The Chicago Tribune calls Laurie Moore-Moore “The Luxury Real Estate Diva.” In 2006, Unique Homes Magazine honored her as one of the 35 Most Influential Leaders in the Luxury Home Market. The Real Estate Intelligence Report declared she is one of the ten people having the most impact on residential real estate in the last 25 years.
Laurie is Founder and President of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, an organization founded in 2003, with more than 5000 members on four continents. The Institute awards the international Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist designation for real estate professionals who successfully market upscale residential properties. She is also the author of the book “Rich Buyer, Rich Seller! The Real Estate Agents’ Guide to Marketing Luxury Homes.”
Laurie is the co-founder and former co-editor of REAL Trends, a major real estate industry research and communications company.
Laurie has sold real estate, managed a real estate office, and run two divisions of one of the nation’s largest real estate firms.
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How did you get a name like Moore-Moore?
My maiden name is Moore and then I married a man named Roger Moore. At first I just thought of it as a coincidence but then it dawned on me that ‘Moore Moore” is quite a verbal hook. It makes my name more notable and memorable. I’m not opposed to sounding silly, if it works.
What do you do at the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing?
My organization helps real estate agents deliver outstanding service to buyers and sellers of luxury residential properties and in so doing maximize their own success. I’ve worked with 5000 members on four continents over the last three-and-a-half years.
How did you start in real estate?
After college, I started in the advertising arena. In 1976, my husband suggested looking into working in real estate, so I called Wes Foster, the CEO of Long and Foster. I was in charge of the corporate relocation department for the firm as well as advertising and marketing. In 1981, I moved to Dallas and worked for a luxury boutique company and handled their relocation department. I also handled their advertising and did some sales. But I had longer term goals of speaking and writing.
What made you want to speak and write?
I had lots of opportunities to speak at Long and Foster. I was at the right place at the right time. It was a time of peak growth for them and I was invited to speak around the country. I realized I really enjoyed copy writing and being a creative director so when I saw the opportunity I formed Laurie Moore and Associates. I also created Real Trends alongside it as a positioning tool to talk about the changes in real estate and the impacts on the industry. I had registered the name and had most of the first newsletter ready to go when I was approached by Steve Murray who had a similar idea and we decided to partner on this project. We worked together on it for twelve years before I sold it to him four years ago.
Why did you want to get out?
I wanted to work more in marketing and I was approached by George Pelton to work with the Preview program. I worked with him on training luxury property specialists at a time when the luxury market was getting ready to explode. But there was still a void in the market and that resulted in the creation of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing. It offers a two-day training program aimed at showing how to develop that market and provide quality service.
What was your greatest challenge along the way?
A personal one, in the sense that I am so completely focused on working ‘in’ my business 24-7 that I find it challenging to work ‘on’ my business the way that I should... It’s demanding -- juggling all kinds of balls at once. This is common in real estate. You need to take the time to step back and analyze your business and see where you are and where you are going. It can be hard to slow down and think strategically.
What was your life like growing up?
I grew up in a small town in central Texas called Killeen about sixty miles from Austin. I had two younger sisters, eight and ten years younger than me. Every Sunday after church we drove 60 miles to my grandparents for lunch. Our uncle Bubba owned an ice cream factory that we use to visit every weekend.
What did he do?
He was just such a fine person. He loved and cared about us all. He was honest to a fault. He was extremely involved in the community.
What made you feel that you could achieve anything you wanted to?
The attitude in our house growing up was that you could do anything you wanted to. All we had to do was work at it. I never thought my being a girl was a problem so in the 60’s the Women’s Movement came as a bit of a surprise since I never felt like I couldn’t be or do whatever I wanted. I’ve experienced very little discrimination against women. If you want to do something just get out there and do it. There are hurdles for everyone. You just need to figure out how to get over them.
How did you maintain balance in your life?
I didn’t. Balance is not something I do well. I’m blessed with the relationship with my husband; he was so supportive along the way.
Tell me about your own family…
I’m married to the “real” Roger Moore – the other one’s an imposter. He’s an amazing man who is incredibly supportive of everything I try. He’s a Wharton School PhD in Information Systems and Operations Research. He’s had probably eight careers including being a successful stockbroker. He recently decided he wanted to be a photographer. Now he wears a safari suit, a bear claw around his neck, an Indiana Jones hat, knee-high snake-skin boots and leads photographic expeditions around the world to places like Congo and Peru. He does black-and-white fine-art photography. He’s been described in the press as “the Ansel Adams of his generation.”
You’ve been married for 42 years. What’s the secret to a long-lasting marriage?
Thoughtfulness. A doesn’t pass when he doesn’t say “Is there anything I need to be doing for you today?” Pair that with a lot of hugs….
Any mentors?
My father, when he was alive, and my husband have been powerful positive influences. In the industry there are some women that I look to and think I need to have characteristics that they have like Jenny Pruitt, Barbara Corcoran, and Michael Saunders. I managed a CEO group called Trend Setters for twelve years. They were wonderful role models and I learned so much from them.
Where are you going next?
I’m settled in the Institute. It’s challenging and I love to work with top-notch real estate professionals. It’s becoming international as more people come from abroad to take our training. We need to develop our training more to cope with different international markets and figure out how to leverage our income to do even more exciting things in the future.
