After nearly two decades working in various real estate firms, Johnny Purselley announced March 15 that he was switching to be a solo real estate business.
“I just want to be family owned and operated. I’m not trying to get to be the biggest guy, I just want to take care of the clients I get,” Purselley said. “I’ve been a broker for 19 years, so it was just time.”
While he respects all industry professionals he’s met along the way, for Purselley, branching out on his own is more about being his authentic self while utilizing his skills.
“I just want to be me and not have any question about it,” Purselley said.
Purselley has a home field advantage on two real estate fronts, having grown up on rural land and around city life. His transition into the nitty-gritty details of ranch and home real estate was made simple by understanding things like the best fence types for horses.
“It’s two completely different products. It’s being able to answer questions about finishes on a house, neighborhood, schools, those type of things. You need to know what’s current in finishes — I need to know granite’s great, but quartz is really hot,” Purselley said.
“With ranches, you’ve got to know a lot about the dirt, what kind of ground does it have — is it sandy loam, because that’s what everybody wants because coastal Bermuda thrives in sandy loam soil and the horse people all like it because it’s good on horses’ feet.”
He’s been watching real estate long enough that he has seen a single property double and then triple in price.
“When we moved [to Parker County] 21 years ago I moved northwest of Weatherford and we gave $1,500 an acre for that property. I sold it a year and a half later for $3,000 an acre and I sold it for those people for $5,500 an acre and then they sold it for $7,700 an acre,” Purselley said. “Now a friend of mine has just developed a tract of land a mile and a half from where I was and they’re selling 10 acre lots for $175,000 – so $17,500 an acre.”
The ranch land market has seen dramatic value increases as demonstrated by the Rocking W Ranch sale last year for an undisclosed but large price, according to a past Fort Worth Business Press report.
Purselley’s reach is from northeast of Dallas, past Gainesville to the Oklahoma border all the way out to Palo Pinto County and throughout the Metroplex. According to a 2016 American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA) report, the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Longview, Tyler, and Texarkana are still the primary source of new buyers in the smaller end of the pasture and the recreational markets.
And the growth of buyers and real estate values will only continue to increase as the area itself continues to grow in population.
“Fort Worth is great for future growth. Two years ago, I was in a meeting with Betsy Price and we were picked in the top five cities for the next 25 years. So, with that, it’s a great time for me to go out [on my own]. The timing is right and I’m a Christian and I’ve prayed about this,” Purselley said.
A focus for Purselley has been cutting out the middleman involved in larger real estate companies. To accomplish this, Purselley posts his own listings and manages his own image, something he says is easy because he’s selling a relationship and authenticity.
“I’m not trying to sell scripted stuff, or a marketing plan. I’m selling a relationship because real estate is relationships. You need to trust me, and we need to believe in each other,” Purselley said. “When I meet people to be their realtor, I tell them I want to be your realtor for life and by that I want to do such a good job you don’t even consider calling anybody else.”
His first listing hit the market March 17 and he had four calls by March 19 with plans to tour the location March 22.
That, he says, validates his decision.