, we've talked about it, you know, with Bruce, and the things that we do, you know, for example, I'm not going to sell my house like I've got, you know, less than a 3% mortgage on it. I'm just going to turn it into a rental and then, you know, go find somewhere else to live, you know. So it's like, I don't have to sell it. Now, let me shift a little bit back to the way you run your office. I know you've always been big with mentorship, and I know just from knowing you, you actually have some mentorship programs built into your office structure, right? Not only just a collaboration, but some real mentorship. How does that play out in your office environment, day to day?

Brent Lee:

So, yeah, so, we realized, well, you've known this for a little while. When you get your real estate, when you take your real estate test and get your real estate license, it really doesn't translate to being successful at real estate, right? Like you need to know those things to get your license and follow the rules and make sure you're doing things the right way, but it doesn't teach you how to be a successful realtor. And so when especially with the rebrand, we wanted to say, how can we help more agents be successful, particularly agents that are new in the business or been in the business maybe for less than five years and really haven't found that consistency they were looking to they got into into the business. So we wanted to come alongside them, really hold

Joey Romero:

To get to brand awareness too, a little bit, their hand through the process, and make sure that they not only know, like the technical things that you need to do as a right? If you're new, you haven't built it up for realtor, but really, how do you be an excellent, how do you become an excellent realtor? So we really leaned on some of our really high performing agents. One of those agents, her name is yourself, like. Sarah. She's been in the business for about 10 years. She's really well known on social media locally, the big following. A lot of agents already were following her online because of her success, and just, she's just really talented at social media, and, you know, wanted to how did she do it? So with with her growth and her kind of being a leader

Brent Lee:

somebody to show your thanks. So it makes it really in the office, she was willing to step up and show people how she did it. And so we started this mentorship program last year with about 12 agents, and it's been almost a year now, and some of those agents are some of my best agents and new agents in the office, finally getting those consistent results that they wanted, and they're doing it the right way, right? They're doing business through relationships. They're taking care of the clients, putting the clients interest first, and being rewarded with success. So that's a great relief for me as a broker. One it's a it's good to be associated with agents that are doing business the right way. They're being coached by someone that I know does business the right way. So that really reduces my liability, and they're making us look good at the same time, and they're creating great stories that we can go out and share with other agents that are struggling, that, hey, maybe you just need a reboot. Maybe you just need a restart. And where you're at right now is just not a good fit for the direction that you want to go moving forward. So providing an opportunity. accessible for all agents, regardless of what their budget is, and it's just, doing good, you know, and giving back.

Joey Romero:

Now you've seen quite a few micro market cycles. We're getting to that age where you're actually seeing some ups and downs. What do you think is headed for Riverside here in the next year or so?

Brent Lee:

I'm optimistic. I think Riverside is doing a lot of good things. I think that the leadership in our city right now is thinking about the right things, kind of focusing on what impacts families locally. What can they do locally to make their community better? And I think when you focus on those things, good results will happen. So, I think Riverside is headed in the right direction. I think a lot of the cities around us are in the right direction. Corona I think, is doing a lot of good things. Redlands is doing a lot of good things. And bearing some unknown that we know we can't predict, I think Riverside is going to be in a stable place moving forward. Like you said, there's always ups and downs, and we haven't had a down in a long time, and that's just normal, healthy market. But I don't think we'll have a, I don't expect any drastic downturn or drastic upturn locally. You know, I think that Riverside will be pretty stable place. I think the surrounding cities will be a pretty stable place, and hopefully we can just find more ways to make the dream of home ownership accessible to more people. So hopefully we can figure that part out.

Joey Romero:

Along those lines, where do you see Tower Agency in the next five years?

Brent Lee:

Oh, man, I hope we continue to grow. That's my goal. You know, we're hovering right around 70 agents right now, 75 my goal by the end of the year is to get to 200. I'd like to have an office in South County, down kind of in the Temecula and Murrieta and then if you service that area, we have some agents that work down there, but home-based serves in Riverside, and just make a little bit more accessible for them, have an office down that way. So that's...

Joey Romero:

A lot of growth down there.

Brent Lee:

And there's a lot of growth down there, and I think, like cities like to Temecula and Murrieta are very kind of stable, like Riverside, it means you got a good local economy there to keep the prices and kind of stability, which I look for. I'm a pretty conservative guy. I want to make wise decisions for the business, because it impacts not just me, but all the agents that choose to work with us. But I hope we continue to grow. I hope we continue to add agents who want to have a, or believe in what we're doing here. You know, not only, you know, selling lots of houses, but doing it the right way, making lots of connections and making the community better. So I would love to be able to replicate this other places. And kind of the next place we're looking is kind of South.

Joey Romero:

Nice. Now we've heard how you've juggled business, community, family. How do you keep all those plates spinning and not burn out?

Brent Lee:

I'm really lucky I have, first I get to work with my sister, so she's kind of like the brains and the engine that operates behind the scenes. She doesn't really care to be out in the spotlight too much, but she's a doer. She likes to roll up the sleeves and get work done. So she's really good at following up on all the behind the scenes things in our clients life, but also with agents. So she kind of does all the stuff behind the scenes. So that allows me to be out and about more with the agents and the community, and then also just have a really great team. I believe you can't do this alone. So I'm really grateful for people like James Monks, my sales manager, my business partner, he's really good at keeping me energized and keeping me focused on what we're trying to do here at the office. I mentioned Sarah having a younger person in the business who's successful reminds me of where I was, maybe not like 10 years ago, and letting that energy just kind of permeate through the office. You know, she's always looking to, how do we do things better? How to do things smarter, having people like that. And then our office manager, marketing director, Darla, she's also kind of like the glue that kind of keeps everything together. We always have great ideas, but we don't always have time to make those ideas happen. So we all lean on Darla, Jane, Sarah, and I, my sister, to get things done. So there's just too much going on. So being able to trust those that you work with to help you make things happen for people is essential. We couldn't have grown the company in the way we have over the last 10 years without, you know, just essential team members. You know, I'm really grateful for that.

Joey Romero:

Shout out to Lauren. Shout out, yeah, absolutely. Alright, so looking back on everything that you've built, what's the one accomplishment, what's the accomplishment that you're most proud of?

Brent Lee:

That's a tough question, like professionally or in the community?

Joey Romero:

Whatever you want.

Brent Lee:

The one that really comes to mind is the Pick Group. I mean, I'm not a young professional anymore. I'm going to be 45 this month, so I'm well past the age range to be a Pick member.

Joey Romero:

Well, you can thank me for your extra five years that you got.

Brent Lee:

Yeah, I know the Joey rule, right, gave us from 35 to 40. But I say that because we started that in 2008 and I shared kind of the origin story of why, like, we wanted to have a voice in the direction of our city, but I met some of the people that are most important to me in my life, right? So like my friends, my business partners, all are from participating in the Pick Group. Aaron Norris, you, Joey, the O'farrells. All of those folks are just still in to this day, like I see them all the time. They're people who I call in for business and people who I call in for community. They're people who I call in for family. So I think that's what I'm most proud of, and not only because it helped me do what I do and be who I was. I'm going to be on the school board without that. I don't think, I don't think my company would grow in the way without that.

Joey Romero:

That was fun walking the neighborhoods with for you early in those days.

Brent Lee:

Oh, absolutely. But the fact that they're still doing it, and we're not there anymore.

Joey Romero:

Yeah.

Brent Lee:

So to me, that is a testament to the legacy and the importance of what was created back in 2008 that it's still important now, and that the structure and the people that are involved, it's about the mission. It's about the vision of the Pick Group, not the people necessarily, that are there because it's come to serve, you know, different generations of people, and the fact that it's still there serving the same purpose, that means a lot to me.

Joey Romero:

Yeah, it was, it's a special kind of era. I think there was, you know, there was the founders, the just outside the founders, and then there was like, like, I was never one of the presidents, right, but I was always one of those guys that the founders and presidents could lean on to say, 'Hey, can you get this done? And like, I was like, Yeah, let's do this, right?' And I had, like, a group that was kind of in the, same vein, and we were all kind of, you know, that, '09 to, like,'14, like, we were crazy, like, we just got so much done. And, for me, it's also that special, like, that's where I met Aaron, you know, everybody knows that's where I met Aaron, and it changed the trajectory of my life. And, you know, some of my, you know, good friends are the same. And I would argue that, you know, even though you said, this isn't a business, but, it's developed into the now, not so young man that you are, which is kind of bled into everything that you do in business. So, you know, it would kind of, it kind of brought you up, you know, and it was big part of that. So I agree that, that time was special and I it's, you're one of my favorite people to lean on. I'll give everybody just a small Brent Lee story. So as we were, you know, going out there and with our hair on fire, just doing all kinds of stuff in the community, we would have these board meetings, and we would all just get fired up about doing it, and we would always have one dissenting voice. And it wasn't not necessarily that Brent didn't agree with it. It was just like, we just have to show that not every it wasn't ever unanimous, you know. So it was always, Brent was like, the'Nay'. He was always the nay, on the on the board meeting votes for everything that we're doing. Like, what's what's wrong? You don't want to do this. Like,'No. I was like, I knew we're going to pass it anyways, but we gotta have somebody, you know', and it wasn't just always just

Brent Lee:

We always have good conversations, right?

Joey Romero:

Yes, yes. And it did. And it wasn't like, like, you like. It wasn't just like, I'm gonna say no for sake of saying no. You're always saying no because you wanted us to, like, to really consider that there might be a different perspective on what we're doing. And so I always took that away from you, and I value your opinion that way, because you always helped us look at things that we maybe were overlooking or didn't think about, and whether it was because you you had conversations with other folks that we didn't have.

Brent Lee:

No, I'm glad somebody appreciated it.

Joey Romero:

Yes, yes. And and then you try to buy my style, you know, three kids, you know, bring them up through the community and athletes and stuff. Yes, now, so now, if somebody was going to take anything away from this podcast, and, you know, our conversation today, what is the one thing that you want people to take away from this? Let's do two way. One, as an agent, somebody in the real estate game, and then maybe somebody who's looking to buy or sell.

Brent Lee:

Yeah, I think from the the agent game. So those folks that are in my industry, I think, have that mindset of abundance. It's so easy in sales to like, 'This is mine. This is mine. Take, take, take, oh, if so and so gets a listing. That means I didn't get to listing'. I think that's just a completely wrong way to look at a business. I mean, in Riverside alone, it's like a $2 billion a year industry, right? There's plenty of business for everybody if you do business the right way. Yes, there's lots of competitors, lots of realtors, too many realtors, to be honest with you, but they're not doing business the right way. So I mean, if you treat this job like a job, and you put your clients first, you stay on top of what market trends are happening. You ask lots of questions, and you put in the work, you're going to be successful. I mean, it's automatic. I mean, I tell that agent all the time, it's automatic. How you get there is your path to forge. But if you put in the time, you put clients first, and you stay on top of the game you're going to be successful. So just do that. There's not an easy business to be in, it's easy to get in, but it's not easy business to stay in. It's hard, it's a hard business. But if you do it the right way, it can happen. So come see me if you're having trouble in this business and you want to figure out how to have success, I'm happy to have a conversation with you, whether you want to join my firm or not. Customers and buyers, make sure you're asking your real estate professional lots of questions to make sure they're a good fit for you, just because it's your you know, your brother, your uncle, your friend, your cousin, somebody your mom used, don't just hire them because of that. Make sure it's a good fit for you. Ask lots of questions.

Joey Romero:

Alright, I'm going to ask a bonus question. So you're a second generation realtor, do you see, have any of your kids like, have you seen anything that they might want to go into real estate?

Brent Lee:

It's funny, because I had it, and then last summer, I was with my son, Felix, he was 12 at the time, he's 13 now, and he was asking me, like, lots of weird questions like, 'So Dad, how many houses to sell?' Never asked the questions like that. Told him. 'Oh like, how much does it cost to sell a house?' So I told him, and, then I realized he was trying to figure out how much money does Dad make? And so he's like, 'That's pretty good'. Like, 'I think, how do you get into this business?' And I told him, like,'No way, no way, you cannot. You're not allowed to be in this business'. So I joke with them. Of course, I'll support my kids with whatever business they want to get into. But man, like I told you, this is a hard business. You know, I want my kids to get into something that's a little bit easier, but I think he's the only one so far.

Joey Romero:

Yeah, well, maybe you need to keep your mom away from him, because then he'll be head first into real estate and building an empire before he's 20.

Brent Lee:

That's true.

Joey Romero:

All right. So last thing, can you tell the audience how they can connect with you?

Brent Lee:

Yeah, please check me out. I kind of dark on social media these days, if you like. That's a place I don't want to mix in too often, but my office is very accessible. So you can find us at toweragency.com, you can follow us on Instagram,@TowerAgency or on Facebook, pretty easy to find. And if you want to connect with me professionally, social media, LinkedIn, brentwlee, that's how you find me on LinkedIn, and hey, I try to be really accessible on email too. So you can find me at Brent@toweragency.com.

Joey Romero:

Awesome.

Brent Lee:

We'd love to connect.

Joey Romero:

Thank you for jumping on and...

Brent Lee:

Appreciate the opportunity.

Joey Romero:

And everybody check out tower agency. They're doing a lot of great things. They're leading everything in the Inland Empire and in Riverside specifically. So if you're in the market to buy or sell...

Brent Lee:

Happy to help. We got an agent to connect with you with.

Joey Romero:

Absolutely. So thank you. Brent.

Brent Lee:

Go Dodgers!

Joey Romero:

Yes, absolutely. Go Dodgers, hey, that's what, that's what Fernie says, right here. Go Dodgers.

Brent Lee:

Oh yeah!

Joey Romero:

Thanks everybody.

Brent Lee:

All right, man, keep going. Thank you.

Joey Romero:

Don't forget to visit isurvivedrealestate.com for tickets to the event on Friday, September 12. The Norris Group would like to thank the following Gold sponsors, Keystone CPA, The Inland Valleys Association of Realtors, Pasadena FIBI, The North San Diego Real Estate Investors Association, LA south REIA, NorCal REIA, The Wizard of the Wobbly Box, Andy Teasley, Shepherd's Finance, The Thompson Group, PropertyRadar and White House Catering. The dinner wine is provided with a generous contribution by Rick and Leanne Rossiter. Hope see you all there.

Narrator:

For more information on hard money loans, trust deed investing, and upcoming events with The Norris group. Check out thenorrisgroup.com. For more information on passive investing through the DBL Capital Real Estate Investment Fund, please visit dblapital.com.

Joey Romero:

The Norris Group originates and services loans in California and Florida under California DRE license 01219911. Florida mortgage lender license 1577 and NMLS license 1623669. For more information on hard money lending go to thenorrisgroup.com and click the hard money tab.