Since 2005, Tracy McLaughlin has been the number one agent every single year in Marin County, California - a record for any county in the United States. In 2022, Tracy closed over $233 million in successful transactions.

Tracy was the co-founder of Morgan Lane Marin. In 2009, she and her then-partner, Mark McLaughlin, purchased Pacific Union International, which they grew into the 5th largest brokerage in the United States. Tracy is a Global Real Estate Advisor for Engel & Volkers in Marin County and Aspen, Colorado. Tracy authored Real Estate Rescue: How America Leaves Billions Behind in Residential Real Estate and How To Maximize Your Home's Value, currently available on Amazon.

She is widely recognized as a thought leader in residential real estate, with regular guest appearances on national podcasts, tv, and radio programs. Tracy is consistently ranked number 24 in the United States by the Wall Street Journal/Real Trends and has been in the top 100 of Real Trends for the past decade of her career.

RAINE: What was the initial spark of inspiration that led you to pursue a career in real estate?

TRACY MCLAUGHLIN: About 26 years ago, before I was licensed in real estate, I started fixing up homes and flipping them in Marin County, California. I started with my first home in Tiburon that we purchased as a young, married couple, (which turned out beautifully), and then continued with the house down the street and, eventually, 20 more homes over the course of the following 15 years for my own portfolio. Not only was this personally and financially rewarding, but it also gave me the ability to understand how I could monetize almost any home that I walked into. I had a very solidified reputation for designing and building a classic grey shingle, Hampton's inspired homes that outperformed other homes in the market due to their classic exterior design with white marble kitchens and bathrooms. I selected classic and timeless design materials, chic lighting, and only worked with homes that I knew would break the ceiling of valuation in the neighborhoods I developed in. That reputation for knowledge of homes, and how to make any home more valuable with my design and vision, was a perfect launch pad for a career in residential real estate.

RAINE: How did this evolve over time and eventually lead to you being nationally ranked and recognized within your field?

MCLAUGHLIN: As I transitioned to the role of agent, I continued to fix and flip homes: Using them as a laboratory for learning on how to best monetize ANY house. Unless a home is deemed a complete teardown, every home can benefit from a value-added perspective based on what I have now done for over 600 homes in both Marin County, California and Aspen, Colorado (I have offices in both communities). That savant-like knowledge of how to make money on homes continued to build every year as I fixed up homes to sell them for higher prices. And boy did the market respond! The background that I had in design and construction, coupled with working 10-12 hour days, resulted in me moving up in national rankings year after year. I made it to number 24 last year and feel honored to be able to hold that kind of national ranking! I truly believe that agents need to bring significant value to a seller or buyer. The fees we are paid are high. We as an industry need to earn a commission or fee by adding significant value to the buying and selling process.

It's been amazing to watch the value-added component of my advice literally change buyers' and sellers' lives with my vision for design, improvements, staging, and the ultimate execution of superior marketing and keen negotiating. I love what I do for a living. I am honored to help people in their journey in the purchase or sale of what will arguably be one of the most important investment decisions one will make in their lifetime.

RAINE: When working with a client are there any traits you specifically look for in assessing whether you will be able to work collaboratively with them in helping maximize the value of their home?

MCLAUGHLIN: Absolutely. I oftentimes talk buyers OUT of homes, despite the potential loss of a transaction, if it's not a home I think is right for them. I ask myself: "Is this a home I would buy myself or for my children?" If the answer is "no" then I talk my clients out of that home, and we wait for the "right" home to come on. It always does by the way. When the "right" home does come along, I love to be involved in helping buyers decide what to do, where the money should be invested, and where the high ROI is for them.

RAINE: What are the regular hangups, emotional attachments, or boundaries homeowners must get past in terms of making the most use of their home as a financial asset?

MCLAUGHLIN: That's easy! Sellers of a home are far more emotionally tied to their homes than any other asset they might own. For example, we don't get emotional about a stock, an apartment building, or Bitcoin. However, residential real estate is an entirely different animal! Sellers hold on to their pre-conceived beliefs about the value of their home and or the design and finishes of their home. Because we raise our children in our homes, make memories in our homes, hold memorable events there, etc - we hold on to those emotive connections and tend to hyperinflate the value of that asset. This oftentimes results in aspirational pricing that ultimately will compromise your sale's price if you don't listen to your agent's recommendations. In order to maximize your home's value, it's imperative to change out wall color, chandeliers, flooring, countertops, or other design elements that need to be updated after about 10-15 years, and then price your home according to data, to be successful. I always tell my sellers: "If you are truly ready to disconnect from your home, move out, let me do the improvements and staging we need to do, and look at the home as a bank machine. The more you disconnect and bring it up to the standards that people want today, the more cash you will see come out of that machine". So, the key here is to keep your home updated with current design materials and listen to a seasoned, qualified top agent who will be honest about your home's value so you can be a successful seller.

RAINE: How does the proliferation of home renovation and real estate-based reality TV impact the public perception of what can be achieved by teams who perhaps do not have the benefit of post-production and editing to only present their choices in a certain way?

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, I think that people who have an extensive background in home prep (I have prepared over 600 homes for the market in both Marin County, California and Aspen, Colorado), can easily show clients before and afters if they are documenting what they do. I like to take a listing, prior to our prep, and have a photographer shoot it. We then do the work and have the photographer come back and reshoot the house with the same angles. It's amazing to split-screen the images for immediate impact and to show sellers what we can do. Many of our projects are often under $100k. We have a formula that provides a 5-7 x return on that investment depending on what the seller is willing to do. So, agents who are good at this will make that effort and show future sellers what can be achieved "off-screen".

RAINE: What importance is placed on a conventional before and after comparison when looking at how successful a sale or renovation has been?

MCLAUGHLIN: For me, prepping 600 homes, it is almost formulaic. If the house is not a teardown, I focus on the hardwood floor color, age of floor boards; interior and exterior color palette; light fixtures; counters and backsplash in the kitchen and bathrooms and staging/accessories and art for marketing. We oftentimes paint out good kitchen cabinets to affect an entirely new look without spending a lot of money. These are the "nuts and bolts" of listing prep right now.

RAINE: What's the most unconventional property you have come across or worked on over the course of your career?

MCLAUGHLIN: The Taj Mahal houseboat in Sausalito. It's an amazing multi-million-dollar replica of the real Taj Mahal. I was asked to evaluate it. It was soooo cool!

RAINE: How does your real estate experience inform your writing and other creative projects?

MCLAUGHLIN: Real estate is very unpredictable. Every day you deal with people, events, or deals you did not anticipate. It's part of what is so compelling about it for me. No day is the same and there are plenty of "ups and downs:" throughout the day. I love taking the experiences I have with people every day and documenting them for future advice based on buyers and sellers making either great or not-so-great decisions.

RAINE: Do you have any further exciting projects coming up?

MCLAUGHLIN: Yes! I just finished building an incredible home in Aspen for my family. It took us 2.5 years and, in the end, was so worth it. My daughters, Whitney, Grace, and I, have formed a partnership in Aspen and are already busy helping buyers and sellers in that market. I am working on my second book called "I Bought a Home and Ruined My Life (Or Almost Did!)". It's about buyers and sellers who made very significant mistakes that cost them millions in the end. The stories are compelling, and all are based on my experiences. Hopefully, this second book will teach others to avoid those same pitfalls. I am also really enjoying writing articles for The Aspen Times newspaper about residential real estate and being a guest on Fox News etc.

Go Big To Go Home - An Interview with Real Estate Entrepreneur Tracy McLaughlin