The Secret to Selling Houses in a Down Market with Rick and Brittany Turley

Q: How did Brittany Turley get started in real estate with her dad Rick?
A: Brittany started as Rick’s admin in 2014, handling scheduling and paperwork before getting licensed in 2017. She learned the business from the ground up, adapting to both family and business dynamics.

Q: What’s the biggest challenge for agents in today’s Las Vegas market?
A: There’s less demand and fewer transactions, so agents must work leads harder than ever. “Working a lead” means following up at least 21 times and providing real value, especially for relocators.

Q: What’s an example of value-driven follow-up?
A: Brittany sends videos and info about local events, restaurants, golf courses, and amenities, tailoring her outreach to what clients care about to keep them engaged and responsive.

Q: How has the Vegas market changed post-2020?
A:The market has shifted from short sales and REOs to a slower pace with less demand. The strip is less central, with more industry and higher-paying jobs (like mining) driving new demand in rural areas. Tech and AI are also changing the workforce.

Q: How did Rick expand the Turley Team into new geographic markets?
A: Rick identified opportunity in Nevada’s old mining towns, visited these areas, built relationships with local agents, and offered to bring buyers in. He recruited agents from other brands, especially where local offices were dissolving.

Q:What’s the biggest challenge in expanding to rural markets?
A: Local agents are often used to controlling the market and double-ending deals, making them hesitant to work with outsiders. Building trust and offering value—like bringing in leads—was key to breaking in.

Q: What are Brittany’s two biggest pieces of advice for agents?

1. Time block—plan your day and stick to it, adjusting as needed for reality. 2) Follow up relentlessly—people forget you if you don’t stay top of mind, even if they promise to call when ready.

Q: What’s Rick’s advice for team leaders?
A: Watch your finances, avoid shiny object syndrome, and invest in growth you can afford. Geographic expansion and diversification can be smarter than just trying to sell more in your core market. Always know your numbers and make decisions based on your business health.

Suneet:
Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of the Reside Platform Podcast. I’m your host today, Suneet Agarwal, and it’s going to be a fun one, so get comfy.

Today I’m sitting with Rick Turley and his daughter, Brittany Turley from the Turley Team in Las Vegas.

What’s going on, guys?

Rick:
Hey, Suneet.

Brittany:
Hi, Suneet. Thank you for having us.

Suneet:
Yes, good. I’m excited to sit down and talk about building a business with your kid, Rick… and building a business with your dad, Brittany.

We’ll talk about the journey, the market, what’s working, and what’s not.

Rick:
My part of the journey was lucky because Brittany started with me back in my RE/MAX days—what, 10 years ago now?

Brittany:
Yeah, over 10 years.

Rick:
She started as my admin and kind of kept me in line. She’s really been with me through the whole journey.

Suneet:
So Brittany, when did you start helping your dad?

Brittany:
I started helping him in 2014.

Suneet:
Were you done with school by that point?

Brittany:
No, I was still in school when I started helping him. Then I found out I was pregnant and having a baby.

Suneet:
Life pivot.

Brittany:
Yep. It made it easy to jump into real estate when you suddenly need to make money for your babies.

Suneet:
So what did you start out doing?

Brittany:
I started as his administrator and assistant.

I set up showings, made sure he was prepared, organized appointments.

At that point I wasn’t licensed—I was really just pushing paper.

Suneet:
How long did you do that?

Brittany:
I got licensed in 2017, so about three years before officially jumping into selling real estate.

Suneet:
What was it like working with your dad?

Brittany:
Honestly, learning how to work with my father in a business setting rather than as family took experience.

There were definitely days I left crying saying: “Dad, you’re so mean.”

Rick:
I mean… I was hard on her.

Brittany (laughing):
Now the roles might be reversed.

Suneet:
Before we make this an origin story—Rick, you went through the last market cycle.

Rick:
Oh yeah. It was fun.

I owned and ran a mortgage shop, stepped away around 2007, got into another industry, then eventually came back into real estate.

Suneet:
Were you selling houses in 2008?

Rick:
At that time I was still developing in Southern California while my brother was selling.

That’s right around when everything started slowing down.

Suneet:
When did you go full-time into real estate sales?

Rick:
Around 2009 or 2010.

Vegas became the epicenter.

I focused heavily on short sales and REOs.

Suneet:
What feels similar today?

Rick:
Honestly—it’s different.

This downturn isn’t about short sales.

2024 and 2025 weren’t great years, but this market is more about lower demand.

That’s why I’ve been focusing on growth:

• statewide MLS
• expanding locations
• servicing clients everywhere

I also quit Zillow around 2022–2023 and leaned more into:

• sphere of influence
• Google
• building stronger agents

Suneet:
Brittany, what does it take to be successful today?

Brittany:
Work.

Work your leads.

Suneet:
What does “working a lead” mean?

Should I text once?

Brittany:
Oh gosh, no.

If you haven’t reached out around 20+ times, you probably haven’t broken through.

You need:

• follow up
• consistency
• information they actually care about

A lot of our clients relocate.

So I send:

• community updates
• neighborhood info
• lifestyle recommendations
• local events

That gives people a reason to answer.

Brittany:
Recently, Mike Tyson moved into Rick’s neighborhood, so that’s pretty cool.

Suneet:
Really?

Rick:
Yeah. He bought a home in Seven Hills.

Suneet:
That’s awesome. Is the house crazy?

Rick:
I haven’t seen it, but I can’t imagine Mike Tyson buys a bad house.

Brittany:
It’s definitely nice.

Rick:
The high-end market here is crazy.

With California taxes and people relocating, plus New York as well, we’re getting a lot of buyers coming back into Vegas.

They’re building incredible homes—12,000 square feet, desert contemporary designs, gyms inside, basketball courts.

It’s pretty wild.

Suneet:
Vegas is such an interesting real estate market.

Rick:
Vegas is interesting for every reason.

Real estate here is very boom-and-bust.

Suneet:
I remember trying to sell one of my uncle’s condos and it was super difficult.

Everybody from California bought one.

Rick:
That’s true.

The condo market has been tough.

Every day there’s news:

• HOA problems
• assessments
• rising HOA fees

It’s put pressure on that entire segment.

Suneet:
Not to mention AI taking jobs on the Strip.

What’s AI doing there?

Rick:
There’s a lot of discussion around automation.

People are predicting a lot of hospitality jobs could disappear over time.

Call centers already shifted.

First to the Philippines.

Now more toward AI.

Rick:
When you walk through casinos now—

there aren’t as many dealers.

You see:

• screens
• automation
• robots

Vegas is changing.

Rick:
But other industries are coming in too.

Commercial and industrial growth is expanding.

Manufacturing is moving here.

The Strip becoming a smaller portion of the economy is healthy in some ways.

But Strip workers used to be many of our entry-level homebuyers.

That’s become harder.

Suneet:
So in a market like this—

besides follow-up—

what’s another trick?

How do you sell houses?

Brittany:
Your clients.

Continue reaching out.

Build relationships.

Make connections.

Rick:
It’s all follow-up.

That’s honestly the hardest thing to teach.

People hear “no answer” five times and stop.

That doesn’t mean stop.

Keep going.

Suneet:
Delayed gratification.

I remember hearing that growing up.

Rick, I want to talk about your expansion strategy.

You saw opportunity in surrounding markets.

Tell us about it.

Rick:
I noticed minerals were increasing:

• gold
• copper
• silver

Nevada has a lot of old mining communities.

That caught my attention.

Then a senator from Utah wanted to buy a mine from me.

That flipped the switch.

Rick:
He basically told me: Nobody understands this market.

So I started learning.

I met:

• title people
• bankers
• financing contacts

I prepared before expanding.

Then I realized—

people would follow opportunity.

Average miner salaries were around six figures.

There was housing demand.

Rick:
The challenge was people.

Small markets usually only have one or two realtors.

They’re used to doing things their own way.

You need people willing to travel and build relationships.

So I drove out there.

Met agents.

Made calls.

Explained:

“We’ll help bring buyers.”

Brittany:
At first there was hesitation.

People didn’t know us.

Small towns are relationship-based.

They worried we were trying to take over.

But Rick did what he does best—

building relationships.

That made it work.

Rick:
One thing I understood really well was Zillow.

Their weakness is rural areas.

They can’t always build enough presence there.

So we were able to grow quickly and deliver leads to agents.

Google took time—

but now it’s running well.

Suneet:
So your expansion strategy was:

cheap leads plus geographic growth.

How did you get agents?

Rick:
Simple.

I got in the car and drove.

Suneet:
You stayed within your brand?

Rick:
Not exactly.

We brought agents into our company.

I found strong people and built relationships.

Suneet:
Brittany, for people listening who are in real estate—what advice do you have?

Brittany:
I would say there are two big things.

The first one—and Suneet, you’ve said this to me many times—is:

Time blocking.

If you’re not time blocking, you’re not going to have enough time to do everything.

You really have to be aware of how much time you spend on each thing so you can be as productive as possible.

Suneet:
How many houses do you personally sell each year?

Brittany:
Personally, more than 20 houses a year.

Suneet:
And you also help run the team?

Brittany:
Yes.

On average, around 25 houses a year.

Suneet:
And you’re a mom?

Brittany:
And a mom.

Team leader.

Office manager.

All of it.

Suneet:
So your secret is time blocking?

Brittany:
Definitely.

It doesn’t always work perfectly—I’ll be honest.

But it gives me a guide.

I try to schedule:

• appointments during certain hours
• calls during certain hours
• focused work blocks

I’ve had to delete my schedule and start over a few times because what I thought my day looked like wasn’t reality.

So now I try to pay attention to both.

Suneet:
That’s the hardest part for agents.

Especially if you’re a gunner—

you’re used to putting out fires.

You’re constantly saying:

“I’ve got to go to an appointment.”

“I’ve got to do this.”

Brittany:
Exactly.

People naturally want to be reactive.

That’s a difficult habit to break.

Rick:
I still fight it.

Brittany:
I do too.

At least having the schedule in front of me helps.

Even though distractions happen.

Suneet:
Absolutely.

So what’s your second piece of advice?

Brittany:
Follow up.

If you’re not following up—

people forget about you.

Even if they tell you: “I’m going to use you.”
“I’ll call you when I’m ready.”

That rarely happens.

People forget.

You have to stay top of mind.

Suneet:
Good.

What about advice for team leaders?

Rick:
A lot of this came from experience and going through different markets.

And some of it came from things you’ve taught too.

But for me—

it’s financial discipline.

Rick:
It’s easy to chase every shiny object.

You think:

“This is going to grow my business.”

But you always need to know where you stand financially.

That helps you make decisions.

Rick:
People kept asking me:

“Why aren’t you personally investing more during the market slowdown?”

My answer was:

Because I’m investing into expanding my business.

That’s where I saw opportunity.

Rick:
I was lucky years ago to go through programs that taught metrics and business growth.

That became ingrained into how I operate.

Sometimes it slows me down—

but if you grow at a pace you can sustain—

you win long-term.

Suneet:
Exactly.

Growth is an investment of both:

• time
• money

There’s more than one way to grow besides simply selling more houses.

Rick:
Sometimes the money is elsewhere.

Suneet:
Not sometimes.

Often.

Rick:
All my vendors hate me—but that’s okay.

Suneet:
Your vendors hate you?

Rick:
It’s pay-to-play.

If you want to be involved—

you’ve got to contribute.

Suneet:
If someone listening has a referral in Vegas—

where should they send it?

Rick:
Best place is administration at The Turley Team.

Either me or Brittany will get back quickly.

Or just call us.

I’ll pick up.

Suneet:
Guys—I send my Vegas referrals to the Turley Team.

You should too.

This was super fun.

Brittany, I’m glad you joined because otherwise Rick and I probably would’ve gone completely off track.

I hope everybody listening got something from this episode.

We’ll see everybody on the next episode of the Reside Platform Podcast.

Peace out.