Power of Real Estate Summit: Judy Lowe Leads the Way in Tucson’s Real Estate Revolution

Links Mentioned In The Show:

ThePowerofRealEstate.com
https://www.tucsonrealtors.org/event/ypn-back-to-school-backpack-drive/

Dive deep into the heart of Tucson’s real estate dynamics with our latest podcast episode, featuring the influential Judy Lowe. The Power of Real Estate Summit shines a spotlight on the future of property and development in the Old Pueblo, providing valuable insights and networking opportunities for industry professionals and enthusiasts alike.

Judy Lowe: A Pillar in Tucson Real Estate

Judy Lowe’s journey in the real estate sector is nothing short of inspirational. Starting her career at the reception desk, Judy quickly ascended through the ranks to become one of the most respected figures in Arizona’s real estate scene. Her experience spans various facets of the industry, from owning and operating successful realty firms to steering the state’s real estate commission. Judy’s return to Tucson marked a significant chapter in her life, bringing her expertise and passion back to the city she loves.

Judy’s leadership at the Tucson Association of Realtors and her previous role as the Arizona Real Estate Commissioner have been pivotal in shaping the local real estate landscape. Her commitment to ethics, education, and community engagement has set a high standard for real estate professionals in Southern Arizona.

Unpacking the Power of Real Estate Summit

The Power of Real Estate Summit is not just an event; it’s a confluence of ideas, trends, and strategies driving Tucson’s real estate market. Here’s what you can expect from this year’s summit:

• Expert Panels and Discussions: Learn from leading voices in the real estate world, including Dr. Jessica Lautz from the National Association of Realtors, who will provide national insights and economic forecasts.
• Networking Opportunities: Connect with real estate professionals, investors, and enthusiasts who are shaping Tucson’s property landscape.
• Innovative Strategies and Trends: Gain access to the latest in real estate technology, market trends, and investment opportunities.
• Community Impact: Discover how real estate influences local economy and community development.

Notable speakers like M. Nolan Gray, a renowned urban planning expert, and Angela Salyer from Mattamy Homes, will share their experiences and forecasts, enriching your understanding of the real estate ecosystem.

Get Involved and Stay Informed

The Power of Real Estate Summit is a movement towards a more connected and informed real estate community in Tucson. Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of the conversation that shapes our city’s future.

For more information on the Power of Real Estate Summit or to nominate a prominent Tucsonan for some radio love, visit our contact page. Stay updated and engaged with Tucson’s vibrant community by following us on Facebook and Instagram.

Tom Heath

Good morning. It’s a beautiful Sunday in the Old Pueblo and you’re listening to KTDT Tucson. Thank you for spending part of your brunch hour with us on your downtown Tucson community sponsored all volunteer powered rock and roll radio station.

Tom Heath

This week we speak with Judy Lowe, CEO of the Tucson Association of Realtors. She had a successful real estate career here in Tucson and for 13 years was the commissioner for the entire state of Arizona and now heads the local trade association here in Tucson, Arizona. Today is April 7th, 2024. My name is Tom Heath, and you’re listening to Life Along the Streetcar. Each and every Sunday, our focus is on social, cultural, and economic impacts in Tucson’s urban core, and we shed light on hidden gems everyone should know about. From A Mountain to the University of Arizona, and all stops in between, you get the inside track right here on 99 .1 FM, streaming on downtownradio .org, also available on your iPhone or Android, with our very own downtown radio

Tom Heath

Tucson app on the show if you can interact with us directly through Facebook and Instagram we invite you over to our website lifealongthestreetcar .org for more information about us the book we’ve written and past episodes and of course you can always listen to our podcast out there in podcast world all kinds of different places what is April which means my allergies are just doing fabulous and it’s also a folk festival time. Had a chance to emcee a stage yesterday out there at Hockamay Plaza. I was on the court stage introducing some great musical talent from all over. Some here locally and others coming in for this event and the Folk Festival continues today. Information is on their website tucsonfolkfestival .com and of course our Facebook page and I think we did a show on the Folk Festival a couple years ago, you can go to our website and type that in the search bar and get the full story of how this all came to be from the Tucson Kitchen Musicians Association. Just understanding that

Tom Heath

name is kind of important. And speaking of names, there’s been a lot of information in the news about real estate agents and realtors and changes to the business model and etc. We’re not going to get into that today, but I did think it was an interesting time to talk about the Tucson Association of Realtors. They’re a large trade organization here in Tucson. They have an event coming up at the Tucson Convention Center, the TCC, on just a couple of weeks here in April. So I thought this would be a good time to reach out and get a little more information about the organization, the event, and the role of this trade group here in our community. So we reached out to Judy Lowe, their CEO, talked with her by phone just a couple of days ago. And here is that interview. So we are joined on the phone today by Judy Lowe, the Chief Executive Officer of the Tucson Association of Realtors, as well as a few other hats you wear. We’ll talk about that in a moment. But Judy, thanks so much for joining us today.

Judy Lowe

Oh, and thanks so much for having me, Tom.

Tom Heath

It’s my pleasure. Now, for all transparency, you and I have known each other for probably like 15 years at this point. So this, I’ll be asking you some probing questions, but I might have a, an inkling of what the answers may be.

Judy Lowe

Oh, okay. We have known each other for a long time.

Tom Heath

Um, but you know, the, the, the reason for this, this, uh, call it this time, there’s been all kinds of different news stories in, um, information out about the real estate community and realtors. And that speaks for itself. And I don’t think we really need to too deeply into that. But I do know locally that we have a real estate community and we have a realtor organization. And I thought maybe you could help us shed light on some of that and also talk about some of the upcoming events that you’re doing here in the community. And really kind of start with that. Can you tell us a little about the Tucson Association of Realtors, what that means here in the community? Well, the Tucson Association of

Judy Lowe

Realtors has been a driving force in the Tucson community since 1921, if you can imagine. Wow. And we have right now over 5 ,000 real estate professionals who are members of our organization. We are the largest trade association in Southern Arizona. We are comprised of three corporations, all representing the real estate community, the professionals in the real estate community and doing good things in Tucson. One is the Tucson Association of Realtors, of course. The second is our multiple listing service of Southern Arizona, which is the database that houses all of the listing and sales information for Southern Arizona for access by our members when they’re representing the buyers, the sellers, the landlords in Southern Arizona. The third corporation is one that everyone battles to sit on the board of, and that’s our Tucson Realtors Charitable Foundation, and that is our driving nonprofit, very labor -intense, so to speak, because of the contributions, not just monetarily, that are driven

Judy Lowe

toward our other nonprofit organizations, community in our community, but also it allows our real estate professionals to satisfy that need that they all have to give back to the community. And very strong, strong board, doing lots of good things for Arizona.

Tom Heath

Yeah, you mentioned 1921, so you’re in that a hundred plus club, a hundred year plus club of so many of these other venerable institutions in Tucson. That’s quite an amazing feat.

Judy Lowe

It is, and to not just remain strong, but really be an integral part of the community. You know, I lived in Phoenix for 13 years, grew up in Tucson, took a position in Phoenix, and coming home was such a welcome reward for me, and then to get back involved in the real estate community has really brought a lot of satisfaction to me.

Tom Heath

Well, I can’t let you gloss over it that easily. You took a position up in the Phoenix area. You were the commissioner of real estate for the state of Arizona. I think you still were somewhat connected into this community.

Judy Lowe

Well, I was. I served under first Jan Brewer and then Doug Ducey and didn’t have the opportunity to serve under the current governor because I decided to come home to Tucson.

Tom Heath

Well, and I know when you took over, and I remember that’s about when we first met, you were actually in Tucson chairing the Housing Opportunities Committee, and I was a member of that. That’s where you and I first crossed paths. That’s right. That was, I mean, if you think back, if you’re familiar at all with real estate and the economy, what was happening in 2008 and 2009 for someone to take over a role like a real estate commissioner, That’s got to be kind of an interesting time to be put in that role.

Judy Lowe

Well, it was an interesting time and not just interesting, but in many ways, it was an economic downturn that Arizona maybe had never experienced before. And to see how you can come through something like that as a profession, still be very, very strong, both in the state and in the community. And when the economy turns around, it is like the sunrise every morning that we experience here in Tucson. It just is invigorating.

Tom Heath

Yeah, I remember some tough challenges there. And I didn’t realize you had done it for 13 years. That’s quite a while. 13 years. Wow. Yes. Quite a commitment. And then decided to come back home to Tucson. And I was doing, and I didn’t know this until I was doing a little research for the show. And I knew you’d owned some brokerages, but I didn’t know that you started off in the role of a secretary for one of the firms and then grew yourself into owning some, two of the largest firms in Southern Arizona or having ownership in them.

Judy Lowe

That’s right. I started with Shadron Realty way back, well, I won’t tell you how long, at the front desk and quickly learned that I was not content at the front desk. So just moved through the positions and was one of the owners of the first Coldwell Banker franchise, Coldwell Banker Success. And we sold that back to Coldwell Banker National. And then I acquired Realty Executives of Southern Arizona and was able, when I took the position as commissioner, my husband and I moved to Phoenix and we sold our position in Realty Executives in Southern Arizona. So that’s a little bit of the history. I also, in talking to you, remember that you and I, in serving on the Housing Opportunity, were given the honor for the state of Arizona of being the housing heroes under Janet Napolitano’s reign. And she recognized what we had done in Southern Arizona and gave the association, you and I, leading that housing opportunity, that recognition. So thank you, Tom, for doing all that you’ve done for real estate

Judy Lowe

in Southern Arizona.

Tom Heath

That was a while ago. I was just kind of getting my feet wet. But I wanted to bring up your history because I think at the helm of the three corporations that you just touched upon, it’s important to understand that you have the perspective of a practitioner, of a regulator, of an owner. And I think that’s important as we kind of move into this next phase of real estate, which seems like there are some changes underway. And you had mentioned there are members of the association. And can you explain kind of what that means? Because you don’t have to be a member to have a real estate license.

Judy Lowe

No, Tom, you know, in Arizona, there are 90, little over 90 ,000 real estate licensees. They’ve done their 90 hours, they pass the exam, they have a real estate license issued by the state of Arizona, 90 ,000. There are only a little over 50 ,000 real estate realtors who can call themselves realtors. big difference between being just a real estate licensee and being a realtor. So the public doesn’t really understand that. They think that everyone that talks real estate is a realtor, but our association, our members are the realtors. They subscribe to a code of ethics, a standard of practice. They are the only ones that have access to our multiple listing service. They utilize forms that are developed by our Arizona Association of Realtors and National Association of Realtors. Those forms actually are developed to protect the consumer in the real estate transaction. So I encourage every member of the public and everyone else who has a question around real estate, one of the first questions

Judy Lowe

to ask and confirm is the individual that they’re talking to is a realtor and does subscribe to all of the codes and even the education is targeted to our realtor members to be the very best real estate education out there, always focused on protecting the consumer.

Tom Heath

That’s Judy Lowe. She’s the CEO of the Tucson Association of Realtors. She has also spent 13 years as the Commissioner of Real Estate across the state of Arizona and served under two different governors. My name is Tom Heath. You are listening to Lifelong Streetcar and Downtown Radio 99 .1 FM streaming on downtownradio .org and we’ll be back to the second half that interview in just a moment.

Tom Heath

Welcome back. If you are just joining us here after the break, we have Judy Lowe, the CEO of the Tucson Association of Realtors as our guest today. The first half of the interview talked about her history as well as some of the history of the association. And the second part here, we’re gonna get into an upcoming event that is targeted towards real estate community members, people that are active or interested in what’s happening within that community. Certainly a lot of the realtor members of her association will attend, but it’s open to the public and it’s at the convention center and we wanted to learn more. As you were a commissioner, you oversaw all licensees, and I remember that was always your purview or your perspective. It always had to be about protecting the consumer. And you mentioned education, so I think that’s a great segue into an event that’s coming up later in April called the Power of Real Estate Summit. I know it’s, we’ve talked a lot about being a member or not member,

Tom Heath

but this is focused on, members certainly are going to be a large component of the audience, but this is an event open to the

Judy Lowe

public if I understood correctly. Absolutely. We did the event last year. We had such good feedback that we decided it’s going to be an annual event that we put on. And we hold it at the Tucson Community Center. And you know, in order to demonstrate to the community what the power really is, you know, real estate is not just the land. It feeds the economic platform that we all operate on. It is the integral part that ties us all together.

Tom Heath

So at this event, and just for the record, we’ll post all the details on our Facebook page as well. There is a cost to get in, but you have, it’s a three hour event and there’s like a panel of speakers or there’s different breakout sessions?

Judy Lowe

It will be separate panels. We will have Dr. Jessica Lautz coming from the National Association of Realtors. She’s gonna give us a little bit of an update on the changes going on in real estate across the country, as well as what is the economic situation? What are we looking at real estate economy -wise, housing -wise in the coming year? We’re having M. Nolan Gray coming from Southern California to give us ideas on what he has found as being the successful actions to take in a local planning and zoning. Looking at that from, you know, what can be gained from his presentation that will really assist us in making some decisions right here in Tucson. on. We have Angela Salyer, who’s going to give us an update on the new home construction. She’s with Mattamy Homes. Jeremy Sharp, who is the marketing partner down in Rancho Sarita. Kevin Kaplan is going to give us a technology update, what’s going on in technology. We’ll also have land represented. We’re hoping to have some of the good, strong

Judy Lowe

developers, commercial developers, who will serve on a panel to talk about what they’re integrated in. So, it’s a dynamic… That’s a lot of information in three hours. It is. It is. And it won’t be long on each panel, but a lot of topics that Then after the presentation, after the summit, we’ll be able to do forums here at the association to really dig a little deeper into each of those topics.

Tom Heath

That makes sense. You kind of get like an overview at this session and then you find out what really drives you and then you can attend more information about that and a follow up. That’s right. That’s right. Very cool. So if you’re not a member of the association, you can still come to this event if you’ve you know, maybe you’re thinking about investing in real estate or you just have questions about how the real estate market is doing, um, that this would be something you might want to attend. And, and briefly though, can you cover the cost? Cause I know there is a fee to get into this.

Judy Lowe

It is, there is, it’s $125 per person. Uh, they can register. Anyone can register on the powerofrealestate .com website. The powerofrealestate .com website. And we’ll hoping to have all between four and 500 at the Tucson Community Center, Friday, April 19, from one to four. And it’s a time for everyone just to see each other to sometimes when you get busy in real estate, you don’t have that opportunity. It’s open, as you said, to the community to attend. And we just welcome everyone. We’re hoping to pack the house.

Tom Heath

Right. I think it’s interesting to get what the practitioners and the general public getting kind of that same information at the same time. That’s not always done. Sometimes the industries get very selective as to when the public is invited in. So I applaud you for making that decision.

Judy Lowe

Oh, no. It’s a good decision. Oh, yeah. Very good decision. Thanks for promoting it.

Tom Heath

Well, definitely want to highlight it. It’s down at the TCC in downtown, so it’s within our footprint. And again, just wanted to share some of this. We’re kind of running low on time. This is really good information, but I also want to highlight a couple of events that I saw on the website. Maybe you can tell us, maybe not about each event, but where we can get more information. Because you do fundraisers in the community. There’s a celebrity bartending event coming up, a golf tournament on Veterans Day, and then a housing fair later in November at the Reid Park Zoo. Maybe we’ll have you come back on and talk about those events in a couple of months. But if people want information on that, where do they get that?

Judy Lowe

I think the best place to go is tucsonrealtors .org. And tucsonrealtors .org is the association website. It is not password protected until you go into some of the more selective areas of the website. But go to events and it’ll give you a description of all of those events that you just touched on.

Tom Heath

Okay. Yeah, maybe we’ll do it. We’ll definitely post those on our Facebook page as they come out because these are all things that support our community. And it’s October, November, so the weather’s perfect at that point for a celebrity bartending in golf.

Judy Lowe

That’s right. And the proceeds from those are funneled right back into the community.

Tom Heath

Yep, through the charitable foundation.

Judy Lowe

That’s right. That’s right.

Tom Heath

Well, Judy, I really appreciate your time today. I know you’re getting busy getting ready for the summit, and we appreciate you taking the time and kind of sharing some of your significant amount of experience with us today.

Judy Lowe

Thank you Tom and thanks for all you do for the real estate profession in southern Arizona and hope to see you at the Power of Real Estate. Outstanding.

Tom Heath

That was Judy Lowe, CEO of the Tucson Association of Realtors, talking about the Power of Real Estate Summit coming up at the Tucson Convention Center in just a couple weeks here in April. More information on their website. We’ll also have a link to it on our Facebook page. I wanted to remind you though that right Now, you’re listening to Life Along the Streetcar on Downtown Radio, 99 .1 FM, and we’re streaming on downtownradio .org. You’re listening to KTDT Tucson, Arizona, 99 .1 FM, Downtown Radio. I’m Brother Mark, host of a show called Radio Club Crawl that airs every Tuesday at 3 p .m. We try to focus on most of the bands that are coming through Tucson, and we give you a tasty taste of their music. You want to check out what’s happening around Tucson? Check out Radio Club crawl Tuesdays 3 p .m Right here on KTDT Tucson, Arizona 99 .1 FM downtown radio. Thank you very much Enjoy your evening. Bye. Bye Once again, thank you for Judy Lowe CEO of the Tucson Association of Realtors for

Tom Heath

spending a little time with us on the phone this week So we could air that show for you here today episode number Number 290? 290, yes, we are here into April. As many of you may know if you’ve gone to our website, the mortgage industry is how I’ve been making a living for the last 25 years, so the things that I do on the lifelong streetcar and some of the other things I do in the community are a product of the success that I’ve had in the mortgage industry, and it allowed me a lot of freedom to do these things. So I’m very thankful. I’ve known Judy for some time in several different capacities and thought it’d be good to have on and kind of share her information about the state of the real estate community right now. Hey, don’t go anywhere. We’ve got Ted Przelski. He’s going to interview writers and members of the labor movement on his show, Words and Work, and then Ty Logan at the top of the hour. And then back into music at one o ‘clock with SpeakerboxX. And if you want to find out the

Tom Heath

whole lineup, head over to our downtownradio .org website. The the whole lineup for the entire week is there and don’t forget Sundays you got Seven o ‘clock starting off with mr. Nature. He goes for a couple hours with family -friendly Really feel good kind of get you slowly waking up there on a Sunday morning and that transitions right into Ben DJ Bank the musical bum and his show the art of easing which It does I get a little Motivated after Mr. Nature and then I can’t get off the couch after listening to DJ Bank, but he has perfected the art of easing and We appreciate them leading into this show probably would have much of an audience if Bank didn’t ease them into the couch. Hey, if you have a topic you want us to share this was episode 2 90 so 10 away from 300 if there’s a topic that you believe we should be covering, please email us at lifelongstreetcar .org, hit us up on Facebook or Instagram. Whatever you can do, we would love to share those stories because we are getting to the

Tom Heath

point where many of the shows that we do are recommended to us by people that have listened to the show either regularly or have done it in the past and know we’d be a good fit. And collaboration really is the key for us to get these things where they need to be. We’re gonna have more impactful community conversations a better community dialogue if we work together on Finding those guests. It’s really nice that every week You don’t have to listen to me talk for 30 minutes about what I love about Tucson. I could do that fairly easily But certainly appreciate your efforts and finding more interesting guests that can share what they do in our community And remember, it’s social cultural and economic impact. So people that are in the arts world fantastic business owners fantastic we try to stay away from direct political conversations but everything involves some kind of perspective and we like to share in depth the space for the speaker to provide their perspective and if you feel like they

Tom Heath

didn’t get it right call us up and we’ll give you some time to talk about your perspective as a reminder reach us on contact at life along the streetcar org Facebook or Instagram giving a Tuesday was last week I didn’t mention it on my show last week So I dropped the ball And I’m gonna encourage you now for giving Sunday to make up for Tom not asking you on Tuesday Last week I head over to lifelong streetcar .org hit the donate button and look for opportunities to support our station It’s a volunteer run station with the DJs show hosts doing a predominant amount of work and they do it because they love it not because they’re getting paid our board, the technical staff, every component of the station is done by a volunteer. So when you make a donation, it goes into the equipment, the rent, the materials, the ways we can improve the station for your listening and keep the lights on. So downtownradio .org, even though we missed Giving Tuesday because I forgot to mention it, you can still support

Tom Heath

us in that. Maybe I will see you out at the Folk Festival later today. I was there yesterday with a great lineup. And we’re going to leave you with a little folk music today. The artist is Daniel O’Donnell. So we’ll roll out here with him in a moment. But first I do want to thank James Portis, our production specialist. I want to remind you that my name is Tom Heath. I’m your host and your producer. And we start each and every show with the music of Ryan Hood. And it’s their song, Dillinger Days. And we’re rolling out today as I mentioned with Daniel O’Donnell, back from 1985 on an album that was called The Two Sides of Daniel O’Donnell. The song seemed appropriate for today, it’s called Our House is a Home. I hope you have a great week, and tune in next Sunday for more life along the streetcar.