From Youth Ministry to Construction to Birmingham Real Estate

Jason Cook welcomed George Lawton of Team Lawton with RE/MAX to the Real Estate Insights Podcast for week two of the series, a conversation about what is happening in the Birmingham market and how one agent’s unusual path became a real advantage for buyers and sellers. The two have known each other since they pledged the same fraternity at Samford in the fall of 1996, which made for a relaxed and friendly interview.

George grew up outside Atlanta and came to Birmingham for college. After graduating he went on to Beeson Divinity School and spent almost ten years in youth ministry. When a church transition coincided with the difficult season of infertility, he and his wife Ann stepped back from ministry to heal and figure out what came next. That season lasted about eight years and included having three children in twenty-two months, with twins arriving when their oldest was twenty-two months old. During that time George worked in construction, and the couple also bought rental properties and completed a flip.

Ann suggested real estate. George had people skills, ministry skills, and construction insight, all of which fit the work. Changing careers in his late thirties was hard, but they felt a sense of peace about it, and George quit his construction job to go full time. About twelve years later he says the previous twenty years finally make sense because of how well they prepared him.

Why Ministry and Construction Skills Matter in Real Estate

George points out that real estate is often romanticized as a series of happy moves for promotions and growing families. The other side includes divorce, death in the family, and aging parents who can no longer stay in a home with stairs. Those situations require patience and care, and ministry trained him to handle them well.

The construction background helps on the buyer side. Knowing whether a wall is load bearing before planning a kitchen remodel matters, and walls cannot just be removed on a whim. Because George and Ann own a portfolio of rentals and flips, they can help investors look past polished finishes and dig into realistic repair costs and numbers. They have helped clients buy and sell commercial, investment, flip, and primary residence properties, and have owned all of those themselves.

A Husband and Wife Team With Complementary Strengths

Team Lawton gives clients two people with different strengths. George handles numbers, strategy, and contract negotiation. Ann is the expert on staging, from deciding whether to pull up a dining room rug to rearranging furniture so a home shows at its best. She also holds a master’s degree in Christian counseling, practiced full time for about fifteen years, and still works one day a week, which comes in handy when a transaction hits a crisis.

Their listing strategy often involves listing on a Thursday or Friday, letting the home settle through the weekend, and then holding an open house on Sunday to bring as many people through as possible in a short time. Having two agents means they can cover two open houses in one weekend or keep showing homes while one is tied up. And because they live together, communication about each client is simple.

What Buyers Are Asking About Rates

George says lenders are doing a good job setting expectations on budget and payment, so most buyers arrive with a sense of their range. The questions he hears now are about rates that keep fluctuating and whether to wait. He sees his job as being a resource rather than persuading anyone. He walks clients through scenarios such as buying today versus waiting a year while a home appreciates seven or eight percent and rates drop only a half percent.

He acknowledges the emotional sting of having seen rates in the twos and now seeing them threaten eight. Still, when people are truly ready to buy, rates rarely decide it for them. He also offers a perspective on borrowing costs. If your money invested in the market earns roughly what you pay to borrow, then the cost of a home you can live in, improve, and keep as long as you want is a fair trade.

The exception is the buyer who set a budget off a six percent rate a year ago and now finds that the same homes cost more and carry a higher rate, which can be a hard adjustment. George says those cases are less common than people assume.

Advice for Sellers in a Normal Market

George says the market feels normal, and that agents who remember both 2008 and 2021 know the sky is not falling. He notes that agents who earned their licenses after 2020 and have never had a listing sit may feel panic, which can reduce cooperation between agents. His advice for anyone choosing an agent is to find someone who has been through multiple cycles and can stay calm.

For sellers, the days of listing far above market and receiving an even higher offer are mostly over unless the property is truly exceptional. He recommends pricing fairly, removing emotion, and using comparables, days on market, and list to sale price ratios. Homes that are even slightly overpriced, or priced fairly but in worse condition than the price implies, will sit. After two weeks the momentum and leverage are gone, and a house that sits two weeks often sits a couple of months. His approach is to be aggressive with staging, price, and marketing, but also patient.

He also describes the seasonal pattern. Activity typically slows a couple of weeks before school starts and for a few weeks after, picks up until the holidays, then slows through late fall and winter. With fewer buyers this year because of rates, George believes the dam will break in spring, when buyers who were scared off in the fall return. Sellers who can wait a couple of months without cutting the price may be able to capture that increase.

How to Reach Team Lawton

George is on Facebook, where he has both a personal account and a Team Lawton page, and on Instagram at @georgelawtonrealtor. His RE/MAX website is georgelawton.soldonbirmingham.com. He describes real estate as a ministry and a passion, and says meeting Ann is well worth the visit.

Jason Cook works with buyers and homeowners across the Birmingham area on mortgage financing and welcomes conversations about rates, payments, and the right timing for your move. Reach out to Jason to talk through your options.

Sources

BirminghamAssociationofRealtors.com
NAR.realtor
Realtor.com
FreddieMac.com
ConsumerFinancialProtectionBureau.gov