Local women say Lincoln-based realty firm a good fit
Two local women with strong family ties to Hamilton County are reporting early success and growth as independent contractors for a Lincoln-based real estate firm, selling houses from their home offices in what they agree is an ideal personal and professional fit.
Stacie Holliday and Deborah Hutsell of Aurora represent BancWise Realty and are focusing their efforts mostly within a 30-mile radius of Hamilton County.
“I knew a broker from BancWise and that’s kind of how this started,” Holliday recalled of her start in 2018. “They weren’t really looking to expand and I wasn’t looking to move to Lincoln, but I visited with them to see if we could somehow make it work, if they could be my brokerage and I could work for them here. Having a home office was really beneficial during COVID because I was still doing a lot of training and traveling to Lincoln periodically to meet. That’s kind of how we started and we’ve continued to grow.”
Recognizing the need for help in a growing real estate market and knowing Hutsell’s integrity and character would align with BancWise’s, Holliday eventually shared her experience with Hutsell, a Missouri native who moved to the area in early 2020, just before the pandemic hit.
“I was working an HR job and doing that remotely for one of our friend’s companies,” she recalled. “I really enjoyed that but it was taking me back to Lincoln once, twice, sometimes three times a week. Stacie told me she was very busy with real estate and that Aurora could use another agent on the BancWise team. I knew people who knew the brokerage and they have a very good reputation so I just felt like it was a good opportunity.”
Background
Holliday, the daughter of the late Barry and Ardith Handrup, grew up here and graduated from Aurora High School in 1999. She earned an art education degree from UNK, then took a job with a Christian camp in Tyler, Texas, where she met her husband, Chris. The family moved to Aurora in 2008 when Chris took an IT position with the Aurora Cooperative. The Hollidays have four children: Gavin, Cavett, Truett and Callyn, ages 13, 11, 8 and 6.
Hutsell moved to Lincoln in 2015, where she met her husband Shawn, a Hampton graduate, at a church event. The couple married in January of 2020, settling in Aurora with plans to eventually move to the Hampton area where Shawn, the son of Dave and Sheryl Hutsell, farms with his family.
“My goal is to get involved in the community and to get to know this area,” Hutsell said. “We’re going to be here forever and I felt like I was investing more in Lincoln and I wanted to be here, to establish roots here, to get to know the community and serve the community. So when Stacie told me about real estate I was excited and thought that would be a perfect opportunity to get involved.”
Though part of the Realtors Association of Lincoln, BancWise is affiliated with Multiple Listing Services (MLS) in York and Grand Island, which opens the door for Holliday and Hutsell to work as independent contractors throughout the region.
“With where I’m at with my kids I like to try to stay within 30 minutes of Aurora,” Holliday explained. “I showed houses in St. Paul the other day and we’ve done work in Hastings, Shickley, Geneva and Grand Island (among others). Aurora is our prime market, obviously, because you’re going to know the market substantially better, but the more transactions you do and the better you get to know cooperating agents and the better you get to know the market. I think that was a big part of bringing Deb onto the team and she’s been a huge help here.”
“We’re licensed for the full state of Nebraska,” Hutsell added. “People buy houses at the lakes around the area, but we’ll go beyond. Where we get those farther transaction is word of mouth and I have a lot of connections to people in Lincoln. If I have a friend who wants me to help them sell or buy a house I will do that, but we live here and our focus is here in Hamilton County.”
Both agree that working from home is ideal, at this point, though they would consider establishing a local office, at some point down the road.
“Ultimately we would like to get a location, but right now this is working so well,” Holliday said. “We’re both on the go all the time and the savings we can make by not having a location makes us better as we’re able to pass some of that savings off to our clients just by not having that extra overhead. We’re not opposed to having an office, but we’re not actively looking at that right now for our team.”
Active housing market
Asked to assess the area’s housing market, both said they are encouraged, despite the impact of rising interest rates.
“I feel like we are a little bit buffered, a little protected, in the Midwest,” Holliday began. “Hamilton County is in even a sweeter spot because of its ag base, so we’re protected a little bit from the huge swings. We’re seeing homes on the market a little longer, but there is still development and everyone still wants to be progressive so we’re seeing homes built, we’re seeing houses selling and people listing their homes. That hasn’t changed.”
Hutsell observed that there isn’t as much competition from buyers due to rising interest rates.
“There’s a lack of inventory still, so that’s supply and demand,” she said. “Homes are still selling and they are not getting way below asking prices, so it’s not a seller’s market, but I wouldn’t say it’s a buyer’s market either. I mean, we’re kind of coming back to the middle. It definitely does not feel stagnant.”
Both agents say the combination of strong schools and a healthy local economy bode well for the future housing market.
“So long as our businesses continue to grow and our schools flourish, we will have people that want to be in Aurora and I think that’s why we’re seeing growth here,” Holliday added. “We’re also seeing growth in Hampton, people who want to get their kids in school, and so as that flourishes we’re trying to stay on top of development and what is coming. The good thing about new development is it frees up some of these houses where people are maybe looking for that next step, so that is a good thing.”
“People really care about the communities here,” Hutsell continued. “People really care about Hampton and they really care about Aurora. They care about the schools and the local businesses, so we’re excited about that, too. We’re excited to see the communities thrive and we want to be part of that in any way. We love what we do and we truly feel passionate about it.”
Philosophy
While explaining BancWise’s team-like mentality, the agents noted a growing trend of working with buyer’s and seller’s agents on a housing transaction.
“More people are coming represented to buy a house and that’s so smart,” Holliday said. “A lot of me being a real estate agent has to do with my previous experiences buying a home and you learn quickly that I should have thought about that. Having a buyer’s agent lets someone be there to represent you.
“Having a buyer’s agent is really, really wise because if you are coming to a property represented you know your best interests are being taken care of,” Hutsell added. “The selling agent will focus on their client and the buyer’s agent focuses on you, so each party has someone advocating for them. I feel like a lot of what we do is educate people as far as how this process works.”
Both explained that utilizing a buyer’s agent can remove some of the emotion that comes with buying or selling a house. One of the benefits of working through an MLS, they said, is that terms for paying a buyer’s agent are listed as part of the agreement up front, thus it’s not part of the negotiations.
“It’s a benefit to everybody,” Hutsell concluded.
Though selling real estate is a business transaction, Holliday said she treats clients like she would her own family, which is part of her broader philosophy on life.
“I hold everything up to the standard of Jesus Christ,” she said. “God is sovereign. He is in control and it’s been awesome to even share with clients, to say ‘It’s going to be okay.’ I think it’s easy to get caught up in the emotions of it, so it’s good to step back and just remind each other that it’s okay, that nothing happens outside of His control.”