The Alimond Show
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The Alimond Show
Peter Leonard-Morgan - From Exotic Cars to Real Estate Expert: Navigating a Transformed Market and Global Perspectives
What happens when a passion for luxury cars and an adventurous spirit converge? Meet Peter Leonard-Morgan he is the president elect of the real estate association, DAAR (Dulles Area Association of Realtors). In this episode our extraordinary guest will takes us through his thrilling career journey, from driving Lamborghinis and selling Ferraris to transitioning into the aviation industry and finally discovering his true calling in real estate. Listen as Peter recounts unforgettable moments like riding in a McLaren F1 with George Harrison and how these experiences have uniquely positioned him at Hunt Country Sotheby's International Realty.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought unexpected twists to the real estate market, and Peter shares his insights on this transformative period. Buyers from urban hubs like New York and DC flocked to more spacious properties, driving an industry boom despite rising interest rates. Learn about the innovative marketing strategies that helped maintain price stability and attract potential buyers, including the power of the Sotheby's brand and the use of cutting-edge tools like Cubicasa for detailed floor plans.
Lastly, we delve into the importance of trust, continuous learning, and building a reputable business through referrals. Peter's journey to obtaining his associate broker's license has not only enhanced his knowledge but also strengthened client relationships. We also gain a global perspective by comparing real estate practices in the United States with those in England and France. Wrapping up with Sotheby's mantra, "luxury is an experience, not a price point," Peter emphasizes the value of international practices and a global community in real estate. Don't miss this captivating episode filled with invaluable insights and personal anecdotes.
My name is Peter Leonard Morgan and I'm an associate broker with Hunt Country Sotheby's International Realty. We have two offices, one here in Leesburg and the one that I'm affiliated with which is in Middleburg, about half an hour from here. My clients primarily are sellers or buyers of small to medium to large country estates, horse farms, but equally townhouses and homes in communities and developments.
Speaker 2:Lovely. Can I have a little bit of a background of you and like how you got started in the real estate industry, how it led you to today and where you are?
Speaker 1:Absolutely, I'm delighted to do that. So I grew up actually I was born in France. My dad was a British army soldier, so I was born in France. My dad was a British army soldier, so I was born in France, and we moved to England. When I was very young and I grew up in London, I was educated at a French school called the Lycée Francais Charles de Gaulle in London.
Speaker 2:Oh, fancy, that was great.
Speaker 1:And so what happened is I was always a car lover and I was driving around London, age of, I think, 18 or 19. And I fell in love with these Rolls-Royce dealerships and so I decided I wanted to get a job there and I wrote to every single Rolls-Royce dealer, bentley dealer in London, and in those days it was all by hand. There were no computers Online Such a long time ago and at the time I had responses from every single company, which I think today doesn't happen. But every single one wrote back personally. But they all wrote back and said unfortunately we're in a recession and you know we don't have a job for a trainee salesman. But one company wrote back and it happened to be the one that I loved most because it was also the Ferrari dealership.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Wrote back and said Peter, come and see us. So I went to see them. I sat down. I can see myself now. I bought my first suit. I sat down in this chair. I felt very small, with the manager standing above me telling me how great this company was and they never take on trainees. But the managing director had said interview this young man and they gave me a job as a trainee salesman and I took to it like a duck to water. To be honest, I loved it so much and for about eight years I was selling Ferraris and Rolls Royce and Bentley. And then I was recruited to become the sales director for the Lamborghini importership in England, which I really enjoy because Lamborghinis are a young man's dream.
Speaker 2:I'm sure, yeah, lamborghinis are a young man's dream?
Speaker 1:I'm sure, yeah. And so I was running the Lamborghini distributorship and then a few years later, I was hired by the factory in Italy to become the sales director for Europe for Lamborghinis. I used to get to drive around these nice cars and go and set up dealers and I really enjoyed it, loved living in Italy. It was an amazing experience. It was very close to a town called Bologna in northern Italy, and after that my dad was ill, so I moved back to London, got a job at the Ferrari Center as the manager, but it wasn't the same, to be honest. And then one day I saw an ad in the back of a magazine, a car magazine. It said I can remember it to this day. It said do you have what it takes to sell $30 million jets? I thought that sounds like something I'd like to do. So I sent my resume, my CV, in and, lo and behold, they gave me the job. And so I started selling corporate jets, which is what brought me to America some years later through aviation.
Speaker 1:Some years later, through aviation, I then set up a company called Loudon Aviation here in the States in 2001 and did that for many years. But the traveling was getting to me so much that I thought I've got to find something else to do. And a very good friend of mine said you know you'd love real estate. So I thought that sounds good. I went and got my real estate license and went to work for a company in McLean called Weidler Brothers, which was wonderful for education, but it was too far away from Middleburg. So about a year later I met Janine Marconi, who's the broker and owner of Hunt Country Sotheby's International Realty, and I joined that firm and I've been there ever since and I wish I'd done that in 2001.
Speaker 2:Better late than never, right.
Speaker 1:Better late than never. Absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2:That is so cool. What was your favorite car that you got to drive?
Speaker 1:I will tell you. It's a car called a Lamborghini Diablo SV I don't even know what that is which today is a vintage car. But then it was a prototype which I had a lot of involvement with, because I wrote this paper about how we were going to get Lamborghini at the time to sell more cars worldwide, and so I used to get to drive this great car around Europe. I took it to the Monaco Grand Prix and people were like, well, this guy's cool, but they didn't know that I was just like a sales guy, I'm not cool, and so I really. That was, I think, to this day, the greatest car.
Speaker 1:But I do have a very good story, which is there was a car called a McLaren F1. And they only made, I think, 100 of those worldwide. I had a client who wanted to buy one, so I was invited to a circuit called Silverstone Circuit in England to be driven in it by a Formula One driver. But it's a three-seater, so it's got a middle driving seat and two seats behind it or just to the side. Well, three of us clamber into it, and the guy on the other side is a guy called George Harrison who's one of the Beatles.
Speaker 2:I was going to say wait, that name sounds familiar, not, oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:So Jonathan Palmer, who's the racing driver, drives us around the circuit, starts going faster and faster and I said this is great, this is fantastic. Meanwhile, george leans over and is liver puddly and acts as Jonathan, do you mind slowing down a bit? And that is my George Harrison story.
Speaker 2:That is so cool. Do you ever just look back and you're just like I can't believe that happened? Or are you just like another?
Speaker 1:day. No, I do actually, and I was very fortunate to sell some great cars to some very well-known people in London, you know, like Elton John and Rod Stewart. But Rod Stewart called me back because his car broke down, so he was very not happy with me, darn it, and so I had to fix that situation, but he was great.
Speaker 2:He loves his Lamborghinis. Yeah, I'm sure, that is such a cool background that you have, you know. I love asking these questions to everyone that comes here, because you never know what you're going to get.
Speaker 1:It's true, and it's sometimes. You know, I haven't thought back about these sort of things for years, so it's great to reminisce.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, thank you for reminiscing with us. This is just so cool. Can you tell me what's going on right now in the real estate industry? And how you and your team are going about it, dealing with it Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Absolutely so. The real estate world has been topsy-turvy for some years. When COVID hit in 2020, we all thought and assumed it was going to be really hard for us because there was lockdown, people couldn't get out, but we were very fortunate in Virginia. There was lockdown, people couldn't get out, but we were very fortunate in Virginia and I say that selfishly from a real estate point of view because we were deemed to be critical people, crucial people to keep the economy going, and part of that, funnily enough, was driven by something called RPAC, which is the Realtors Political Action Committee, which I contribute to as a major investor because they do so much in Richmond for our industry, and so we were allowed to stay open. And lo and behold, I started getting calls from people from places like New York City and DC who just wanted to get out of the city and buy a house with some acreage, and so that 2020, 2021, plus, of course, we had very low interest rates was really is good for our industry here.
Speaker 1:So the irony is that interest rates suddenly have shot up to literally about three times what they were at their low, and of course, we thought, well, things are going to slow down. But what happened was, inventory became really really low because people with two and a half percent, three percent interest rates did not want to sell their properties, or some did, if they had to move, or there was a life change, for example and so inventory has remained low, which has kept the prices not just stable but actually increasing. So it's been an interesting time. Inventory is starting to rise a bit now, which is a good thing. We don't have enough properties to sell, and it's a little different at the higher end that we generally are involved in, because they do tend to take a little bit longer to sell because you know there's a smaller buying pool. But it's been fascinating.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm sure, and, like especially with COVID, we definitely did not know what was going to happen. And I mean that's great that you guys were able to stay open, but I'm sure and I've heard from other real estate agents say that they had to like figure out zoom and like oh yes, all, make it all work and find and pivot ways to make absolutely to keep going absolutely.
Speaker 1:We used to go into showings with, obviously, masks and gloves and you know we couldn't stay. It could be only one person at a time, that sort of thing. So a lot of things. It seems so long ago now but it really wasn't. And you look back and you remember how it was and suddenly at the time I remember thinking we're never going to get out of this, it's never going to change. But we got right back to normal. People shake hands again. I remember thinking people are never going to shake hands.
Speaker 2:We've got to stay six feet apart.
Speaker 1:Yeah going to shake hands.
Speaker 2:We gotta stay six feet apart. Yeah, no, I'm glad we're back to how we used to be, because those are some hard times. Very challenging, absolutely yeah, but we got through it and we're gonna keep on rocking yes, yes, definitely um, talk to me a little bit about marketing with you and your team. How do you guys go about that, like, as far as listings and marketing yourselves, all that good stuff? Yeah?
Speaker 1:so that's a great question. There are lots of different ways that we do it and one of the reasons I joined the firm I'm with a very big reason actually is because the Sotheby's brand really helps. It has a platform that gets my listings out all over the world, globally. It's a phenomenal brand. I love my sign the Sotheby's blue with the white lettering, and it's a brand that's been around for centuries in terms of the London Sotheby's Blue with the white lettering, and it's a brand that's been around for centuries in terms of the London Sotheby's auction house. But they've really used that brand so well with Sotheby's Realty and so I use that a lot. But also one day some years ago, my broker asked me to help her with a listing she was getting and do a bit of on-camera video rather than just the video.
Speaker 1:So I thought, well, I've never done that before, let's have a go. And it was a bit amateurish at the time because we had never done it before and you know what it seemed that people kind of liked it, and because it wasn't just music with a flowing video going through it, it was also a little bit of narration. It's not about me, but it's about telling the story, the property, yes. So some on-camera, some off-camera narration, and that has become one of my things. I do that with every listing I have, because it just is, and then I can use that with my social media my YouTube, vimeo, instagram, facebook all of those things.
Speaker 2:Okay, Vimeo. Okay, you're on there.
Speaker 1:Perfect, I'm on Vimeo, yeah, and now I've got quite a nice little library of properties that I can use when I go into a listing appointment and show a client what I will do for them. And floor plans are another huge thing that I've always been heavily into. But just recently I would say in the last year we I say we as licensees who subscribe to our multiple listing service we are now able to use something amazing called Cubicasa, which is an AI type program for generating floor plans, and you know what? It is foolproof and game changer. You walk around with your phone for five or ten minutes and you download it and back come these amazing floor plans, and I've honed them. You have to hone them a bit when you get them, you know, and make them the way you like to look, style-wise. And then that's a lot of people are very visual. You know they want to. Before they see the property, they want to see what the dimensions look like.
Speaker 1:Exactly, exactly, and so that really helps a lot. And then with every listing I have I have a dedicated website. My photographer, videographer, he does a beautiful job with a website and that has all the information about the property. I have a website with all the documents for that property so really when a client or an agent wants to see all about that property, it's available before looking at it.
Speaker 2:No, I love the process that you have. You have everything in order, you know where to get it, how to show it Perfect.
Speaker 1:I love that.
Speaker 2:What advice would you give to entrepreneurs who want to maybe get their stuff together, or maybe real estate agents where they have trouble on the social media end?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a fantastic question, because I'm not a natural person in front of a camera. I've never done this professionally, but I think what we've become you're a natural, oh well, that's very kind of you. What I think we've become is more focused on authenticity. So one of my favorite little videos I did of myself when I was going to a land lot that I was trying to buy for a client.
Speaker 1:I did this video, I turned it around and it was something brand new about this property that I'd never seen before and you know people loved it because it was down and dirty. Yep, you know, there was no getting myself ready, no nice jacket. It literally was muddy and um, it was so much fun to do it and I remember the words I use it. This isn't something I've seen before and you know, and you know it, it doesn't matter that the camera is moving around a bit. So this authenticity is really, I think, crucial to get across to potential clients and buyers. The your personality. Yes, you don't want to see this made up thing, this rehearsed thing, but it's important to be professional. You need to know your subject matter and that's another thing. I'm a detailed person and I think the more detailed you are, the more you look at the property you're going to get and understand it before you go meet the client, the more the client will appreciate that you've actually looked into it and you're not just taking it for granted. You're going to get a listing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's like a balance, but an authentic balance. But an authentic balance, yes, between being authentic with yourself and how you are, but also being knowledgeable in your craft. And plus, when someone sees something online, they're like if they resonate with that, that's who they want to meet. So if you're completely different from how you are on camera, I think it's going to be like a shock to them absolutely.
Speaker 1:It's so true, and you know you want to sort of, as you say, you know you want to put across this warmth, but professionalism, you know you don't be a joker all the time you know there's a balance, I think, between um, you know, we have clients, they are our clients. We're dealing with something that is a massive asset, you know, and it's down to me to try and get the maximum value for my client in terms of not just price but but terms and conditions, etc. So they want to know they're dealing with someone serious. They also want someone who's. I mean, you know you've got to have a bit of sense of humor as well, otherwise how can you?
Speaker 2:keep going, exactly, no, I totally agree with that. Like humor is everything. It's like it's getting me through the days.
Speaker 1:Indeed.
Speaker 2:Exactly. And now talk to me a little bit about what you like to do to unwind. What are some hobbies? Are you still racing any crazy cars? Do you like going to Formula One races?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's great. There's quite a lot of things actually. You know I like to run. I go to the gym because I think it's really important to de-stress. You know, take your mind off work.
Speaker 1:I am actually for eight years I've been on our local town council. I was the vice mayor for a couple of years in Middleburg and that has been great because at a sort of a later age in life, I decided that that was something I could do to give back to my community, because it's always been working for money. You know like to live and I saw the opportunity in 2016 to get on our little town council. We're a very small town we box way above our weight, of course, because it's a town of about 800 residents, but a lot of people know Middleburg and there's a lot going on there. So I've met a lot of great new friends, of course, both on the council and committees and the town staff, but also citizens and residents in Middleburg. I've got to know and I go to these events. And that's taken me also into another thing which I've recently done, which I'm very involved with the American Legion in Middleburg and the British, the Royal British Legion.
Speaker 2:Can you explain what that is, because I'm not familiar with it, sorry.
Speaker 1:So the American Legion is really a veterans and active military I guess you call it. It's not a club, it's not a society. It is an organization where military members can get together and do great things for their military colleagues and also for the community. And our local American Legion is very involved with our community. They do events to raise funds for people who need help and so we as a town council got very involved with them. They've got involved with us and then the Royal British Legion, which is the British equivalent really, of the American Legion, has a DC branch and they asked me to get involved with them to help on a project at the American Legion together with the Broadbridge Legion. So that's been a lot of fun and I feel like, you know, I'm sort of giving back a bit to people that have given a lot to us Absolutely.
Speaker 2:I think that's so important because, like you said, like there's things that we need to do for ourselves and like we need to make money because it's part of life, but there's something about giving back, giving just monetary, but with your time, just by even just talking to people, getting to know them their stories giving them a platform to maybe have an event and meet other people. It's just something I feel like your soul needs yes to be fulfilled and just having that moment with other people I just think is so important.
Speaker 2:I agree selfless and I don't know. I feel like everybody needs that.
Speaker 1:I totally agree. I think we've been given a lot, but you know, both in England and here, of course, in America, you know we we have a lot of opportunities and, and it is important, we all work together to help each other yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Um, where do you see yourself in the next five years as a person and with your? And it is important we all work together to help each other. Yeah, absolutely. Where do you see yourself in the next five years as a person and with your business? Any new things coming up?
Speaker 1:Well, you know, every day is a learning curve, a learning lesson for me. In our business, like I say, there's a lot of detail. You have to get it absolutely right because it's really easy to fall foul of the rules and the laws. Laws are changing all the time and so you know for me. I got my associate broker's license a couple of years ago. And why did I do that? Well, I just wanted to know more about.
Speaker 1:I don't want to be a broker of my own company. I love where I am right now, but I just wanted to know more about how it's done, have some more responsibility and, you know, being an associate broker does demonstrate to clients that you have that extra level of understanding and experience of the business. So that's what I got and what I've been doing. I work hard to get new clients and the longer I've been in this business, the more referrals I've got, which I know we talk about referrals a lot in our business because it is important, but it takes a long time. You know you don't get referrals overnight. You know you have to be in it for a long time and prove your worth for a long time and, funnily enough, with the Sotheby's brand, there's a really great internal Sotheby's referral network from all over the world and certainly over America, and I've had several of those recently which have been really helpful.
Speaker 2:And it's great when a Sotheby's client in Georgia is referred to Sotheby's here in Virginia and vice versa. Yeah, I'm sure that feels good and like word of mouth is everything with referrals. That means that someone like you said it doesn't come overnight. That means you have to build that trust with them for them to have that confidence to be like you know what. I know this great person and I'll refer you to them with their friends and family. I'm sure that means a lot.
Speaker 1:It does mean a lot and it's really easy to get it wrong. You know, if you do something wrong, people really will start talking about that rather than all the good things you did. They forget the good things you might have done.
Speaker 1:So it's really important and I think a good reputation in this business is everything, because that's where you can get new clients. I've just got one recently that was referred to by an old client and every time that happens which isn't all the time, but every time that happens I feel so honored really that my client felt that they wanted to refer me to their friend, because that's a big deal, you know, if I get it wrong with their friend, it's a reflection on them as well.
Speaker 2:Yes, such a big thing to like just hold dear and cherish.
Speaker 1:Yes, indeed, yeah, thing to like just hold dear and cherish.
Speaker 2:Yes, indeed, yeah. And now, um, did I miss maybe anything that you want to share with our listeners that maybe I did not touch on?
Speaker 1:uh well, you know it's funny. Um, there's lots of things I mean. We could talk about this for hours, you and I, I think. But you know, I'm going this september for the for my first ever global network event, which Sotheby's does it every two years in a different city, and this year it's in Nashville. And I'm so excited to do it because I'm going with several of my colleagues and we go for basically I think it's two or three days and we network with agents and brokers from all over the world and get to understand how they do it in different markets, because I think, again, it's a learning curve.
Speaker 1:I'd love to see how they do it in France, for example, and I know for a fact that in England it's done very differently. In this country, in America, as a real estate agent, we are really like our own little businesses, whereas in England you work for a shop, an estate agent, and it's quite different. So you're much more of an entrepreneur here as a real estate agent or broker. And I think in France it's also very much like that, and a lot of countries they don't even advertise the price of the property. Oh my gosh. Yeah, it's a bit like when I was in corporate aviation selling a corporate jet. We really rarely would market it as a price. It would be make offer, which is very frustrating. But here it's very much more transparent.
Speaker 2:In america it's this is the price that the client would like for it, and then after that it's a negotiation, everything's negotiable yeah, I think I prefer that method more but it's cool, like this event sounds cool because you get to learn, and maybe they'll learn from me too, and what we're doing here in america absolutely so, and it's just an opportunity to get to know other people and expand that community.
Speaker 1:Definitely For sure, for sure yeah.
Speaker 2:And now, do you have any parting words for our audience before I let you go? Maybe a mantra you like to live your life by, or a message that's been in your mind or your heart?
Speaker 1:You put me on the spot now, but I will use a mantra that's not mine, it's one that we all use because it's really important, because a lot of clients think Sotheby's is, oh, I can't deal with Sotheby's because they only deal with $10 million properties, which is completely wrong. So there is a mantra we have which is luxury is an experience, not a price point, and I think that's really important because you know I will use the same energy and efforts and marketing on a $750,000, which is still a lot of money $750,000 house on a quarter of an acre as I will do with a $4 million property, and I think that's really important because it just shows that I'll put the same effort into that sort of property as a big estate.
Speaker 1:Absolutely yeah, so you get what you get right here, absolutely, absolutely well, thank you so much for being on the all-in-one show.
Speaker 2:We really appreciate you and your time and your nice sense of humor and just your bubbly energy so thank you.
Speaker 1:I really appreciate you, lady.
Speaker 2:Thank you no problem.