On the Real Estate

GINA STEPHENS: But he said, I feel like it's elevated

how people see me in the community. It's elevated

they think I take my business more seriously.

It led to him changing locations, doing something

more high profile. So I think print does that

for brands.

KELLEY DUBOIS: You're listening to On the Real

Estate, a show for real estate agents at any level,

buyers, sellers, or anyone interested in learning

more about this crazy industry we're in. I'm Kelly

DuBois. Today, our guest is Gina Stevens with

Raleigh Magazine. Gina is the publisher. Thank

you for coming, Gina.

GINA STEPHENS: Thanks for having me.

KELLEY DUBOIS: Tell us a little bit about your

magazine first. I'm curious, I wanna hear everything.

Then we'll go to real estate.

GINA STEPHENS: So Raleigh Magazine is like a city

magazine, like you'd see in Boston, Atlanta, and

Chicago, really designed to be an insider's guide

for somebody who maybe has lived here a year or

five years, or for that person that maybe has

lived here their whole life but feels like it's

changing at warp speed and they can't keep up.

And I've owned multiple publications in the market

for a long time, but there wasn't really a city

magazine. And I was afraid that someone would

come in from out of town and start one. And I

really wanted it to be an insider's guide.

KELLEY DUBOIS: I love that.

GINA STEPHENS: And it's a mixture of politics,

a lot of development, a lot of real estate news,

sneak peeks of new restaurants, bars opening.

We even name Bartender of the Year and Restaurant

of the Year, fun stuff. But we also cover that

hard stuff, like in this last issue we did a story

on Raleigh's escalating homeless population and

how that's affecting the city and what we can

do to help those people.

KELLEY DUBOIS: I love it. So you have had the

magazine for eight years. So let's go back eight

years ago. How much has Raleigh changed?

GINA STEPHENS: Well, it's unbelievable. I mean,

it really is unbelievable to think about what

the city looked like eight years ago. I mean,

Smokey Hollow didn't exist. Most of what is on

the opposite side of North Hills where Capitol

Grill, most of that didn't exist back then. It

was just really starting to develop over there.

The towers Downtown, I mean, it's incredible.

I went back when I was preparing for this to look

back to our first issue eight years ago and it

was really funny. The average closing price on

a house that month was $273,600.

KELLEY DUBOIS: I pay attention to that all the

time and it's mind boggling.

GINA STEPHENS: Oh yeah.

KELLEY DUBOIS: Well, I say to clients that are

relocating to our area, which is a huge amount

of people, I'll say, in the old days, Raleigh

used to be still country. They're like, oh really?

How long ago? I'm like, 10 years ago. Yeah. Like,

I'll refer to 10 years ago as the old days because

it's just changed so much. You know, it would

be like, in the old days, Holly Springs wasn't

Holly Springs. You know, like, Kerry was really

country. It's hard to understand if you didn't

see it. Like, even five years ago for all those

places have tremendously. Oh, absolutely.

GINA STEPHENS: I was telling my team, I really

wanted to do a time lapse of that Peace Street,

Smokey Hollow area. Do you remember when they

took finches down? Yeah. I mean, it won't be long

before people can't even remember what that looked

like.

KELLEY DUBOIS: I love that idea that you should

definitely do that. I think so many people would

think that's interesting. Because when we're seeing

change so quickly, because usually whenever you

do hear people say the old days, well, you're

talking like 50 years ago. I think a minimum,

maybe 25 years, right, in the old days. But when

we're talking like massive changes over 10 years,

GINA STEPHENS: That's a funny story. So I live.

sort of Northwest Raleigh. I live in a neighborhood,

Wood Valley, that was built in the 90s. moved

there with when my second child was born. have

been there. 21 years, which makes me really old.

KELLEY DUBOIS: But.

GINA STEPHENS: When I bought my house, you could

drive across over 540, the neighborhoods just

beyond it, you could look in both directions and

not see a car. Because 540, that section of it

was so Brand new, no one was using it. That was

just 20 years ago. So I think you're right, especially

newcomers, they think it's always been this way.

KELLEY DUBOIS: No, broadly with country. Yeah.

Yeah. So with that being said, the growth so quickly,

even in 20 years, it has primarily been because

of relocations. And it really is a great place.

North Carolina as a whole, I think, is a wonderful

state to live. We've got so much to offer. And

I see it in my specific market with the huge relocation

infrastructure. How are you seeing that reflect

in your magazines?

GINA STEPHENS: It's been crazy. We call it the

C-Word. We don't like to talk about COVID a lot.

And while a lot of publications really struggled,

and we did too from an advertising standpoint,

we really shifted our model, not knowing whether

people would pick up the magazine or what would

happen. And we worked with restaurants to put

them into go orders. And with apartment communities,

the high-end ones to sealed boxes. And what we

found is newcomers, I mean, pouring in the gate,

60, what, 60,000 moved here during that time.

And most came from larger cities. And so they

are just, they're like sponges. They wanna know

everything. They don't understand what a Bailey

Box is. They don't know ITB and... So there's

a lot they want to learn. They want to be insiders.

So we run everything we write about through a

filter. We obviously want locals to feel comfortable

and feel like it's worth reading, that it's not

a newcomer's publication. So it's really important

to us that we sort of have an inside scoop on

anything so that it appeals to both groups. But

there is this craving of these newcomers wanting

to understand sort of the history and the pockets.

You know that.

KELLEY DUBOIS: I agree with that. People wanna

feel included. They do. Nobody wants to stick

out. I think sometimes locals, though maybe not

meaning to, they'll be like, oh, you're a transplant,

or oh, you're not from here. And in a way, you

automatically kind of get a little bit of a defense

going on. Like, I'm a transplant. I'm not from

North Carolina. I've been here for 13 years. I

can't imagine moving again. But you know, it does

take a little bit. So whenever you have anything

that's gonna give you a little bit of value, which

Raleigh Magazine gives value. It tells you what's

going on. It tells you what had previously gone

in. It's telling you what is up and coming. That's

important. That's important to the transplants.

And it's important to the born and raised who

have kin here from how many years before them.

GINA STEPHENS: And I get excited when I happen,

and it happens a lot, happen across somebody sitting

at bar, dinner, and they'll say, oh, we just moved

here. We've been here three months. They're my

favorite people to talk to. Because they're so

enthusiastic. They chose Raleigh. They weren't

born here. They looked around the country and

had a choice of where to go. And they chose our

city. Which, I know that. That's a great way to

look at it. We can sit up straight and be proud

because we do have a lot to offer. So I love talking

to those people about how and what was the driving

factor in making a decision. I also think it's

funny, we run into a lot of people who they move

here and they go, oh, we bought in Holly Springs

and we stayed there eight months, nothing against

Holly Springs, that's not my point. But then we

found our people in Five Points, we found our

community. So many times people move here and

buy. because they're in a hurry to find something

and then they realize maybe they didn't find the

right community and so they're shopping again.

KELLEY DUBOIS: I deal with that a lot.

GINA STEPHENS: I bet.

KELLEY DUBOIS: We have people that'll call all

the time about relocating or on our website filling

out the little informations and they're all over

the place. The husband will be working here, the

wife will be working here, or they're worried

about extracurricular activities. Whatever anybody's

personal situation is, I'm always like, we're

kind of all over. Why don't we rent for six to

12 months? Figure out where we like and then we

can revisit. because what's the point of buying

to move again in 12 months or be unhappy? I always

say, you're buying a house, not a shirt. We can't

return it. It's because after six to 12 months,

you know where you're going to be. And yes, are

you spending a lot more money in rent? Maybe,

I mean, yes, you are. That's not debatable. But

you're not going to make money selling your house

in this market in 12 months. You're going to lose

by the time you're paying attorney fees, deed

transfers, real estate fees. Because you're not

making that money, so pay the rent.

GINA STEPHENS: And it's peace of mind that you're

buying. I had an editor whose husband worked for

some movie production company, and they brought

them here. And they rented a house. Um. and literally

lived, I mean, lived at, she hated the house,

she hated the location, but they lived there for

12 months and did the research before they figured

out where they wanted to be. And they wanted to

be Downtown Oakwood. She goes, I would have never

jumped at that if I had just come through for

a weekend looking at houses. I think it's hard.

KELLEY DUBOIS: It's very hard, especially if you

don't know where you're going. Even people that

don't, that have lived here, whether it's all

your life or years, It's really hard to know what

you want when you're committing to something long,

like a house. It's a huge commitment. It's very

expensive. 300,000 is really the price of your

new starter home, which is mind boggling to me.

And then, the more money you're going, the harder

it is to think about, now what do I do? I don't

like it, I'm stuck. Like you're a person said.

And I really do think with home buying, the easiest

way to decide what you want is knowing what you

don't like. You know, you don't know what you

want until you feel it.

GINA STEPHENS: It's funny, I use that phrase a

lot with my advertising clients because a lot

of times we work with people that know they need

to advertise. They haven't had to do it before,

but they know there's so many newcomers here and

want to and they don't know where to start. And

I'm like, okay, better yet, tell me what you don't

like. Because I can figure out what you like based

on what you don't like. I'm not far from an empty

nester. My youngest is going to be a sophomore

in high school, and I have started to think about

wanting to live in the Cotton Mill or Bloomsbury

Downtown. I spend more time driving back and forth

from North Raleigh to Downtown because of what

I do. And my kids are like, what? You're gonna

sell our house? And I'm like. I don't need 4,000

square feet and an acre and a half if it's just

me. So it's, so you do start, there are stations

in your life where you start to... to change maybe

what you like.

KELLEY DUBOIS: That's a really good point that

you made also that I hear a lot of people say

in real estate, they want to move. So I have huge

age differences between my kids. So I have 21

down to five, but so I have also different groups

of friends from their friends, you know. I'm the

young mom with my older kids. I'm the old mom

with my young kids. But with my older kids, most

of them are becoming empty nesters right now.

They want to move because they primarily want

to downsize. And it's funny the different things

that they want to do. Some of them are like, well,

our kids are now out of state or the youngest

is going to college. We now are looking at places

at the beach or we're looking at places in the

mountains. I mean, they're looking at moving,

like staying in the state, but moving. Their kids

are having a fit. And for that, my answer always

is, well, tell your kids that they can purchase

the house at, you know, whatever number you work

out. Or they now need to kind of revamp with your

new chapter. And I think that's the other thing

whenever you're buying a house or looking at moving.

It's a new chapter. So you have to make it about

the people that are primarily going to be in that

chapter. And parents, I think, have a guilt, specifically

mothers.

GINA STEPHENS: Always.

KELLEY DUBOIS: Mom guilt is, I grew up Catholic,

so my guilt is more a Catholic guilt. Oh, you're

twice as much guilt. It's insane. Yeah, so your

mom guilt is kind of like, well, is that going

to feel like home? Is that going to give them

enough space? Or I also deal with a lot of older

people that have moved from up north. There's

a specific neighborhood in Sanford called Carolina

Trace. It's a... skated community on a lake with

two 18-hole golf courses. It's wonderful. A lot

of northerners would relocate there whenever they

retired. Well, now those, the OGs, the originals

of Carolina Trace are now going into like one

of three tiers of living or assisted living facilities.

And their biggest thing whenever, you know, they're

looking, relocating from another state is, well,

is there gonna be enough bedrooms for when my

children and grandchildren move? Well, we have

this amazing thing called VRBO and Airbnbs, Hotels,

and they're probably at most gonna visit twice

a year.

GINA STEPHENS: Twice a year. I told my kids, I

said, if I end up at the cotton mill, which I'm

waiting for someone to die off or sell, advertisement

here, I said, Longleaf, you will stay. And they're

like, what, you're gonna put us in a hotel? I'm

like, yeah, you're not gonna visit that often.

Twice a year, I will put you at the hotel.

KELLEY DUBOIS: Because I guarantee you, your children

are not buying a house based on their parents.

They're just not, you know? So buy your house

for you.

GINA STEPHENS: Yes, for sure.

KELLEY DUBOIS: So I'm looking at your magazines

and I see tons of advertisements with real estate.

I work, I think, with a lot of new agents that

it does not occur to them that magazines, specifically

like Raleigh Magazine, any kind of magazines that

add value to people that have relocated here or

are wanting to learn more about advertising in

magazines. And I'll say that to them and they're

like, oh, I didn't think about that. Do you come

across that a lot?

GINA STEPHENS: You know, there were a number of

years where everyone thought digital was the answer

to everything. Yeah. And I think there's still

a segment of the population that believes that.

And that's why we sort of have all of those opportunities.

So when someone just wants digital, you know,

we do all the email marketing, we give you, and

we have a huge audience. But we work with Real

Estate Offices, and some of them have been with

us as many as five years, never missed an issue,

and can track it back to the houses they sold

or the leads they got. I think it depends on your

approach. I do think there's great value in it.

I think it says a couple of things. When someone

sees you in print, it means you're established.

KELLEY DUBOIS: I agree.

GINA STEPHENS: And especially if you are doing

it on a regular basis or semi-regular. It means

that you're investing in your company and you

believe in what you're doing. I think there's

a prestige that comes with that and that respect

and integrity ingrained in that. I think the perception.

I think there's a great way that Real Estate Offices

and realtors can work with magazines, specifically

us. Some of my best stories come from people in

your industry. When they start to see a trend,

you know, you've had three clients all asking

for the same thing. We did one of my best stories

early on, was when that trend started where if

you wanted to buy a house in the room, multiple

offers, write a letter. Love letters. Make them

love you. A realtor mentioned that to me casually

in conversation. And I was like, what? And she

goes, oh yeah, all my customers are doing that.

And so we were able to do that story, interview

her. She didn't pay for that. We're not a pay

to play. And I would say that if... If you're

considering advertising and they say, we'll write

about you if you advertise, don't do it. Because

that means somebody's not reading their magazine

for the content. they're just putting anything

in there.

KELLEY DUBOIS: I do agree with that.

GINA STEPHENS: It shouldn't be leveraged, the

two. If you come to me with a good story, whether

you don't advertise with me or you do, it doesn't

matter. If it's a good story, we're gonna do it

and we're gonna reach out. It's also a great way

to become a resource. Several times a year, almost

every issue, we do a story on what's happening

in the home market. Last issue, it was on the

six new condo communities that are coming online.

In March, we pulled six houses that sold. in January.

and looked at what they sold the time before versus

what they sold for in January. And we reached

out to a couple of Real Estate Offices that we

have relationships with to get their perspective.

Why this street? Why this neighborhood? Why a

493% increase in a house every five years? And

so if you've got a relationship like that with

a publication, they're likely to use you as a

resource.

KELLEY DUBOIS: Absolutely. That goes to networking

in general. I cannot stress how important networking

is to any real estate agent or. sales in general,

right? You have to meet these people so that you

pop into their head and you leave an impression

to where they're going to think of you about being

a professional that's knowledgeable and wants

to play with others and is personable. And you

can't do that if you're just hiding in an office

all the time. Sending emails.

GINA STEPHENS: Yeah. You have to meet people face

to face and have conversations and pick up the

phone and call. You do. Yeah.

KELLEY DUBOIS: And that's the part that I think

most people struggle with, which is if you are

not going to become rememberable to people, you

will quickly be forgotten.

GINA STEPHENS: Oh, people laugh at me. I don't

go anywhere that I don't have a Raleigh magazine

or two with me. And they're like, why are you?

I'm like. That's who I am. That's what you're

always, you wanna leave that.

KELLEY DUBOIS: That's your Brand. It is.

GINA STEPHENS: You wanna leave your Brand and

you want to make sure they remember you when you

walk away.

KELLEY DUBOIS: And I think that's a good thing.

I love that you do that. You're proud of it and

you should be proud of it. If you don't believe

in what you have, why would you expect anybody

else to believe in it?

GINA STEPHENS: Well, and also think back to the

advertising piece or how you share your message.

If you work in real estate, you've sold houses,

you have clients that are happy and have had great

experiences with you. Sometimes, think about when

you go to rent a house at the beach or you buy

a product. We all scroll down and read the reviews.

KELLEY DUBOIS: I read them and I do them. That's

great. I really do. I don't, I very rarely buy

something without looking at a review also. I

put a lot of emphasis in reviews.

GINA STEPHENS: I think when you're spending money.

whether it's a house or whether it's a pair of

shoes or a beach house for the weekend.

KELLEY DUBOIS: The thought of a bad review, that

sets me into an anxiety attack. I work really

hard and I don't want anybody to think that I

did not do a good job with them. So I do think

about that. So let's go back to newer agents,

well, any agents. I don't care if they're newer

agents who have been established and are trying

to continue growing, advertising in magazines.

What do you think you see with agents is the biggest

benefit of doing so?

GINA STEPHENS: I do believe it goes back to the

credibility of it. And I think it gives, you know,

a lot of times when someone advertises with us,

I do a lot of chatting with them about maybe it's

not your face that's in the ad. as much as let's

put a house that's sort of indicative of what

you sell the most of or what you specialize in.

And I know they always say, well, I sell everything.

But I always like to say, you want to give people

an idea of... what your specialty is or what they

can count on you for. And I think showing some

sold property or something that you have on the

market really helps. And by being a monthly magazine.

you know, our turnaround. you know, likely what

you put in there won't be sold by the time the

next issue rolls out. Right. So I think that,

and again, we've worked with companies who swear

by it, have had great success, but we also, like

you, have a Podcast. We... We have the largest

social media of any print media in the triangle,

including the News Observer and the Indy, which

have been around over 40 years. So... For somebody

who's looking for a channel to share their message,

print may be it, but digital might be it. And

so we've really, we're more of a Omni-channel

Company. People often think all we do is print.

And so, but we offer all of that. And I think

it's just like you, when you sit down to go, okay,

what kind of neighborhood, how many bedrooms?

For us, it's about, so what are you interested

in? And what is the message you're trying to share?

We have a full design team that puts together

probably 60% of the ads you see in the magazine.

It's more about working with you to figure out

the best way to share your message with who you're

trying to reach. Because our Instagram follower

is a very different person in some cases than

the person that's reading print, or the million

people a year that go to the website. So it's,

for us, it's about a layered approach, trying

to help you get your message to the right person

through a couple of different channels.

KELLEY DUBOIS: I love this. If you are a realtor

listening to this, what Raleigh Magazine is offering,

it's helping build your Brand. And that is so

important. I say that all the time. Brand building

is so important. Not your Firm. Remember, your

Firm already has its Brand. It's already spent

a lot of money being that name or that Brand.

We're talking about your Brand. And every realtor

should have their own Brand. The most successful

ones always do. If you don't, this might be a

wonderful partnership to help build your specific

Brand. They're going to put your picture in it.

Again, if you don't want your picture in it, I

am a person that does think your photo. should

always be attached to your name as a realtor.

I don't understand why people don't. And I hate

photos, hate photos. Get professional hair and

makeup, get professional photos, they go a long

way. I am obsessed with my headshot because of

the professional makeup. If I could just have

her with me all the time, we would be great. With

your team that helps Brand, set up the advertisements,

which I call branding, because that's very helpful.

Like, is there a specific amount of time that

they have to commit to? Or what do you see most

agents do? If they're monthly publications, obviously,

can they just do one month? Can they do six months?

How do they set that up?

GINA STEPHENS: You know, it's funny, very often

I'll have somebody come to me and say, I want

to do a full page, one time. And I'm like, I really

don't want to take your money because there are

very few things that people are going to make

an impulse decision on. You're not selling a pair

of tennis shoes. you're selling something impactful

that's gonna change their life. They need to see

it repeatedly. So very often I suggest people

do a minimum of three issues. They can be every

other issue, however you wanna do it, but at least

they need the repetition of that. We have a photography

team who has a makeup person. So if someone doesn't

have headshots for themselves, that's what we

sort of recommend is a minimum of that. But we

still don't have a conversation. If you've got

logos, photos, show us things that you've created

for your clients. And then we come up with a couple

of different ads. And I'm proud to say that If

you're familiar with the new beautiful building,

400H, that's going up on Hillsboro Street.

KELLEY DUBOIS: Gorgeous.

GINA STEPHENS: Gorgeous. They have a full team

of marketing people, but they asked us to do their

ads because they love what we do. I think we have

a really talented team. and we make sure that

everyone doesn't look the same and we hope you.

craft your ad to match your Brand.

KELLEY DUBOIS: That's really important because

you do want to be able to stand out. And if everybody

is kind of all the same, you're just blending.

GINA STEPHENS: I have a great story and I won't

name the real estate office, but they had been

in business for 10 years. It's a last name, the

company name is. and he had never done any advertising,

never. and decided to give it a shot. They've

been with us now for five years, and swear by

it. He goes, my neighbors now know what I do.

And I was like, I'm sure your neighbors knew who

you were. But he said, I feel like it's elevated

how people see me in the community. It's elevated

they think I take my business more seriously.

It led to him changing locations, doing something

more high profile. So I think print does that

for brands.

KELLEY DUBOIS: It's gonna come off wrong, but

it is, I think, I hope everybody knows what I

mean. It's going to make it seem like you are,

not better than you are, but you're more together,

established, possibly even successful. Because

when people are seeing you in print, even if you've

just had 10 closings in a year, but if they see

it, they're gonna think, wow, that person must

really be killing it. They must really be pretty

big in their market. So if you're doing 10, great

job. Put yourself in some print, and then maybe

next year you're gonna see 20. Keep going, because

if you could let yourself stay stagnant and just

keep doing the same thing, that's all it's going

to do. You have to keep on investing in yourself.

And if you are newer to this and you're not familiar

with it, anytime you're going to do this print

work or advertisements, those are all tax write-offs,

which you need as a realtor. So do it, see the

differences, and let's see how it's going to take

you to the next level, because it should take

you to the next level.

GINA STEPHENS: Well, and for us, we try to integrate

our advertisers and people we work with into events

that we host. So we just did an event for, we

named, honored 17 women who are shaping the future

of Raleigh. I like to say they had their hands

in the dirt. They really. Love that. And we invited

many of our clients to be in the room for that.

So they're all of a sudden meeting 50 new people

that they maybe wouldn't have had access to otherwise.

Yeah, networking. It really, it's all about that.

KELLEY DUBOIS: I take magazines even if I'm like

vacationing or not from somewhere, I don't even

work that market. I mean, specifically like in

different markets, I have no idea who their top

producing agents are, no idea about the different

firms. I mean, you've got your Token Nationwide

Firms, but I'll always grab magazines and look

through them to see who's advertising, just to

put a name with the face, just to kind of say,

have I heard of them? Most of the time I haven't

because they're markets I'm not familiar with,

but I still want to get different ideas. I'd be

like, oh, that person's probably killing it, or,

oh, I like the way they set that up. So just the

constant dorky research that I'm doing and curiosity,

just curiosity.

GINA STEPHENS: I do the same thing.

KELLEY DUBOIS: And in my local markets, I look

in the magazines and be like, oh. why isn't, I

didn't see that agent in there, or ooh, I wonder

why they're not doing it anymore. Just certain

things, because to me, you constantly have to

stay present. And if you're not, why? What are

you hearing about the feedback from people who

have relocated here, whether it's six months ago

or six years ago? What is... this is going to

be a two-part question. What is their favorite

things that they have kind of discovered in our

Raleigh or even Halo area about what we have to

offer?

GINA STEPHENS: I think I hear a lot, and there's

a general and a specific, I think they love how

much there is to do in all the different pockets.

That there's stuff going on in Five Points or

stuff at Dix Park that, depending on what they're

interested in, they can find something in different

areas. There's always something happening. I also

think they're really excited to see our food scene

blossoming. A lot of them have come from larger

cities that have maybe a bigger food scene or

more developed. I think they're excited to see

new areas like the Exchange popping up and Ironworks

and Crawford Oatney, another new restaurant that's

maybe not on Person Street, that's a little further

out. You know, I think people are really excited

about Fenton.

KELLEY DUBOIS: Oh, I think so too.

GINA STEPHENS: And I was really surprised because

you've been here just long enough to understand

that

KELLEY DUBOIS: Raleighites...

GINA STEPHENS: don't typically love Carrie. There's

that love hate relationship.

KELLEY DUBOIS: Carries Carrie.

GINA STEPHENS: But I think... Fenton has sort

of merged the two. I'm amazed at how many people,

friends of mine who go, oh, I went to the movie

and I went to Fenton, or I went shopping and went

to dinner, you know. And so they're thinking about

it as more of a broad area. I think Giorgio opening

East End Bistro, I met a couple who had just driven

to Chapel Hill to go to one of his restaurants

in De Durham because they loved it so much here.

So I feel like they're excited about all the opportunity

that's tying the community together.

KELLEY DUBOIS: I agree with that. I think that

the pockets, you know, I'm even hearing people

talk about like the mosaic in Chatham County over

in Pittsburgh. So same type of thing. They're

expanding and all these places are within an hour,

I'd say.

GINA STEPHENS: People who are moving here from

California and other places who sit in traffic

for hours to get anywhere, for them to drive an

hour to Chapel Hill or to Durham, it's nothing.

That's not bad. The ones of us that have been

here a long time are the ones that bitch and groan

about, excuse me. That's exactly right.

KELLEY DUBOIS: That is exactly right. The ones

that have been here forever are like, oh, it's

take, I've added on another 10 minutes of my commute.

Okay, well, it's still under 30 minutes. So we

doing good.

GINA STEPHENS: Yeah, we're still really in good

shape.

KELLEY DUBOIS: And what is the biggest thing that

you're hearing from people not from here that

they wish that they were kind of seeing or miss,

I guess, from where they came from? They would

like to experience it here.

GINA STEPHENS: The one thing I hear a lot is that

Raleigh needs is sort of the the bean in Chicago.

or some iconic, when they have family visit, they

want to take them to something that is iconically

Raleigh. That they can have their photo taken

in front of. And I think we're working on that.

I think as a city we're working on that. It wouldn't

surprise me if Dix Park or things at Dix Park

would not. ultimately be that.

KELLEY DUBOIS: like a. a staple right in the center.

Like the arch. Yes. Those are hard things to do

though.

GINA STEPHENS: They really are.

KELLEY DUBOIS: That's part of the actual city

that's been there forever.

GINA STEPHENS: I think, I mean truly, when I heard

this the first time, it made me pause. We are

building the last great American city park at

Dix Park. there is no other city in the country

that has that land in its city limits to devote

to a park. And when you think about it in that

way, what a treasure. And I don't think a lot

of people go out there, and we're gonna be doing

a pullout in one of our upcoming issues that explains,

because there's gonna be a brewery out there,

and there's going to be food out there, and there's

five different entrances. I don't think people,

a lot of people, they think it's a green pasture,

unless I wanna throw a frisbee or walk the dog,

why am I going? And there's a lot more to it that

is coming and about to happen. So I think that

could end up being our sort of central part.

KELLEY DUBOIS: I think that's a really good thought

to it. I think also Raleigh has some great parks

in general. I mean, there's lots of things that

are, and. There's things that are always going

on at one of the parks. Another thing that I think

that Raleigh has is I am a former soccer mom with

my... 18 year old and Raleigh has some great facilities

for sports. Whether you're talking soccer, lacrosse,

the softball fields, baseball fields. I don't

think people that aren't from here realize how

good. If you're from here, you might not understand

how good they are if you haven't compared them

GINA STEPHENS: Well, and if your kids didn't play

soccer and you didn't spend a lot of time. I'll

tell you, I am really excited. I've been part

of the team helping make this happen with the

Skate Raleigh Park.

KELLEY DUBOIS: Oh my gosh, it's awesome.

GINA STEPHENS: I don't think I've seen anything

that has unified the entire city. No one has a

negative thought about this. It is going to be...

They're taking such an eyesore space along Capitol

Boulevard. And my understanding, if the planets

align, they will do the ribbon cutting the end

of June. They want it to be open in first phase

in July for kids to be able to enjoy. But you

talk about something that's going to cross all

socioeconomic, race, ages, sports, I mean anything

that has a wheel on it.

KELLEY DUBOIS: Yeah, it can go.

GINA STEPHENS: It is going to be so good for our

city.

KELLEY DUBOIS: I love that and I agree. I think.

I think that the parks here are great. I think

that they try and reach out to all the different

demographics and whether you're the... X game

sport types or your traditional, you know, American

football, it doesn't matter. I think that there

are some great facilities. And with the exception

of the equipment, they're free. You know, that's

really important.

GINA STEPHENS: Well, in the skate park, that's

one of the things they talked about. It's one

of the lowest thresholds of cost to get involved

in, whether it's a skateboard or a scooter. There's

not a lot of stuff you need to be able to make

that happen. I love that.

KELLEY DUBOIS: You know, I grew up in the 90s,

so Tony Hawk was huge. So let's go back.

GINA STEPHENS: Well, there's rumors they're trying

to get him here for an event. So you may get to

see him in person.

KELLEY DUBOIS: So Gina, on our segment, our Podcast

for On the Real Estate, I always end with a can't

make this shit up story. I love stories that are

just so bizarre where I'm like, that's not true.

And they're like, can't make this shit up. Let's

hear, I bet it was hard for you to narrow one

down.

GINA STEPHENS: It was, so I took it to the editorial

team and I said, I've really, you know, we're

expected to know good stories. And I hope this

one falls in line with the kind of stuff that

will make you say you can't make this shit up.

There is a active working brothel. in Raleigh.

and not where you might think it is happening

on a, right above a thriving area, above a grocery

store. That's all I'll say for now. but it's truly

happening. the place you're involved.

KELLEY DUBOIS: Uh-huh, now I just want to find

it. Not for a side job.

GINA STEPHENS: I didn't even think of that. You're

sharp.

KELLEY DUBOIS: I'm just nosy, I'm just nosy.

GINA STEPHENS: No, I mean, so it's like, you know-

KELLEY DUBOIS: Did you get tipped off on this?

GINA STEPHENS: We did, we did.

KELLEY DUBOIS: Are you gonna do a story on this?

We should.

GINA STEPHENS: We're working on it.

KELLEY DUBOIS: Do you like how I included we?

We should.

GINA STEPHENS: Absolutely, absolutely. And I will,

off the air, I'll share with you. But it's interesting

how, you know, when things grow as fast as it

has. and we've got cool stuff and it brings out.

the CD. I don't know another word for it. It brings

out another element.

KELLEY DUBOIS: All right.

GINA STEPHENS: So. But I just thought that was

pretty fascinating. The other thing, if that doesn't

shock you enough, we found out today that the

city of Raleigh is going to make a parking ticket.

fine on Glenwood South is going to go from $30

to $200.

KELLEY DUBOIS: A $200 parking ticket?

GINA STEPHENS: And the reason is that they believe

that some of the traffic on Glenwood South is

leading to some of the crime and issues they're

having. So this would be a way to deter parking

on Glenwood South.

KELLEY DUBOIS: But where are we supposed to park?

GINA STEPHENS: I guess parking decks or private

lots, but get it off the street. I don't know

much more than that, but that's pretty steep.

KELLEY DUBOIS: Parking kind of makes me crazy.

Yes.

GINA STEPHENS: It's a hot button with everyone

I know.

KELLEY DUBOIS: So far, I can't make our shit up

today. We have learned that Raleigh has a whorehouse

and parking is $200. So either way, you're kind

of getting screwed if you don't pay attention

to what's happening.

GINA STEPHENS: Can't make that shit up.

KELLEY DUBOIS: Can't make that shit up. Well,

thanks, Gina, for coming to visit. I think we're

leaving on a great note.

GINA STEPHENS: Thanks for having me.

KELLEY DUBOIS: Thanks everyone for listening to

this episode of On the Real Estate Podcast brought

to you by House Hunt with Kelly and Adcock Real

Estate Services. If you like the show, be sure

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you're buying or selling. This Episode was edited

and produced by Ear Fluence. I'm Kelly DuBois,

and I will talk with you on our next On the Real

Estate Podcast.