Today we’d like to introduce you to Yarbrough Realty Associates.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?

We are Yarbrough Realty Associates, a mother-daughter real estate team based in Sonoma County, CA.​

Jackie started her real estate career almost a decade ago, and when her daughter Mia expressed an interest in joining her, she was thrilled! Mia took her coursework and swiftly passed her licensing exam in 2022. The timing was excellent, as Jackie also qualified to start her own team under eXp Realty that same year, based on her sales volume. We knew that we could provide elevated service to our clients if we joined forces: combining Jackie’s wealth of knowledge and experience with Mia’s tech-savvy marketing strategies and customer service experience…

We also knew that our values were well-aligned: both of us operate with high levels of integrity, honesty, compassion, and hard work! We have witnessed many people have had less-than-ideal experiences with realtors. Our goal is to always guide our clients well, so they walk away from each transaction feeling empowered and informed.
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While we had never worked together before, we decided to take the leap! It took time for us to figure out how to compliment each other’s strengths and collaborate effectively, but it was the best decision we could have made. We love working together!

Since starting Yarbrough Realty Associates, we have been growing ever since, with our annual sales volume and transactions increasing every year. More importantly, we continue to hone our craft, and provide additional resources and knowledge to our clients. We are proud and honored to serve a wide variety of clients, with different backgrounds, price points, and real estate goals. We find our work incredibly rewarding, and plan to continue growing for many years to come!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

There is always a natural learning curve when starting a business with anyone, and starting a business with a family member comes with that too. While it took time for us to develop our working relationship, and separate our personal lives from that, we were able to find a routine that worked for us.

We’ve always said that we are “similar in the ways that matter, and different in ways that strengthen our business” and that still feels like it rings true. Our underlying values are the same: integrity, honesty, passion, and a desire to help people achieve their goals. However, the differences in our personalities and backgrounds have also helped our business, as it has allowed us to grow our team in ways we could not have done individually. We also have two perspectives to offer when it comes to real estate, and therefore can match clients with the realtor that will serve their unique needs best.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?

Time and time again, the feedback that we are most proud of is our character. We hear many horror stories about realtors that our clients had worked with before that didn’t listen to their needs, seemed most focused on a paycheck, or sometimes didn’t even return their calls. We’ve also heard stories of realtors acting in a discriminatory manner, which is something that frustrates and saddens us greatly. We are very proud to be realtors that conduct our business quite differently from those horror stories!

Our approach is integrity-driven first. We always aim to treat clients with respect, dignity, honesty, and to work hard, regardless of who the client is or what their price point is at. The feedback from our clients has been that we are highly approachable, communicative, and advocate on their behalf throughout the transaction. We have been honored to see our clients come back to us for their future real estate needs, and refer us to their dear friends and family. It is something that we do not take lightly, and it motivates us to continue to do better for our clients, each and every time.

We have done a bit of everything: land, mobile homes, condos, fixers, rural properties, luxury estates…we have experience in nearly every aspect of residential real estate. While we don’t have a specific niche, we work with many first time homebuyers and relocation buyers (people who are moving to our area from another state, or several hours away). We love both, as it allows us to provide education, resources, and local knowledge, to guide our buyers to make informed choices. We’ve also worked with trusts, downsizers, upsizers, investors, flippers, families, and more! We love it all and aim to make every transaction as personalized as possible, based on the client’s needs and goals.

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?

Well, we learned a lot of personal lessons (more than we can outline here) but for this article’s purposes, we’ll focus on the work-related ones!

One of the key differences in the real estate market during the pandemic was interest rates. With rates of 2.5-3%, the market was more competitive than anything that’s been seen for decades. While lower rates did allow buyers to purchase that may not have been able to otherwise, it also made things harder for many buyers, who couldn’t compete with the inflated home purchase prices and quick escrows. Ultimately, despite low rates, many buyers were forced to pay much higher prices.

The key takeaway for us was that while the market seriously affects both buyers and sellers, there is not one “right time” for EVERYONE to make a move. For some, that time was over the pandemic. For others, buying at a higher rate was actually easier than doing so at a lower rate, as they had less competition and were able to negotiate better terms. On the seller side, we are seeing that those who bought at a low rate now feel locked in and scared to move (and are still waiting for their homes to appreciate and catch up with the inflated prices they paid!), while sellers who bought at more stable rates are sometimes more flexible with the choices available to them. Ultimately, we always encourage buyers and sellers to have conversations, gather information, weigh the pros and cons, and then make an informed decision from there about whether it is a good time for them to move, or if they should hold off.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.yarbroughrealtyassociates.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yarbroughrealtyassociates/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063672752057
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@yarbroughrealtyassociates
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@miayarbrough